Mid-Week Links: Progress

Marin County

• Contract negotiations between Marin Transit and GGT are starting to pay off, though a timeline for finishing the new contract is still elusive. The MT board delayed a decision on Monday, deciding to let the negotiations play out. (IJ)
• Structures built in the SMART right-of-way, i.e., stations, will not be required to go through the local design review process thanks to legislation introduced by Assemblyman Michael Allen and passed by the state legislature. They will, however, still be subject to local zoning ordinances. (Pacific Sun)
• The new federal transportation bill, recently signed into law, will likely cost Marin some $500,000 in Safe Routes to School funding. Local sources of funding means the program will stay alive in the county, but with rather less robust finances. There is, of course, much more to the bill. (IJ, Streetsblog)
• The Marin County election season is heating up again, with Sausalito's hand-slapping Mike Kelly retiring after eight years on the council being the biggest news so far. In all, 28 positions around the county will be on the ballot come November. (IJ)
• The venerable anchor-out community of Sausalito holds some of the most colorful, despondent, independent, thoroughly old-school Marinites in the county. With the America's Cup around the corner, some of the anchor-outs wonder if their time is up. (Bohemian)
• Novato's new city office building broke ground on Tuesday, signalling an end to one of the major controversies swirling around the community, though don't count on hearing the end of it at council meetings. (IJ)
• Since the Pacifics began playing at Albert Park, there have been few problems, despite the vociferous arguments made during the process to approve the team's use of the field. (IJ)
• And...: GGT apparently runs unscheduled ferries between Sausalito and San Francisco to pick up bikers. Why not put them on the books? (IJ) ... San Rafael touts the recent HOV freeway widening as consistent with its Climate Change Action Plan. (News Pointer) ... Give your ideas for the Larkspur's SMART Station Area Plan this Monday at 6:30pm. You already know my idea. (IJ)

The Greater Marin

• Plan Bay Area has been criticized as too oppressive and too dictatorial to communities that believe all development is character-destroying development. In trying to ameliorate these concerns, PBA may have become too weak to actually achieve its goals. (Underground Science via Google Cache)
• The legal hurdles for California High Speed Rail got a little bit shorter this week. Five lawsuits are in settlement, and other opponents have been cowed by the project's recent victory in the state legislature. (Mercury News)
• Downtown Phoenix, Arizona, really isn't that great, but it doesn't have to be. Shade, density, non-car connections, and a grocery store would all make the core of that desert metropolis more livable. (TDG)
• Demand for walkable neighborhoods is at an all-time high. Riding high on the trend are new urban cores like Bellevue, Washington or Silver Spring, Maryland, which have retrofitted their suburban downtowns into something much more traditionally urban. (Fiscal Times)

The Toll

• A 60-year-old bicyclist was sent to the hospital last night after a crash involving a car driver in downtown San Rafael. The driver stayed on the scene. (IJ)
• Jessie Garcia died Saturday while driving in Santa Rosa. A vengeful driver struck his car instead of her boyfriend's motorcycle, which she had been aiming for, causing his vehicle to flip and burst into flames. That driver, Heather Holmes, has been charged with second-degree murder. (Press Democrat)

Have a tip? Want to contribute? Email me at theGreaterMarin [at] gmail.com.

Mid-Week Links: A Bit Short

Welcome new readers! Unfortunately, you're only going to get a bit of the typical Mid-Week (or is it End-Week?) Links. I've fallen ill, and a computer screen is the last thing I need to stare at. But, over the course of the week and a bit this evening I've scraped some links together showing a bit of what's happening in Marin and around the world.

Got a tip for a link or a story? Want to become a contributor yourself? Email me at theGreaterMarin {at} gmail.com.

Marin County

• Opponents of Blithedale Terrace have hired a lawyer and consultants to fight the project to the bitter end, saying the 20 planned units would mean a traffic nightmare in Mill Valley and are just "far too many" units. Unless developer Phil Richardson has something up his sleeve, the controversy and litigation will likely go on for years. (Herald)
• After an arduous remodel of Red Hill Shopping Center and mounting concerns over chain stores, San Anselmo's council is weighing whether to ban or more closely regulate such businesses. (IJ)
• Fairfax police are cracking down on cyclists running stop signs and stop lights, saying they pose a danger to pedestrians. Sausalito is following suit, saying they also pose a danger to "other vehicles", though I can't see a car getting much more than dents from a bicycle. (IJ)

The Greater Marin

• Delhi's Bus Rapid Transit system is under threat after a court ruled that the bus-only lanes must be opened for mixed vehicle traffic, which would essentially kill the program.  While car use has exploded among India's elite, travel in the city is still dominated by transit and foot. (NYT)
• A $42.5 million freeway project is in jeopardy now that Petaluma lost its redevelopment funds. The Old Redwood Highway Interchange project would build HOV lanes and a new interchange in the city. (Press Democrat)
• Driverless trains are a fantastic boon to mass rail transit systems, but Americans have been surprisingly lax in adopting the technology. (Atlantic Cities)
• Bike-share in the Bay Area has been delayed yet again, this time until January. Though it's not clear why BAAQMD and Alta are delaying again, but the sheer geography of the system seems to be playing a role. (Streetsblog)
• The fires that burned uncontrollably in Colorado this year and often burn in the West aren't destructive just because of forestry practices. Suburban sprawl means people are spread thinly across the landscape, putting more lives at risk. (Billings Gazette)
• New development doesn't mean ridding a neighborhood of the old but rather retrofitting it so new buildings share in some of that history. My neighborhood in Washington, DC, is undergoing a dramatic change, but bits are being saved for just that reason. (NPR)

Mid-Week Links: Past to Present

SF Public Press continues its series on smart growth in the Bay Area. Though spotty at times, the series has shown a light on the issues facing our vast region now that Plan Bay Area is en route to its final approval.  This week:

• Former Patch editor Kelly O'Mara chronicles Marin's rebellion against Plan Bay Area. From Corte Madera's bogus claim of build-out to Fairfax's fight against three-story buildings, the piece explores the lay of the land though not its roots.
• Sprawl's 50-year march across the Bay Area is clear in a new map, showing each community's "growth rings". The East Bay, Delta, and Santa Clara grew the most.  Inner-ring suburbs and San Francisco grew the least.
• The foreclosure crisis was exacerbated by transportation costs. Even in Marin, this is clear from unstable housing prices in Novato vs. stable housing prices in South Marin.

