[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/18756600 w=620&h=349] Could you imagine something like this at Marin's transit centers? With GGT's long, long headways, it would make sense to have screens in local shops as well as more detailed information screens at the stops themselves, perhaps with an interactive map of the routes. Chicago's Bus Tracker: Taking the Guesswork Out of Waiting for the Bus from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

Marin

This week, SMART went totally braindead and decided to play the villain. The district, in defiance of the Secretary of State, passed an election ordinance requiring that RepealSMART include an unbiased statement with the repeal effort's signature petition, the first step to getting its initiative on the ballot. RepealSMART has chosen to ignore the directive. In other news:

The County Board of Supervisors passed a fairly gentle plan to ease some of the barriers to affordable housing. Brad Breithaupt thinks it's going to be yet another target for anti-development rage.
Residents in Larkspur want to build a farm where the already-approved New Home Co. housing development is scheduled to be built. They have little chance of success.
Another week, another total road closure: a flaming tractor-trailer crash closed southbound Highway 101, closing all southbound lanes for over two hours. A shame there wasn't some sort of rail-based mass transit alternative...
IJ endorsements are in for the Ross Valley School Board, College of Marin Board, Novato School Board, Reed School Board, and Mill Valley School Board.
Consolidation of emergency services in the Ross Valley continues, with Ross beginning to consider integrating its fire department with one of its neighbors.
Children and parents got outside and got some exercise this past week in Mill Valley, participating in International Walk (and Roll) to School Day. The Feds noticed, too, and recently awarded San Anselmo and San Rafael $1.8 million to improve its sidewalks around three local schools as part of the Safe Routes to School program.
Homestead Valley will get a very, very narrow sidewalk on a very, very slow street.
The architecturally lazy Novato city offices move forward.
The San Anselmo Andronico's will remain open after Renovo Capital completes its acquisition of the ill-fated company.
Patch's Kelly Dunleavy goes over the Fairfax town budget with the city and opponents to its half-cent sales tax proposal and finds that numbers can be more than they seem to be.
San Rafael's Corporate Center will likely be rezoned to allow for medical and research uses, eliminating 77 parking spaces in its gargantuan 1,323 space lot and allowing for a greater diversity of uses for the downtown office complex.

The Greater Marin

While Marin debates the value of SMART, Santa Rosa continues to move forward with renewal plans.
Washington, DC - the city, not the feds - has come a long, long way since the days of Marion Barry, with foreign investors flocking to sock their money away in a stable regional economy. Part of the reason: a strong Metro system.
Apparently, the only way to combat congestion is through congestion pricing.
If you're going to build massive rail projects like BART, the best way to go is subterranean.
While I looked at the cost of driving alone on Marin and found it to be hideously expensive, it's only one part of the whole economic puzzle, which apparently costs trillions to operate and maintain. To save that money, we'll need to spend trillions more on a total infrastructure overhaul. Could be fun.
But in the meantime, the poorest places of the world are finding hope in good urban design.