It has been an extremely busy weekend apparently, with retrospectives, bond sales, HSR criticisms, new laws, and more.

Marin County

Mill Valley's alleys and stairs, pedestrian shortcuts up and down the hills that cars can't manage, are one of the signatures of the town. Photographer Skip Sandberg has taken it upon himself to document them all. (IJ)
Golden Gate Transit is now 40 years old. Born out of a transit victory in 1969 that stopped a second deck on the Golden Gate Bridge, GGT - despite its many faults - has proven itself invaluable to the North Bay time and again. (IJ)
SMART has jurisdiction over the Measure Q repeal effort, according to the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters. This bodes ill for RepealSMART, as they have called the signature threshold SMART wants unobtainable. (IJ)
The monthly federal tax exemption for transit decreased on January 1 from $230 to $125 - roughly half the cost of a Marin-SF commute - thanks to Republican obfuscation in Congress. The exemption for parking increases from $230 to $240. (SF Examiner)
Sausalito wants to redesign Alexander Avenue to be more bike-friendly, widening shoulders and potentially adding a tunnel. Public comment on the plans are open until January 27. (IJ)
Mill Valley wants to update their 1989 General Plan in just 18 months. They met last night and will meet again on January 17 to discuss the scope of work. (Patch)
A driver struck a teenager in Petaluma just after New Year's. The boy suffered major injuries but is in stable condition. (Patch)
Richardson Bay's Aramburu Island will be transformed into a nature preserve 50 years after the development that spawned it fizzled in the early 1960s. (SF Chronicle)
Marin's plastic bag ban and paper bag fee are now in effect. If changes from Washington, DC's similar bag fee are any indication, Marin's fee will work wonders on peoples' habits. (IJ)

The Bay Area

The Sustainable Communities Strategy, branded as One Bay Area, will mean major changes for the region as regional agencies try to limit greenhouse gas emissions. ABAG and MTC are planning a tour to explain the state-mandated plan as its development gets under way. They'll be at the Marin Civic Center on January 17. (Mercury News)
San Francisco now allows storefronts facing the street to build "parklets", extensions of the sidewalk that use up at least two parking spaces, and they're popping up everywhere. (SF Chronicle)

State of California

Most of California's redevelopment agencies will likely be shut down after losing their court fight against Governor Jerry Brown's austerity budget, although cities promise there will be more litigation. The agencies captured property taxes to fund themselves, which the Governor said was a drain on local and state budgets. (LA Times, Pacific Sun)
LA will soon follow San Francisco's example and install a downtown performance parking system. While performance parking seems to be the future, it may be wise to understand parking's past. (Los Angeles Magazine)
California communities can now round down their streets' calculated speed limits, rather than being forced to round up. (Land Line)
CAHSR should not be funded just yet, according to a review group with heavy clout in the state Legislature. Governor Brown may push forward anyway. (LA Times, SF Chronicle)

The Greater Marin

Ottawa, Ontario, is planning out the areas around its light-rail stations stations. The city - as big and diverse as a county - specifically wants to upzone in choice areas, and doing so is just as complicated as one might think. (Ottawa Citizen)
Vancouver, BC, is building new micro-apartments in a trendy neighborhood and renting them for $850 a month, showing the folly of the unit-per-acre density limits ubiquitous in Marin. (Grist)
Don't abandon the public process so easily - project outcomes are positively correlated with participation. I'm looking at you, SMART. (Next American City)
A whole mess of new transit projects start construction starts up this year across North America. It's a good thing. (Transport Politic)