Marin County

• Belvedere City Hall got all shook-up last week. Four staff members, two planners, the building chief and the city manager, have quit. Though criticized for conflicts on interest, the staffers' departure was apparently a coincidence. (Pacific Sun)
• MALT snatched a 126-acre dairy farm from the market just as it was receiving interest from non-agricultural buyers. The land is now permanently off-limits to development. (Pacific Sun)
• San Rafael is gaming out residential parking permits, as street parking has become increasingly scarce on unmetered residential streets. Perhaps, rather than a blanket prohibition on non-permitted cars, streets could be metered and time-limited for non-permitted cars. (IJ)
• One Bay Area officials got an earful of ugly at a meeting intended to solicit input on Plan Bay Area, now going through environmental review.  Rather than anything constructive, they got protests against human settlement gulags and global warming fabrications.  Have any of these listening meetings have yielded useful feedback? (Patch)
• Closure of the Novato Narrows got another $56 million in state funds, enough to extend the carpool lanes three miles. The project is part of a $700 million plan to widen the freeway in the area. The cost is roughly double that of SMART, and for a far shorter distance. (IJ)

The Greater Marin

• Santa Rosa has approved dramatic zoning changes to its Coddington Mall area, ensuring transit-oriented development around the new SMART station. Over a millions square feet of office space, nearly 3,000 housing units, and a whole lot of retail will feature in the infill development. (Press Democrat)
• Roundabouts, central to Cotati's planned (but floundering) downtown road diet, would be illegal in city limits if a ballot measure passes. (Press Democrat)
• A county, divided into rural west and urban east, questions what its future should be. Held in thrall by a development-happy Board of Supervisors, the county now faces whether the region's urban metro system should extend into its borders for the first time. Loudoun County, Virginia, is an alternative future of Marin, facing many of the same challenges we dealt with in the 1960s but without the geography and coalitions that were so instrumental to our success. (Washington City Paper)
• A transportation bill has finally passed the House and Senate, but it's not exactly what was hoped for. The transit tax reimbursement remains half that of the parking reimbursement, funds for transit have been slashed, and dedicated funding for active transportation like walking and bicycling have been cut in half. About the only consolation is that things aren't nearly as bad as they could have been. Oh, and it blocked $850 million in funding for Muni's Central Subway while gutting Safe Routes to School. (Streetsblog, Examiner, Pacific Sun)
• And...: The ATF has ruled last month's BART-disrupting fire as arson, but there are no suspects. (SFist) ... People seem to like Muni's new all-door boarding policy. Now if only GGT had all-door exiting... (SFGate)

Mid-Week Links: Decisions

Marin County

• SMART will consolidate its offices in a transit-unfriendly Petaluma office park, far from downtown and far from the city's planned rail station. A finalist property was downtown but even transit agencies can fall victim to the siren song of sprawl. The lease is up in six years. (Press Democrat, NBBJ)
• Norm Solomon has conceded the race for Congress to Republican Daniel Roberts, all but ensuring a smooth election for Assemblymember Jared Huffman to Lynn Woolsey's seat. (Patch)
• Golden Gate Transit, along with a host of other regional agencies, is hiking fares on buses and ferries on July 1. Drivers, alas, will keep paying the same tolls. (IJ, GGT)
• People are excited about closing the Novato Narrows by adding carpool lanes, the least bad kind of freeway expansion. On the downside, it'll suck ridership away from the other big transit project on that corridor, SMART. (IJ)
• The San Rafael Street Painting Festival is may not return again this year, or any other year. The wildly popular festival closes down Fourth Street for a day but has proven to be a money-losing enterprise for Youth in Arts, the sponsoring nonprofit, and they've called it quits. (IJ)
• Nobody likes waiting in line to exit the parking lot after the Marin County Fair, so why not take the bus instead? You could even park at your local Park & Ride. (GGT)
• And...: GGT's bus stops are now on Google Maps as the agency continues its new-found affinity for customer service. (Google) ... A Marin City housing activist will not be evicted for hosting her dying mother after all. (IJ) ... On the opposite end, a Belvedere couple bought and demolished a $4.2 million home to expand their views and, presumably, their yard. (SFist)

The Greater Marin

• Healdsburg is getting serious about bike infrastructure now that its petition to be an official Bicycle Friendly Community has been rejected by the League of American Bicyclists. (Press Democrat)
• Housing growth projections are notoriously difficult to get right, and the numbers ABAG is using for Plan Bay Area is complicated by internal and external politics to boot. (SF Public Press)
• SFMTA has its proposed alternatives for the Geary Bus Rapid Transit line available to browse and comment. Though the current plan is to give only the 38-Limited access to the route, GGT's Route 92 runs as a limited-stop service along Geary, so Marin City commuters stand to benefit from the process as well.  As well, Van Ness BRT has been approved has a preferred alternative, meaning one more step to better service for Muni, as well as GGT's Routes 10, 70, 80, 93, 101, and 101X. (Streetsblog) [edited per Viktoriya Wise's correction.]
• California High Speed Rail faces a major funding hurdle in Sacramento today. The Legislature needs to release $2.7 billion in bond money so construction can begin on the central part of the line in the Central Valley. But lawmakers have also released a Plan B that would focus the funds on LA and San Francisco improvements instead, and there's always the chance that no rail will pass at all. (Streetsblog)

Mid-Week Links: Dusk

It's national Dump the Pump Day! Leave the car at home and take transit to work.

Driving to work costs you and Marin a ridiculous amount of time and money while degrading the environment. Switching to transit means you'll have time to work on the bus or ferry and don't have to worry about traffic. Switching to a bike means you can cancel that gym membership, and anytime you walk to or from a bus stop you're making yourself healthier.

This year GGT and Marin Transit have made it easy to find a way to your job without 511.org (though the app is still handy). Google Maps has integrated the two agencies into its transit directions system, so you can figure out how to get where you need to go.

If you're already at work, don't worry; just take the bus tomorrow. Let us know how your commute goes in the comments.

Marin County

• Tam Valley's Evergreen sidewalk will be built. A judge threw out a lawsuit to stop the project, arguing that because the suit had come after construction had begun it wasn't timely. Neighbors, though, have vowed to continue the fight. (IJ, @scottalonso, MV Herald)
• It's now legal to rent your home, or part of your home, for less than 30 days in Sausalito. The council voted to lift the prohibition in anticipation of the America's Cup, but don't get too comfortable. Participating homeowners need to pay for a $238 permit and collect the 12% transient occupancy tax, and the law expires in October, 2013. (Marinscope)
• Sausalito resubmitted its draft housing element to the state with only minor tweaks and a letter addressing HCD's criticism of the plan. Sausalito's plan had been rejected by the state for a number of reasons, including over reliance on second units and liveabords. (Marinscope)
• San Anselmo is pondering whether to ban chain restaurants and shops from downtown or anywhere in the town, but the existence of local chain High Tech Burrito has thrown the plans a bit of a curveball. (Patch)
• SF Public Press has a wonderful series on Plan Bay Area and smart growth in general. So far the series has tackled local resistance to Plan Bay Area, reviews Forum's conversation on the plan, and why smart growth actually is a good idea. Despite a half-bungled report on carrying capacity, the whole series is a must-read. If you can't find a dead tree copy of the quarterly around, you can either wait for the slow drip of news online or just get it hand-delivered by the postman for $4. (SF Public Press, KQED)
• Critics of Plan Bay Area ignore history when declaring Marin doesn't grow, ignore environmentalism when declaring Marin must not grow, and ignore facts when declaring it a conspiracy at the highest levels. (Pacific Sun)
• GGT's @GoldenGateBus account tweeted about a bus service disruption caused by the Pier 29 fire. Though the tweet didn't include a link to the site that actually described which stops were effected, it's a good start and hopefully a sign of things to come. Great job, GGT! (Twitter, SFGate, GGT)
• Go see West End at tomorrow's Culture Crawl from 5pm-8pm. The neighborhood's merchants see far less traffic than downtown San Rafael just over the hill, though the neighborhood is far from dull. (IJ)
• And...: An unwalkable bit of south Novato is set to become home to 12-14 affordable housing units. (NBBJ) ... County supervisors passed a $473 million budget for the year. An unallocated chunk of $22 million will be divvied up in coming weeks. (IJ) ... It looks like San Rafael will pass a budget without cutting the Street Crimes Unit. (IJ)

