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Even Oakland parking enforcement officers are parking in Telegraph’s protected bike lanes

Oakland’s parking enforcement officers have been criticized recently for their lack of enforcement of illegal and unsafe parking behavior along Telegraph’s new protected bike lanes. Yesterday, parking enforcement was finally spotted on Telegraph ticketing parking violations. Incredibly, however, parking enforcement was not ticketing obstructions of the bike lane, but was in fact actively contributing to […]

June 22, 2016 Andy Gillin

How to fix Telegraph Avenue’s protected bike lanes

A month after unveiling a road diet on Telegraph Avenue featuring Oakland’s first protected bike lanes, Telegraph remains a mess. Obstructions of the bike lanes are seemingly never-ending as confused and/or negligent drivers continue to park alongside the curb. While growing pains are normal for innovative projects that disrupt the status quo, the sustained chaos on Telegraph has been troubling.

June 13, 2016 Andy Gillin

Should self-driving cars still have steering wheels and brake pedals?

Earlier this week, GM CEO Mary Barra said she believes self-driving vehicles should continue to include steering wheels, brake pedals and accelerators as the technology develops. The state of California has already taken this position, requiring a licensed driver at the helm of all self-driving cars.

June 8, 2016 Andy Gillin

Oakland forgets to reinstall parking meters on busy stretch of Grand Avenue

Oakland’s Department of Transportation is finally taking shape, and it can’t come soon enough. In the latest example of poor attention to detail in street design, the City has neglected to reinstall parking meters on a busy stretch of Grand Avenue in the middle of one of the City’s densest neighborhoods.

May 26, 2016 Andy Gillin

After a momentous Bike to Work Day, more complete streets projects on the way

Last week’s Bike to Work day was one of the most significant in the event’s 22 year history in the East Bay. Four ribbon cuttings occurred in the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Piedmont, and Emeryville, including three protected bike lanes. These projects represent the first wave of a significant investment in complete streets in the […]

May 16, 2016 Andy Gillin

West Contra Costa County evaluates high capacity transit options

Without a doubt the greatest challenges facing BART are expanding core capacity and maintaining a good state of repair. At the same time, however, the Bay Area’s regional transit network is far from complete: some projects, like Caltrain electrification and BART to Silicon Valley, are moving forward, but other deserving corridors have been overlooked. One […]

May 9, 2016 Andy Gillin

Rethinking BART to Santa Clara

After nearly two decades of planning, the timeline for completion of the Silicon Valley BART extension remains uncertain. Later this year, BART will open a five mile, $890 million extension to Warm Springs in Fremont, while the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA, working on behalf of BART) expects to open a ten mile, $2.3 billion extension […]

May 2, 2016 Andy Gillin

BART’s bond measure: aiming too low?

Over the past few weeks, BART and Los Angeles’ Metro have each made big headlines, albeit for very different reasons. In the Bay Area, BART’s ongoing mechanical problems are the latest reminder of the system’s poor state of repair and constrained capacity. BART leaders have highlighted the need for reinvestment in the system via a […]

March 28, 2016 Andy Gillin

Seven findings from BART’s station profile survey

About every seven years, BART commissions a survey of its stations to learn more about who is riding and where he/she is going. BART’s last survey was done in 2008, prior to the Great Recession and the tech boom. Preliminary results are out for the 2015 survey, and they include some interesting findings: 1. 45 […]

March 21, 2016 Andy Gillin

Alameda’s Central Avenue Project moves forward, but weak links remain

Alameda’s Central Avenue Complete Streets Project passed a key milestone in receiving city council approval to move forward into final design. As we’ve previously covered, safety improvements are badly needed along the corridor: it is home to 2,500+ students at several schools, as well as notable destinations such as Webster Street, Washington Park and Crab […]

March 14, 2016 Andy Gillin