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- March 5, 2013
Discovering San Jose by Bike
By Leah Toeniskoetter, SPUR San Jose Director
An enthusiastic group of 45 urbanists on bikes kicked off a crisp Sunday morning to tour a few of San Jose’s historic neighborhoods with SPUR. Using the new bike lanes on 10th and 11th streets, along with a number of established bike routes and separated bike paths, we wove our way through three amazing gems — Naglee Park, Palm Haven and Willow Glen. Setting off from the San Jose State University campus downtown, we made our way to our first stop.
Naglee Park
The first subdivision in Santa Clara County, Naglee Park was developed and marketed in 1902 as a complete neighborhood with paved streets, gas, water and sewer. Following the new bike lanes on 11th Street brought us to the oldest house in the area and the neighborhood’s namesake, the Naglee Mansion, built by Brigadier General Henry Morris Naglee in 1864. The original lot lines of the estate reached from Santa Clara Street on the north, Coyote Creek on the east, William Street on the south, 11th Street on the west — the neighborhood boundaries today.
SPUR San Jose Director Leah Toeniskoetter and Bill Souders, co-owner of the Naglee Park Garage restaurant.
Bill Souders, co-owner of the popular Naglee Park Garage, gave a brief history of his restaurant, a once-blighted corner turned neighborhood gem. Fifteen years ago the site, a former gas station, was in disrepair, challenging the fabric and safety of the neighborhood. A group of Naglee Park families decided to do something about it and purchased the property. They surveyed their neighbors to find out what type of uses they wanted, aiming to create a gathering spot that didn’t exist before. The businesses there now are a result of what the neighbors responded with: a restaurant (the Garage), a bagel shop, a convenience store and other offerings.
Fun fact: In the early 1970s, the Doobie Brothers lived, partied and rehearsed at 285 S. 12th Street, right behind the Garage.
A right turn onto 16th Street (an established bike route), brought us to William Street and the William Street Park. Established in 1944, the park honors Willianoski Reed (1850-1860), the son of James and Margaret Keyes Reed, who were survivors of the Donner Party.
Riding along Williams Street Park at Williams and 16th Street.
SoFA District
A jaunt through the South University Neighborhood led us to Gore Park/Parque de los Pobladores at William and South 1st Street — the gateway to the SoFA (South of First Street Area) District. Known as San Jose’s art district, this area comes alive the first Friday of every month with South First Fridays, where all galleries open their doors to the public for a community “art crawl.”
Gathering in Gore Park, at the entrance to the SoFA arts district in downtown.
We met up with the separated bike path at the Children’s Discovery Museum and rode through the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, the flood protection channel that doubles as an amazing park, which delivered us to the North Willow Glen neighborhood.
Guadalupe River Park functions as flood control, open space, and bike and pedestrian pathway.
Palm Haven and Willow Glen
Established in 1913 as a “residence park” (with conditions, covenants and restrictions that controlled what was built, what the property setbacks were, etc.), Palm Haven originated from the Palm Haven station stop on the Peninsular Railway. The developers of this historic neighborhood planted more than 350 palms at equal intervals. The palms are designated as official heritage trees by the City of San Jose and represent the largest coordinated tree planting within city limits.
In 1927 the neighborhood of Willow Glen voted to become its own city because the San Jose City Council had ordered Southern Pacific Railroad to run through the neighborhood. Nine years later, after that threat had passed, residents voted in favor of annexing to San Jose because of their inadequate sewage system (they only had septic tanks). These nine years of independence are celebrated every year at Founders’ Day in September.
Admiring the leafy streets of Willow Glen.
Using the Los Gatos Creek Trail separated bike path, the group rode by the historic Del Monte cannery site and connected back up with Park Avenue. We returned downtown to the site of San Jose’s first City Hall building, what is now Cesar Chavez Park, with a deeper understanding of San Jose neighborhoods past and present. - February 26, 2013
Reimagining the Caltrain Railyards
By Tomiquia Moss, Community Planning Policy Director, and Sarah Karlinsky, Deputy Director
Could the Caltrain station and railyards at 4th and King streets be San Francisco’s next big planning opportunity? The current station is the node that links San Francisco to Silicon Valley and the peninsula. It’s also the hub of an extraordinary network of Muni rail lines: the N Judah, the T Third and soon the Central Subway, which will run down 4th Street before heading underground to Chinatown and North Beach. In addition, the area is served by numerous Muni bus lines. Very few places in the country enjoy this level of transit accessibility.
On the same site as the station are the Caltrain railyards: 19 acres stretching from 4th Street to 7th Street between King and Townsend. The railyards form an enormous barrier between Mission Bay and SoMA. Pedestrians, bicycles and vehicles can only cross the site at one intersection, and a tangle of 280 freeway ramps clutters the southwest edge of the site. Putting the right type of development here could knit together the surrounding neighborhoods, capitalize on the extensive transit access — and even help pay for important transportation projects.