The Greater Marin

• Plans for a car-free Market Street are chugging along in San Francisco under the aegis of Better Market Street. The plan would close Market from Embarcadero all the way down to Octavia, improving transit travel times and pedestrian and bicycle safety. If approved, expected opening date would be 2016. (SFist)
• Apartments are booming in downtown Windsor with 1,200 units on track to open over the next five years. The rapid pace of development near its future SMART station has left some wondering whether the city can absorb such growth, and whether it even ought to allow it. (Press-Democrat)
• Sacramento's light rail now reaches its riverfront, part of a major redevelopment plan for the capital's central neighborhoods. The city's step is to get it over the river, though there's no telling when the money will come in. (Sacramento Bee)
• The next phase of the American Dreamwill not look like the last 50 years of sprawl as people finally learn what Marin knew so long ago: that the heart of a place is its downtown, not its shopping mall. (NYT)
• The problems facing cities are as old as cities themselves. Ancient Rome had traffic jams, restrictions on freight travel within the city, noise pollution, slumlords, sky-high rents and poets to document it all. (The Iris via Planetizen)
• A 10-story development in downtown Santa Rosa got another permit extension as developers continue to face financial problems. (Press-Democrat)

Got a tip? Tweet @theGreaterMarin, email thegreatermarin [at] gmail.com, or post something on Facebook.

Mid-Week Links: Reclamation

Marin County

• Fairfax is hashing out how to implement Streets for People, its own version of San Francisco's incredibly successful Sunday Streets program. The town would close Bolinas for part of the day, opening it up to anyone on foot, bike, or other human-powered conveyance. (Patch)
• New blood on the Ross Valley Sanitary District board promises a management and policy shift. New member Mary Sylla is opposed to new bonds and rate hikes intended to speed the district's century-long pipe replacement cycle. Marcia Johnson, who lost her re-election bid, was a supporter. (IJ)
• Tonight, chat with Blithedale Terrace developer Phil Richardson about his proposed 20-unit condo development in lower Mill Valley - 7pm, The Forest Room of the Mill Valley Community Center. (Patch)
• A new sidewalk is under construction in Homestead Valley's Evergreen Avenue under the county's Safe Routes to School program. People still don't like the plan, saying it undermines the community's semi-rural character. There may be an injunction filed to stop the project, which is designed make the route to school safer. (IJ, @mikesonn, Mill Valley Herald)
• A new Santa Venetia subdivision will not go forward as planned, at least not yet. County Supervisors rejected the 14-unit sprawl project pending a few more months of study. Unfortunately, the area is zoned for 15 units on one-acre plots, so it's unlikely the project can be stopped entirely. (IJ)
• Ever wondered how much your town's Director of Public Works was paid? Bay Area News Group has created a searchable database of all public employee salaries in the Bay Area, so you can know at last. (IJ)
• Ross faces dramatic cuts now that the town declined to pass the $642,000 public safety tax. Two police officers, a firefighter, and a firefighting apprenticeship program are all on the chopping block. The town will cut other areas to keep the damage minimal. (Ross Valley Reporter)
• The draft Civic Center Station Area Plan has been released to the public and to the Board of Supervisors, who are reviewing the draft now. The plan creates more housing, rezones parts of the auto-oriented neighborhood, and creates a better pedestrian circulation pattern through the area. (Pacific Sun)
• And...: A yard that has encroached on open space for more than 20 years will finally be returned to San Rafael, though the owners have a history of ignoring officialdom on the subject, so who knows? (IJ) ... In a picture of sweetness and light, a Corte Madera father and daughter spent the whole school year biking in tandem to kindergarten. (Twin Cities Times) ... Brad Breithaupt goes deeper into the voting numbers from last Tuesday's election. (IJ)

The Greater Marin

• A comprehensive report on San Francisco's multifaceted and crowded transit system has been released. The 103-year-old report details the pre-Muni world of streetcars and rails in the aftermath of the earthquake and fire. Among the recommendations? Getting rid of horse-drawn cars. (Muni Diaries)
• Apple will stop using Google Maps on its iPhones, and it won't include transit directions. You may have to go back to using that 511.org app... (Streetsblog)
• It turns out Muni has been neglecting maintenance for years as the agency has sacrificed long-term financial stability for short-term savings. Be glad you have GGT managing your fleet, Marin. (SF Weekly)
• A bill to create a statewide ceiling on parking requirements around transit has shown signs of life in the state Senate. AB 904 would force localities to require no more than one parking space per housing unit, 1,000 square feet of retail, or other measures. (Around the Capitol via @MarketUrbanism and @mottsmith)
• If you want to encourage transit ridership, the best way is to price driving. While expanding a rail network by 10% nets a 3% gain in ridership, effective car regulations (like congestion pricing) nets a 10-20% increase in ridership and a commensurate decrease in driving. (Atlantic Cities)
• And...: Santa Rosa mulls electing its councilmembers by district rather than at-large. (Press-Democrat) ... The small-government aspects of smart growth appeal to at least some conservatives. (Next American City) ... Frank Lloyd Wright hated cities. (Atlantic Cities)

Got a tip? Tweet @theGreaterMarin, email thegreatermarin [at] gmail.com, or post something on Facebook.

Mid-Week Links: Halls of Power

Elections

It was a crazy night on Tuesday, if by crazy you mean "everyone stayed home." Whether or not people had a say, the elections happened anyway and Marin's incumbents did rather well.

• Nationally, assemblyman and Woolsey-endorsed successor Jared Huffman ran away with first place in the 2nd District's first round election. Still undecided is whether the centrist will run against liberal Norm Solomon or conservative Dan Roberts which could decide whether the race is quite difficult or quite easy for the former state assemblyman. (IJ, Press-Democrat)
• In California, Assemblyman Michael Allen and San Rafael Councilmember Marc Levine beat the rest of the pack to  first and second place in the open primary for the 10th Assembly seat. The Democrat-on-Democrat battle promises to be bruising as both fight over who is more of a Sacramento outsider and genuine local of the North Bay. (Press-Democrat)
• Marin County Supervisors Katie Rice and Steve Kinsey walked away with clear victories against their opponents, reflecting the prevailing feelings of contentment with the Board, if not the regional agencies it deals with. (IJ)
• Locally...: Ross rejected the Measure C public safety tax while seeming to settle on three new councilmembers. (IJ) ... Belvedere got three new councilmembers and renewed its public safety tax. (IJ) ... Voters firmly rejected incumbent Ross Valley Sanitary District board member Marcia Johnson, who supported doubling rates in order for the district to fix its lines faster than once per century. (IJ) ... The Ross Valley School District will get its parcel tax hike, which it said it needed to offset state budget cuts. (IJ) ... Sausalito will join the Southern Marin Fire Protection District. (Marinscope)

