Streetsblog New York City

Hey Streetsblog - Welcome to SF! I'm a fan and can't wait to see and participate in the coverage of SF.

This is the best news to come over the wire all day -- welcome to SF, Streetsblog!

This is very exciting! Now we can really encourage more competition and shared learning between the cities.

Having spent each of the last couple weeks in SF, I was struck by how little traffic there is on such high speed roads. There are many major streets that seem like they should be downgraded from the suburban design standards. The turn lanes at intersections need to be challenged and the alleyways are a big opportunity.

As with in NYC the opportunity with Streetsblog is to take a step back and connect and tap into all the passion, expertise and activism that is out there -- to build a fresh, bolder and and more powerful movement. This is likewise an opportunity to look at transportation and public space systems - as well as the efforts to support them -- more holistically, with broader community goals in mind, and to start planning for more than just mobility. Streets and transportation planning needs to build communities and create place to first and foremost. Only when we look at them this way will our transportation systems become effectively compatible with bicycling and transit.

Now let's watch SF leap frog NYC!

YES! Welcome! We have the activism, the energy, the vision, etc. What we've missed is real journalism focused full time on City Hall and the streets. Thanks for stepping in Mathew and Bryan.

--Jon

PS San Francisco's Bikescape Podcast is proud to be the newest member of the Livable Streets Network

http://www.bikescape.blogspot.com
http://www.livablestreets.com/

But yeah! I'll read that one too.

Streetsblog Connecticut: covering one of the least walkable and bikable states out there.

We've got it all: corrupt, incompetent DOT, 157 towns or something like that, which refuse to cooperate in any significant way, outrageous low density zoning over all the place, huge budget deficits, broken property tax system that penalizes urban areas --- but, believe it or not, there is quite a strong concern about 'sprawl' and preserving open spaces that's even shared by the Republican governor. There's just no vision or understanding about what it would take to implement it. We're waiting for you!

Jeffrey Baker - good point. Would also be neat if the stories that appear on multiple Streetsblog sites would have combined comments from the various cities.

Aaron
As an avid cyclist living in Sausalito I hope that others can encourage Blazing Saddles to require helmets for adults - not just kids - as so many of the visitors biking down Alexander Avenue without a clue of what they would be facing .... accidents

Sweet Streets! Excited to have a Streetsblog devoted to SF! Welcome to our lovely liveable city!

I hope it covers the entire SF Bay Area, not just San Francisco. Remember that New York City is about one-half the population of the New York metropolitan area, but San Francisco is only about one-ninth the population of the San Francisco Bay Area.

We can definitely use some blog coverage of the proposed Bus Rapid Transit system in the East Bay (Berkeley, Oakland, and San Leandro), which NIMBYs are trying very hard to stop. That happens to be my local issue, but there are lots more.

I'm a regular reader of SB-LA, excited to see a new branch so close to home and sniffing around these parts to see whats being said of this by the East Coasters. Interesting that SB is following the same exact development pattern of the Curbed franchise, and nice to see that we've been bumped to the status of "the more progressive cities" - albeit the black sheep of the progressive city family. In response to Andy from Jersey, the bulk of Damien Newton's coverage here focuses on central LA and the westside, although areas as far away as Santa Barbara, San Diego, and the Inland Empire recieve occasional coverage. I would imagine the area between Santa Cruz, Stockton, Sacramento, and Santa Rosa would be within the purview of Streetsblog SF. However, the coverage would naturally gravitate toward developments in central SF, Oakland and Berkeley, for the simple reason that most of the liveable street-related developments happen there.

Congrats on a great addition to streetsblog, and here's hoping that a streetsblog on either side of the planned HSR will help it get built faster!

Careful about touting the N-Judah Chronicles. Greg Dewar is hostile to the bike community, especially Critical Mass. And his gig in the last election cycle was surreptitiously shilling for PG&E against a local initiative that would have ushered in new standards for renewable energy in our power generation.

Andy,

How much do you think a journalist's salary is, anyway? I'd say 75 grand is a bargain for two full-time professionals.

--Ian

I don't know who "Adam" is but I sure don't like seeing my name smeared by someone with lies.

I've never been hostile to the "bike community" - only to those select few who seem to find it OK to run stop signs and ride their bikes on the sidewalk when its safe. So, strike one. And, for the record, my brother is an avid cyclist and I want to be sure he, like all responsible bicyclists who obey the rules of the road are safe. So, there's a lie by "Adam" right there.

In my day job I am a PR consultant for many causes and I've always fully disclosed them when they had any impact on events in San Francisco (They rarely do since I usually do not take clients in town). So there's no controversy here either. Sure there's been some lies told by certain people in town, but that's common in SF - if someone doesn't agree with you 100%, demonize them personally, usually with more lies.

In fact the only controversy is this "adam" who obviously doesn't read the N Judah Chronicles, has cherry picked a few things to provide a wholly inaccurate view of what I am about and what I've done. People who have been reading for the last 3 years know this - it's too bad that some people are just upset that I won "Best Local Blog" by the readers of the Bay Guardian, and will do what they can to engage in character assassination on the Internet.

It is telling that "Adam" can't even sign his own name or publish an email to go with his comments. I guess if he's not willing to stand behind his words, well, that says it all.

Welcome to San Francisco, Streetsblog!

To whatever extent you can cover the region in addition to the city, that will be great: there's a lot going on in the 100+ cities around the Bay.

I'm with Greenbelt Alliance -- the Bay Area's regional planning and conservation organization -- and we're excited to have a new ally in advocating for smarter growth and more climate-friendly, walkable neighborhoods.

Looking forward to your launch.