Marin County

• Hopes are running high that fans of the San Rafael Pacifics will become patrons of downtown businesses given Albert Field's location only three blocks from Fourth Street. (NBBJ)
• GGT fares are growing faster than tolls at the Golden Gate Bridge, creating a perverse incentive for people to drive rather than take the bus. Though politically easy, it's the opposite of what the Bridge District should do. (Streetsblog)
• Meanwhile, MT is wringing its hands over a 3.6% increase in operating costs, driven mostly by increases in its $16 million contract with GGT to provide local service. They want to renegotiate the contract, but it's unclear whether GGT will budge. (IJ)
• San Rafael's Street Crimes Unit is up for disbandment as the council grapples with ongoing budget deficits. The three-member unit has two retirements this year and the council may not allow the police department to hire replacements. Given the high-profile crime push at the transit center earlier this year, ongoing gang activity in Terra Linda, the Canal, Novato, and the criminal problems downtown, I think this is an instance of eating your seed corn. (Patch)
• All your transit needs will now be satisfied at the new GGT/MT customer service center at the Bettini Transit Center. GGT will move its customer service center to the center so it can be close to the people who actually use transit. (IJ)
• Marin's local agencies and districts should consolidate to avoid duplication of services and save money, according to a Grand Jury report on the subject. The overwhelming approval of fire consolidation in Sausalito this past week is a good start. One former councilmember wants us to go even further. (Patch, Marinscope)
• A Corte Madera manufacturing company, EO Products, is moving to the Canal after an exhaustive search of the region. The site is near existing transit and within walking distance of much of the immigrant neighborhood. (IJ)
• A year after Corte Madera Mayor Bob Ravasio and San Rafael Councilmember Damon Connolly got a tour of The Netherlands' bike infrastructure, sponsored by the Bikes Belong Foundation, there seems to still be some behind-the-scenes movement towards bicycling. (Planetizen, Bikes Belong)
• And...: The San Rafael Airport sports complex moves on to the council. (IJ) ... Mill Valley approved some condos downtown over the objection of Streamkeepers. (IJ) ... Who does the North San Rafael Coalition of Residents really represent? (IJ letter)

The Greater Marin

• At least one West Sonoman wants the county to sell its western half to Marin. At least we maintain our rural roads, he says, while Sonoma is determined to turn its roads into gravel. In light of a massive road repair deficit and deadlock over taxes, though, who could blame them? (Press-Democrat)
• The East Bay is working to promote transit-oriented living around its BART stations, something long lacking in the sprawl of the East. Not mentioned are updates to Richmond's General Plan which attempt to make walkable the notoriously unwalkable city. (New Colonist, City of Richmond)

Mid-Week Links: Build to the Boom

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26xOvGADc4c]If you have 45 minutes, listen to Chris Leinberger's presentation in Kansas City about walkable housing development. He makes a strong argument for building more walkable centers for those that want it - exactly the sort of thing Marin and Sonoma are planning around their SMART stations and exactly the way our towns were built a century ago. (SGA)

Marin County

• Caltrans has allocated another $112 million to widening Highway 101 between Sonoma and Marin, not quite enough to bridge the $177 million gap in its billion-dollar widening project, duplicating much of SMART's future service. (NBBJ)
• Golden Gate Ferry workers went on a surprise strike last Saturday to draw attention to stalled contract negotiations. Terminal attendants want a raise as compensation for new duties they took on after ticket takers were laid off, while sailors and captains want private quarters aboard the ferries, among other complaints. (IJ)
• The Board of Supervisors spent $75,000 in discretionary funds this quarter on items ranging from high schools to the opera. Where did your Supervisor invest discretionary funds this quarter? (IJ)
• As expected, Novato will move ahead with its downtown office plan, voting 3-1 to proceed with construction. (Pacific Sun)
• The Drake's Bay Oyster Company has been farming oysters in Drake's Bay for over a century, but the National Park Service may not renew their lease. Though the arguments for and against renewal have revolved around science, the basic question is philosophical - whether a wilderness area should have commerce. (Pacific Sun)
• A nifty tool developed by the Greenbelt Alliance shows the various greenfield developments on open space. Though it doesn't seem comprehensive, for what it has it's quite useful. (Greenbelt Alliance)
• If your bike was stolen recently, it may be in police custody. Hundreds of bikes were found after SFPD busted up a ring of thieves, and they've released pictures of the merchandise. (SFist)

The Greater Marin

• As it turns out, Marinites aren't the only ones who value their walkable town centers. Homes in walkable neighborhoods command significantly higher prices than places that are not. Even Des Moines, IA, is getting in on the action. (NYT, Des Moines Register)
• The explosive growth and new-found prosperity of Washington, DC, is based on childless singles and couples, who each net the District about $6,000 more per year than those with children. (These are the same folks Marin excludes due to density policies.) Now that these singles are getting married, can Washington adapt? (Atlantic Cities)
• About 25,000 San Franciscans were forced off the road when a handful of people driving private automobiles, with police escort, pushed their way into a street fair on Sunday. The action ended the celebration and opened the way for through traffic. (Examiner.com)
• The Golden Gate Bridge was never in danger of collapsing on its 50th Anniversary, despite the spooky sight of a bridge flattened by the massive crowd in the middle. (Mercury News)
• How hard would it be to rebuild the Golden Gate Bridge were it done today? Given environmental review, agency oversight, and a more contentious political environment, it's safe to say it would be tough. (IJ)
• The tallest building in the West will redefine San Francisco's skyline and serve as the centerpiece of the new Transbay Terminal. The building was approved over objections from people concerned about shadows. (Chronicle)
• The sector plan for Santa Rosa's northern SMART station is coming together nicely, with a great deal of effort to move people away from cars, reconnect the street grid, and apply the kind of density this sort of project can support. Not everyone is happy, however, with Coddington Mall managers especially concerned over new rights-of-way called for in the plan. (Press-Democrat)

Mid-Week Links: Build It and They Will Come

Marin County

Well it looks like the other news organizations passed right on by the development news this week, and there's no transit news to speak of. I suppose, then, these are the highlights from this week's IJ.

• The Grady Ranch debacle has reached New Yorker's ears. The game of telephone, of course, has done wonders for our county's image as an insular enclave for the granola-munching wealthy. Back in Marin, there is still debate as to whether opponents abused the system or not, or even whether they should be to blame. (NYT, IJ)
• In the fallout of Grady Ranch, county staff want to create a panel to cut red tape and streamline permitting, and the supervisors seem to be on board. The results likely won't mean much for developers in incorporated areas, who often need council approval to open a sandwich shop. (IJ)
• Fully 85% of Marin's land is protected from development, according to a new Greenbelt Alliance study, the most in any Bay Area county. Only 12.7% of our land is urbanized, and only 0.7% is at risk of development. (IJ)
• Michael Rock, town manager and public works director of Fairfax, has resigned in order to pursue a position in what I can only presume is the far less interesting Lomita, CA. His last day as manager will be the June 22 budget meeting. (IJ, Fairfax)
• Sausalito will not rezone a small area of old town for housing development after all. The two parcels in question could have accommodated 18 units of affordable housing but will continue in their role as offices. (IJ)
• Under pressure from the feds, Novato's remaining pot dispensary will close, leaving only one dispensary operating in the county. (IJ)
• The $950 million Highway 101 widening project chugs forward, but the last $177 million hasn't been found. At least CalTrans still has $20.5 million to repave 8.5 miles of the freeway from Vista Point to Lucky Drive. (Press-Democrat, IJ)
• A San Rafael native has been enlivening the streetscape of Washington, DC, by playing the violin to passersby from his rowhome's balcony. (Patch)
• And...: Fifteen office buildings totalling about 710,000 square are up for sale in Marin. (IJ) ... Terrorism, not the threat of bridge collapse, is the reason you can't walk across the Bridge on its 75th. (IJ)

The Greater Marin

• MTC and ABAG have approved Plan Bay Area. It now goes out for environmental review before final approval in April. (SF Chronicle)
• The San Francisco Bay Area has a surplus of capital looking for new tech start-ups but restrictive housing policies drive up rents, which drive up wages, which inflates start-ups' costs of doing business, which drives down the number of new start-ups to invest in, and that's bad for everyone.  (Forbes via Planetizen)
• The State Senate will vote today on the three-foot passing law, requiring drivers pass bikers with at least three feet of clearance. (Cyclelicious)
• The neighborhood planning battles of Seattle bear a striking resemblance to the planning issues faced by Marin's small towns. (Crosscut)
• Young people are moving away from the car. Has the driver's seat lost its old magic? (Washington Post)
• BART's long-term plans include express trains, better stations, and shorter headways. (Examiner)

New Publishing Schedule

To accommodate the broadest possible media coverage in Mid-Week Links, I will be posting them on Thursday instead of Wednesday from here on.  Marinscope's hyper-local newspapers - Ross Valley Reporter, San Rafael News-Pointer, Twin Cities Times, Mill Valley Herald, Novato Advance, and Sausalito Marinscope - publish on Wednesday afternoon, and I'd like to include their coverage of the week's events.

More diversity means you'll have the best chance of getting the best coverage of a given issue when you click on a link. Though the IJ and Patch will likely remain the dominant news sources, Marinscope has some wonderful reporters whose writing should be read more broadly than it already is. See you tomorrow.

Have a tip? Send it to thegreatermarin [at] gmail.com.

Mid-Week Links: Until Next Time

Thank you all who came out to last week's happy hour!  We had a small group - a couple of planning commissioners, a couple of regular readers - and it was good fun.  The next one will likely be around the end of September, so keep an eye out.  In the mean time, I'm back in DC keeping an eye out for the goings-on in Marin.

It's been two weeks with no links, so let's get caught up.

Marin County

• What might One Bay Area learn from other regions as it crafts its Sustainable Communities Strategy?  First of all, make sure to do good outreach, and second, make sure to invest enough in transit. ABAG's outreach has thus far been horrifically bad, at least in Marin, but at least MTC is on the ball with transit investment. (SPUR)
• As it turns out, San Rafael's red light cameras at 3rd & Irving are good for safety, reducing accidents by 12% over the last fiscal year while also reducing the total number of citations. Win/win, in my book. (IJ)
• The Board of Supervisors wants San Rafael to take its due diligence regarding the proposed San Rafael Airport sports complex. While most of the neighbors are in unincorporated areas like Santa Venetia and so fall directly under the county, the airport itself is under the city. (IJ)
• Apparently, George Lucas was serious when he proposed building affordable housing at Grady Ranch.  I can scarcely think of a worse place for it, though the irony is rich. (Ross Valley Reporter)
• Then again, perhaps Grady Ranch wasn't such a slam-dunk for the environment after all... (IJ)
• Are you a smoker living in an apartment or condo in unincorporated Marin? Better quit now - the Board of Supervisors is likely to ban smoking in apartments and condos, both indoor and outdoor, next week. (IJ)
• West Marin tourists, park rangers, and bobcats got a pedestrian upgrade when two bridges were installed near Sausalito - one 180-foot span that bridges a creek and wetland, and another one 60-foot span. They were built so walkers could bypass nearby traffic. (IJ)
• Sausalito's Housing Element has been rejected by HCD, which cited a lack of 20-unit-per-acre developments and zoning. The city will take a second look and consider revisions. (Marinscope)
• The 75th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge, celebrated on May 27, will be a grand affair with no parking, so take transit!  There's free bike parking at the Presidio, both Muni and GGT will boost their buses, there will be buses to the Larkspur Ferry (a shock!), and it will generally be a good time. Alas, Marin Transit doesn't seem to be adding service so be prepared to walk, bike, or taxi from your bus pad or transit center of choice. Oh, and I recommend getting Clipper Cards for the family - saves you money and time boarding the bus and ferry, not to mention that it makes transfers to Muni easier. (Patch, GGB75, ClipperCard, IJ)
• And...: The upcoming June 5 election?  Yeah, there's an app for that. (Patch) ... This week there were five DUIs on 101 in just a day. Be careful out there, people. (News Pointer) ... Bus Rapid Transit on Van Ness is a go, and is set to open in 2016. (Chronicle) ... Dispelling rumors on bike lanes and bike safety. (Mercury News) ... The Golden Gate Bridge had its share of detractors. (SFist)

The Greater Marin

• If you missed it (I did), there's a proposal winding through Sacramento to consolidate MTC, ABAG, BAAQMD, and BCDC into a single agency called the Bay Area Regional Commission governed by 15 commissioners elected from new districts in the Bay Area.  Fearing a loss of influence, Napa is fighting this one tooth and nail. (Napa Valley Register)
• Martinez may soon join the city of Napa in switching its downtown streets to two-way. Ought San Rafael follow suit? (Contra Costa Times)
• In a move that defines ambition, Chicago declared that it would have no road fatalities in 20 years. (Streetsblog)
• Sometimes we go so long without transit that we forget how to behave, or we are so used to transit we never unlearn our bad habits. SFist has a great series of articles on transit and walking etiquette that I heartily recommend to you.
• If you want a better street and live in San Francisco, check their new website for info on how to get some street improvements on your own.  Marinites, well, check it out for some street envy. Perhaps one day even Novato will warm to the parklet. (Streetsblog)
• Cincinnati is giving form-based zoning a try, allowing neighborhoods to develop along the lines of how they wnat to look, rather than just based on how buildings are used. (Cincinnati.com via Planetizen)
• UPDATE: People that live where it's easy to walk from home to work or stores tend to do so, and also tend to bike significantly more than their more thinly-spread compatriots. Though the study was done in some of DC's more tony neighborhoods, I suspect you'd find the same thing in the old TOD downtowns of Marin. (Washington Post)

Mid-Week Links: Cheers!

The Second The Greater Marin Happy Hour

Good news everyone!  The second The Greater Marin Happy Hour will be held next Thursday at San Rafael Joe's - no more 29 bus madness (sadness?) and the ferry like last time. With GGT on Google Maps, you shouldn't have any trouble finding your way, even if you work in Belvedere.  I'll have some signs out around the bar like last time, but if you can't find us just email me at theGreaterMarin [at] gmail.com and I'll try to wave you down.  I hope to see you all there!

Who: You, me, and anyone else you happen to invite (and please do invite people!) When: Thursday, May 10, 6pm, though you're absolutely welcome to come late Where: San Rafael Joe's, 931 Fourth Street, San Rafael, CA

In another bit of blog news, you'll notice over on the sidebar that I'm open for business as a communications and planning consultant. If you want my brain working for you, get in touch with me at the email address on the right.  I'll be in the Bay Area from May 10-15 and am perfectly willing to travel as needed.

Right, now that that's all done with, on to the news of the week.

Marin County

• Golden Gate Ferry workers went on strike yesterday to protest the slow pace of talks between their union and the transit district. They may call another strike on May 10 if progress remains unacceptably slow. (Chronicle)
• San Francisco is moving towards a true BRT line on Van Ness, with center-running lanes compatible with existing buses. The line would serve Muni routes 47 and 49, as well as GGT routes 10, 70, 80, 93, and 101. It will be a boon to all riders along the corridor, though if GGT could pick up intra-San Francisco trips it would be even better. (Transbay Blog)
• The Doyle Drive closure went off without a hitch, and the resulting roadway looks pretty nifty.  I do wonder about the eventual 12-lane configuration - neither the bridge nor the approach can handle so much traffic. (Chronicle, SFist)
• Larkspur mulls what to do with 2.5 acres of land on the Niven Nursery site. The frontrunner idea is a new library. (IJ)
• Marin's population grew 0.7% this past year, rather faster than Plan Bay Area's 0.2% housing growth prediction. And here I thought we were slow-growth (no I didn't). (IJ)
• The West Sidewalk of the Golden Gate Bridge is finally open again. (GGBHTD)
• This Friday at 7pm, stop by the Mill Valley Library for a talk by noted urbanist Peter Calthorpe on Mill Valley, urbanism, and the Bay Area's future. Let me know how it goes. (MVPL)

The Greater Marin

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/40686130 w=620&h=348]

Just across the bridge, San Francisco is doing some truly amazing things to promote a more walkable, livable city.  What lessons can we learn from San Francisco, and how can we apply them to Marin?  Personally, I'd love to see a San Rafael Park(ing) Day. (Streetfilms)

• While BART is finally coming to San Jose, transportation planners are cutting their own feet out from under themselves by significantly widening two major freeways in Santa Clara, one to 8 lanes and the other to a whopping 12. (Mercury News)
• Operating costs for High Speed Rail won't be nearly as high as opponents claim. (Systemic Failure)
• With more cars came more people dying on the roads, and Europe and the United States took dramatically different paths.  While Europeans got mad at the cars and pushed back in favor of more pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, the United States pushed people out of the way of the cars, razing its city centers for parking and wider roads. (Atlantic Cities)
• Ever wondered what the view is like from atop Sutro Tower? Now you know. (SFist)

Mid-Week Links: End of the Line

Marin County

San Anselmo's Easy Street Cafe will close this Sunday after struggling with the economy and the Redhill Shopping Center remodel.  There is still hope that it will reopen somewhere else, though the odds seem slim.  With this institution's closure, speculation is running rampant that the shopping center is turning into a regular chain-dominated strip mall.  So far, eight businesses have moved out or been evicted.  You can find their letter on the Pacific Sun. On a personal note, I am quite saddened by the loss.  It's my favorite breakfast spot in Marin and I haven't found anyplace better in DC. Since I can't make it to the closing, eat some bangers and scrambled eggs for me and I'll buy you a beer at the next happy hour. (IJ, Pacific Sun)

• Just as regulatory hurdles were cleared, Lucasfilm formerly withdrew its Grady Ranch proposal, beginning a mad scramble around the North Bay to woo what a few Marin activists said would constitute the Hollywoodization of Lucas Valley. (IJ, San Rafael Patch)
• For Earth Day, San Rafael promoted recycling, energy efficiency, and electric cars, but remains entirely silent on walking or biking.  Perhaps next year they'll install a bike rack or two downtown? (IJ)
• Travel on the Golden Gate Bridge is going to be terrible next week.  Not only is Doyle Drive closing, but Occupy SF plans to close the bridge on Tuesday. (SFist)
• SMART is exploring a station near the Sonoma County Airport, which would be at their planned maintenance facility on Airport Boulevard.  Details are still sketchy, to say the least, but it would certainly make the airport a more attractive option for Marinites. (Press-Democrat)
• SMART has approved a more sustainable pension plan for future employees than what it has now, remedying one of the Grand Jury's principal gripes about the system. (Press-Democrat)
• The Board of Supervisors has formally requested an audit of Plan Bay Area growth projections, saying that the job growth numbers just don't seem realistic. (IJ)
• Larkspur and MTC are looking for a few good souls to fill out their boards.  MTC has four vacancies on their Policy Advisory Council, while Larkspur has openings on the Planning Commission, Parks & Rec Commission, and the Heritage Preservation Board. Take a look to see if you want get involved. (IJ, PR Newswire)

The Greater Marin

• When you make a great place you're making great people habitat, and that's good for the environment and all the natural habitat we need to protect.  New Urbanism is a New Environmentalism. (NRDC Switchboard)
• The headaches caused by private bus companies in San Francisco are starting to get noticed, and the city may start to regulate. (SFBG)
• Electric bikes can dramatically expand the reach and audience of bicycling.  In spread-out and hilly Marin, the electric assist can be a life-saver for the unfit. (Clarendon Patch)
• Sonoma County faces a $120 million road maintenance backlog and only $4.5 million per year to fix it.  Though the county is looking for new revenues, perhaps it could spend less money on widening 101 instead. (Press-Democrat)
• California will soon get $100 million in new electric car charging infrastructure, part of a settlement with energy companies related to the state's 2001 energy crisis.  (Chronicle)

Mid-Week Links: Keep Moving

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/40472684 w=620&h=349] As Marin ages - it's already the oldest in the Bay Area - keeping people active and involved in their communities means making the bus system work for them.  As commenter Dan Lyke often points out, GGT has done a terrible job of making itself friendly to the disabled and handicapped, and I suspect the elderly, when giving up their cars, will be in the same boat.  Improving transit service isn't just for young urbanites like me, or the poor, but is imperative to keeping our seniors moving.

Marin County

• A police crackdown on crime around San Rafael's Bettini Transit Center was quite a success, resulting in 79 arrests and a marked decrease in common criminality in the area. Transit-oriented development and traffic-calming measures would help put more people on the street and keep this kind of crime from reappearing. (IJ)
• While supporters of Lucasfilm's Grady Ranch development rallied in county board chambers, others wondered what it would take for affordable housing to grow there, as Lucas plans to sell the property for just that purpose. (IJ)
• A pedestrian/bicycle bridge across San Rafael Creek at Grand Avenue is in the works at city hall, though funding has yet to be secured. (Patch)
• And...: Is an 1890s-era house in Larkspur worth saving? (IJ) ... Apparently it costs $200,000 to be late with a home remodeling project in Belvedere. (IJ)

The Greater Marin

• Golden Gate Park was partially closed to cars last Sunday, giving residents a chance to just enjoy the park without the fear of getting hit by a car. Come out to the Mission on May 6 for more! They promise no stabbings. (SanFranciscoize, Mission Mission)
• If you didn't already know, Muni buses now sport cameras to record parking violations or cars driving in the bus-only lanes. Though great for bus riders and Muni's budget, drivers need to be on the lookout. (Muni Diaries)
• Car-dependence in Concord has claimed many lives in car crashes, but the deaths of a father and his 9-year-old daughter have shone a spotlight on the dangers of such design. The father and daughter were riding bikes on the sidewalk when they were struck by a 17-year-old driving an SUV. (Bay Citizen)

Mid-Week Links: The Subdivisions

Marin County

• LucasFilm has pulled its Grady Ranch proposal and will sell the land as affordable housing thanks to NIMBY opposition, stating, "Marin is a bedroom community and is committed to building subdivisions, not businesses." Ouch. (Pacific Sun)
• The Town of Fairfax has a new General Plan.  Among other things, the plan gives downtown businesses the opportunity to build second-story apartment units by right, rather than seeking special approval. (Town Manager)
• Supervisor Arnold wants to know why growth projections for Marin have fluctuated so wildly in the Plan Bay Area draft SCS, and also why they are so out of line with historic norms. If the assumptions for Marin are flawed, she writes, then the whole process for the Bay Area is flawed. (IJ)
• The March 28 MCCMC meeting offered opponents of housing quotas and ABAG to vent their frustrations against the regional agency. In the end, they also got leftover cookies. (Twin Cities Times)
• Staying within ABAG is not just good for Marin - it's good for the region, because what worries us ought to worry the rest of the Bay Area. (IJ)
• Marin's Local Coastal Program has gone through a four year epic journey of Coastal Commission and West Marin politics, public comments, criticism that it does too much (or too little), and even a splash of dominion theology as the county has worked to update the decades-old document. If you need some catching up, you may want to start here. (Pacific Sun)
• And...: The AT&T Park ferry ride is getting too complicated, and too expensive, what with online reservations and a new convenience fee. (IJ) ... A sidewalkless street in Homestead Valley is getting some sidewalks. (IJ) ... What sort of light should a bicycle have? (Mercury News)

The Greater Marin

• The finances and projections of California High Speed Rail are under scrutiny by noted rail opponent Representative Darryl Issa, chairman of the House Oversight Committee. (Politico)
• San Francisco's Transit Effectiveness Project SFMTA will give Muni buses signal priority by next year. I'm hoping GGT gets in on that. (Streetsblog) [edit - contrary to Streetsblog's summary, signal priority is a related but separate program from TEP.]
• Someone in San Francisco wants to park a tiny, 130 square foot house in a driveway. The plans are actually quite nice and would make a lovely second unit, though I thought the minimum dwelling size under California state law was 160 square feet. (SFist)
• Little City Gardens will be San Francisco's first real urban farm now that the city has approved a zoning change for the market. It will sell and grow its produce on the same property. (SPUR)
• Cotati's downtown revitalization plan will move forward, but because it uses redevelopment funds the vote is up for state approval. (Press-Democrat)
• The Southern California Association of Governments - ABAG and MTC's Los Angelino cousin - approved its version of Plan Bay Area.  The sustainable communities strategy will spend half its transportation funding on mass transit rather than cars over the next 25 years, though a number of communities said it didn't go far enough. Streetsblog has details. (SF Chronicle, Streetsblog)

Mid-Week Links: Colombian Roast

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/39704761 w=620&h=349] Medellín has a transit system unlike any other.  For the steep mountainsides there are gondolas and escalators; for the center city, there are metro trains and BRT, and for everywhere else there's a burgeoning bikeshare system. Whenever I see movies like this, I imagine what kind of place Marin might have been if the trains had never stopped running, if BART had made it across the bridge, if we didn't value mall parking above people and the planet.  What kind of a country would we be if, rather than putting cars before people, we put people before cars?

Marin County

• The Ritter Center will expand into a temporary medical space, thanks to approval by the San Rafael council Monday night, but will be limited to only 60 clients per day rather than the 65 requested. (Pacific Sun)
• Opponents of the Albert Park minor league plan have filed suit, arguing that professional baseball violates the park's deed restriction against commercial activity. (Patch)
• If you want to influence your town, show up to public meetings, if only to counterbalance the protestors that tend to show up instead. (Herald)
• The Board of Supervisors delayed a vote on Lucas Valley's Grady Ranch, pending review of environmental concerns raised by the Corps of Engineers and others. (IJ)
• And...: Corte Madera started work on a new public plaza and cafe at its town-owned shopping center. (IJ) ... San Anselmo approved a new parking lot across from downtown. (IJ) ... Novato will install six electric car charging stations. (IJ) ... San Anselmo is considering major improvements to Greenfield Avenue. (IJ)

The Greater Marin

• Congress approved a 90 day extension of federal transportation legislation, ensuring the gas tax and road construction funds did not end last weekend. The House never took up the Senate transportation bill, and the result is all kinds of bad. (The Hill)
• Cost estimates for California High Speed Rail plummeted $30 billion under a new business plan released this week. (SFist)
• Golden Gate/Marin Transit may not be the best transit system in the world, but at least it's typically on time - something Muni can't really boast. (SFist)
• In the City often?  Need a break from the bustle?  You may want to investigate the privately owned public spaces that dot the landscape. (SFist)

Mid-Week Links: Transportation Fantastic

A unified transit map of the Bay Area is an elusive thing, though others have tried.  Building such a map should be the job of MTC, but just diagramming major routes over such a massive region as the Bay Area is a noble and necessary undertaking.  Brian Stokle, for SPUR, did just such a thing, and the result highlights the disconnected nature of our systems as well as the centrality of San Francisco to the region.  It's starting to make waves elsewhere, and I'll be addressing his fantasy map's vision for Marin later this week.

Marin County

• West Marin's farmworkers will have a chance to live where they work under a new program by the county to build and rehabilitate homes, showing that good urban policy is good rural policy. (IJ)
• Opponents to regionalism get organized with the founding of the Marin County Communities for Local Control.  Involved politicians are a who's-who of Marin's conservatives - relatively speaking, of course. (IJ)
• Hopefully these opponents know that Plan Bay Area does not supersede local planning or land use law. (Spotswood)
• Larkspur's SMART station is held up by Anderson Drive.  San Rafael paved over the tracks to extend the road in 1997 and now doesn't have the money to make the crossing safe. (IJ)
• The Ritter Center needs more space for its clinic, and it shouldn't have to wait for a downtown San Rafael strategic plan before it expands into temporary space. (IJ)
• After last year's successful launch, food trucking will be expanded at Larkspur Landing to a week-long presence.  This shows the strong desire for something more than just a parking lot at the ferry terminal. (Patch)
• Mark your calendar: On April 4, Supervisor Kinsey will talk about transit in Northwest Marin and the possibilities of linking Petaluma to Tomales via Dillon Beach. (IJ)
• NIMBYism rules in Mill Valley, where the Blithedale Terrace development hit a snag on Monday when the planning commission decided not to forward the EIR to the council for approval.  A special study session will be planned instead to address concerns about size, density, and traffic. (IJ)

The Greater Marin

• While Marin considers its own bikeshare system, DC's system shows it does far more than just provide bikes: it boosts transit ridership, bike ridership, and provides for a significantly healthier region. (Wash Cycle)
• ...and more bikers means a healthier economy, with more window-shopping and better engagement with the street than one gets out of just driving. (Streetsblog)
• High-occupancy toll lanes are opening around the Bay Area, but not Marin. (SF Chronicle)
• Napa challenged its preliminary draft RHNA numbers and uncovered problems with ABAG's data analysis.  The next draft numbers will likely show significantly fewer housing numbers.  I wonder if this will alter Marin's allocation. (Napa Valley Register)
• The World Health Organization has a new tool to evaluate the economic and health benefits of better cycling and walking infrastructure, facilitating cost/benefit analyses for planners and advocates alike. (Streetsblog)

Mid-Week Links: Afternoon on the Bay

Marin County

• Neighbors to the proposed Grady Ranch development have appealed the county's approval of the project. The Lucas Valley Estates Homeowners Association alleges Grady Ranch would cause too much noise, light pollution, and be a general nuisance. (News Pointer)
• The San Rafael Airport Rec Center project could run afoul of new California regulations on development near airports.  Though the project fit the old standards, a consultant has been hired to ensure it meets the new ones as well. (IJ)
• Now that nobody is running for Ross Town Council, it's up to potential candidates to file for a write-in candidacy.  If there's an insufficient number of write-in candidates, the three positions will be appointees. (Ross Valley Reporter)
• Sausalito wants to ease the problem of bike tourists getting stuck in town by setting up a ferry reservation system for cyclists, a far more efficient method than the current first-come-first-served method.  Expanding San Francisco's bikeshare system to town may also help the more casual riders that don't want to cross the bridge. (IJ)
• San Anselmo's moribund nightlife will get a boost this summer, as two wine bars are slated to open downtown - a near-first for the town. (Patch)
• Novato's revenues are better than expected, to the tune of $600,000.  Though the city is still in austerity mode, an expected transfer of $300,000 from the rainy day fund has been canceled. (Advance)
• Southern Marin's bikepaths got a $118,000 infusion of maintenance money from TAM.  Though chump change compared to road maintenance, the grant is a welcome recognition of the paths' importance. (Marinscope)

The Greater Marin

• San Francisco's performance parking experiment is finally yielding positive results, with spots opening up around high-priced areas and filling up in cheaper areas. (New York Times)
• Meanwhile, New York City is suffering thanks to its onerous parking minimums, which drive up the cost of housing in an already expensive city.  Though the practice of banishing parking minimums in favor of parking maximums is recommended in the draft Plan Bay Area, Marin's transit districts would be wise to take heed. (Streetsblog)
• Then again, pushing for strictly infill development and densification by loosening regulation won't solve our housing problem given the pace of infill development, the extraordinary costs of consolidating properties, and political wrangling necessary to actually build the thing.  (Old Urbanist)
• A 2001 study argues that transit-oriented development is not a traffic cure-all, as much of the benefits of TOD comes from densification and better location than simply better travel modes. (Half-Mile Circles)
• If we want biking to take off, we must take it seriously as a form of transportation first and recreation second, something Americans typically don't do. (RPUS)

Mid-Week Links: Plans from On High

Plan Bay Area

• Pacific Sun has a wonderful rundown, as they so often do, of the issues surrounding One Bay Area and Plan Bay Area - from the workshops disrupted by tea party agitators to historical context to just what the plan actually hopes to achieve.
• One Bay Area has cut job and housing growth projections for Marin, with significant housing cuts in some towns and dramatic increases in others.  Town planners will be consulted for the next draft figures, to be released in May. (IJ)
• However, Supervisor Judy Arnold, Marin's alternate representative to ABAG,  called Plan Bay Area's projected job increase in Marin unrealistic, citing a shrinking, rather than growing, job pool in the county. County staff will examine the numbers, and a decision will then be made whether to proceed with an appeal. (IJ)

Marin County

• The Downtown San Rafael BID will get a $250,000 cash infusion for advertising and events after Keep It Local San Rafael settled their lawsuit against Target and Cal-Pox. (IJ)
• San Anselmo is still tied in knots as it tries to tighten design review ordinances.  Neighbors are still upset over the addition to Councilmember Kroot's home. (Ross Valley Reporter)
• Joe Casalnuevo, who successfully challenged county ordinances over whether split lots needed to pay in-lieu affordable housing fees, has taken Marin to court over the fight, alleging $60,000 in damages and time lost fighting the fee. (IJ)
• MCBC is taking volunteers for its annual Bike Locally Challenge, though at six months it may be a bit long for a promotion.  Arlington County, VA, does a month-long Car Free Diet that involves bikes and transit - perhaps Marin Transit could cross-promote? (Pacific Sun, County of Arlington)
• Copyright law overrode local preference in Tiburon, where the council approved CVS's red sign, overturning the Design Review Board's ruling that it should be a gray and white sign. (IJ)
• And...: Fairfax will at last install cameras for town council meetings. (IJ) ... Ross Valley School District residents will vote on a $149 parcel tax in June to help stave off a budget crisis in the district. (Patch) ... Marin Transit tweaks Novato and Terra Linda bus routes. (IJ) ... Joseph Eichler designed more than just tract homes. (Bay Citizen)

The Greater Marin

• While the focus of California High Speed Rail has been on just about everything but its utility, Central Valley cities are clamoring for the infrastructure. (LA Times, Fresno Bee)
• Midcoast San Mateo is struggling with Plan Bay Area, which is including a county-designated Priority Development Area in the rural region.  Regional officials insist the rural development area is about improving infrastructure, not housing development. (San Mateo County Times)
• Transit signage in the Bay Area are poor, and that's actually no surprise at all.  Though MTC is on it, it's unlikely Marin will see much of the fruit of their labor given our county's current transit state of affairs. (Transportation Nation)
• More people took public transit in 2011 than in 2010, the most since 1957, and that bodes well for the future of transportation and our cities. (New York Times)

Mid-Week Links: This Part Hurts

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/36750762 w=620&h=349] This is a rather long presentation, but it lays out the essence of how car traffic hurts culture, hurts neighborhoods, and what to do about it.  I've been to talks like this in DC but this is the first time I can really share one with you.  And if you work in transportation or the planner's office, this ought to count as continuing education, so bust out the earphones and popcorn.

Marin County

• Former Supervisor Hal Brown died this week of cancer, and the respect Ross Valley and Marin had for him was evident in editorials and memoria. (Pacific Sun)
• Mill Valley urbanists, attention!  Have a say in the direction of your town and join one of the Mill Valley 2040 committees charged with drafting the new general plan.  Applications are due March 14, so get on it. (IJ, Town of Mill Valley)
• San Anselmo urbanists can have a bit of their own fun, too, as this Saturday the town council will weigh resident priorities for the next 2-5 years at a special meeting from 10am-12pm.  After the meeting, a survey will be put online for people who could not make it. (Patch)
• SPAWN, a nonprofit whose goal is to restrict construction near creeks had its own San Geronimo demonstration home red-tagged by the county for building without a permit next to a creek. Neighbors that had run afoul of the group in the past were furious at the hypocrisy. (IJ)
• There may still be some useful Q&A to be had with Fairfax Councilmember David Weinsoff, who happens to be Fairfax's delegate to ABAG, though the discussion may have descended into Agenda 21/CittaSlow madness. (Patch)
• Untangling the affordable housing mess caused by redevelopment agencies' abrupt closure on February 1 will take quite a while to untangle, but surely the State Legislature can handle it, right? (Pacific Sun)
• Marin is the least affordable place to live in the Bay Area, if one adds the cost of transportation to the cost of housing.  A new study shows that Marinites spend an average of 56.3% of their income on housing and transportation, compared to the 39.5% San Franciscans spend. (Chronicle)

And...: Sausalito repaves a street that hasn't seen work in 70 years. (IJ) ... San Rafael's plastic bag ban chugs along despite a threatened lawsuit by plastics makers. (Patch) ... Stand Up for Neighborly Novato will merge with Novato Housing Coalition so as to better focus their efforts to promote affordable housing in the city. (IJ)

The Greater Marin

• Arlington County, Virginia, has a number of bikes in its vehicle fleet, saving them money on gas, car maintenance, and also on employee health benefits and sick days.  How might Marin's communities utilize bicycles in their vehicle fleets?  (Patch)
• SimCity 5 announced, and the shouts of urbanists around the world rose as one. (Stop and Move)
• Amtrak wants to restrict the number of bikes allowed on Capital Corridor trains, as around 10% of riders now bring their own bicycle and it's becoming a nuisance to non-bikers.  Amtrak ought to strongly encourage bicycling, however, as active living and bicycling culture tends to go hand-in-hand with rail ridership. (Sacramento Bee)
• Since the ban on cell phones while driving went into effect in California, traffic deaths have dropped an astounding 22%, the largest drop since CHP started keeping records. (Mercury News via IJ)