The Caltrain station and railyards at 4th and King and surrounding neighborhoods. Image courtesy SF Planning Department.A significant amount of regional transit planning is currently taking place in this area. Caltrain will be extended from 4th and King to San Francisco’s downtown, terminating at the new Transbay Transit Center. Caltrain itself is undergoing a transformation, replacing diesel cars with electric ones that will run more quickly and allow for faster turnarounds, thereby enhancing service. And high-speed rail will ultimately connect San Francisco to Los Angeles, with multiple trains per day stopping at 4th and King before heading to the Transbay Transit Center.
In our 2007 report A New Transit First Neighborhood, SPUR explored the opportunity to develop new buildings over the Caltrain station (using air rights, the rights to develop over a piece of land or infrastructure) as an opportunity to pay for expanding Caltrain and bringing high-speed rail into the Transbay Transit Center. Maximizing the transit oriented development opportunities at the 4th and King railyards could support one-time and on-going revenue for both transportation projects while also helping to better weave together Mission Bay, West SoMA and the Central Corridor.
Now the San Francisco Planning Department is considering ways to build on the railyards. The department recently released a report analyzing development opportunities for the site as a means to pay for transit improvements while knitting together the fabric of the adjacent neighborhoods at the same time.
Developing the Railyards: Three Options
The study outlines two development scenarios for the site: one where the air rights above the railyards are developed while the railyards remain in use (which would require decking over the railyards), and another where the railyards are moved to a new location allowing the entire site to be developed as a blank slate. The second scenario has two variations.
Here’s a summary of the three options:
Scenario 1: Decking Over the Railyards
The air rights scenario is consistent with existing high-speed rail and Caltrain plans, which presume that the railyards will remain in their current location. However, the need to deck over the railyards presents significant design and construction challenges, curtailing the ability to do good urban design along the edges of the site and limiting the amount of money the city could recapture for transit and other public infrastructure improvements.
Scenario 2.1: Moving the Railyards, Keeping the Freeway
The two “no railyards” scenarios present much better options to develop the site. The first of these assumes that the freeway ramps will remain as they are. This option allows for a better mix of uses and a better pedestrian experience than Scenario 1. It also allows for much more development capacity. However the value of the land is hampered by its proximity to Highway 280.
Concept for Scenario 2.1, in which the railyards are moved. Image courtesy SF Planning Department.
Scenario 2.2: Moving the Railyards, Removing the Freeway to 16th StreetThis scenario is similar to the one above, except that the urban design and pedestrian experience would be even better due to the removal of the freeway ramps. Development becomes even more valuable when Highway 280 is replaced with a surface boulevard, allowing for greater value recapture.
Concept for Scenario 2.2, in which the railyards are moved and the freeway ramps are removed. Image courtesy SF Planning Department.
In Scenarios 2.1 and 2.2 the potential value that could be created for the public sector ranges from $148 million to $228 million, presenting a substantial opportunity to fund transportation improvements in the area.
SPUR is excited about these proposals, particularly the ones outlined in Scenario 2. We hope that that San Francisco will begin to take the steps needed to bring them to reality.
Read the 4th and King Railyards Study >> - February 26, 2013
South Bay Ag Tour: Many Farms, Many Business Models
by Eli Zigas, Food Systems and Urban Agriculture Program Manager
The array of food grown within a couple of hours of San Francisco makes our region truly unique. Along with an astounding amount of agricultural diversity, the Bay Area's farms and ranches employ a wide range of business models. This is an asset to their economic vibrancy, but it also means there are few "one size fits all" policy recommendations to support regional agriculture.
I got a firsthand taste of this complexity on a tour of farms and ranches in San Mateo County hosted by the Ecological Farming Association in January. We visited four sites – all near Pescadero on the coastal side of the county.
Jacobs FarmThe first stop was Jacobs Farm, specifically the first parcel from which co-owners Larry Jacobs and Sandra Belin launched their culinary herb business, now one of the nation’s largest. The farm has a history of production stretching back 150 years with previous generations of farmers growing barley, wheat, potatoes, flax, peas and vegetables. Today, the focus is more than 30 varieties of herbs such as rosemary, mint and sage, which are grown on hundreds of acres dispersed around San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, then packaged at a distribution facility in South San Francisco and sold to retailers nationwide.
Harley FarmsJust a short drive away is Harley Farms Goat Dairy. It is a great example of a business that has expanded slowly and diversified its operations. Harley Farms currently produces 200 pounds of goat cheese each day with a herd of 200 milking goats. One of the most notable aspects of its business is that the majority of revenue comes from on-site sales of cheese and other goat milk products, along with agri-tourism programs – including a five-course farm-fresh meal served in a restored barn hayloft.
TomKat RanchFurther down the road, the tour shifted to look at ranching, a type of agriculture that is very common throughout the nine-county Bay Area. TomKat Ranch, the next tour stop, is focused primarily on educating schoolchildren about agriculture, but it also raises cattle for beef marketed under the Left Coast Grassfed label. Following TomKat's educational mission, the farm managers – self-described “controlled chaos mega-fauna ecosystem providers” – are experimenting with a wide variety of ranching practices to reduce the environmental impact of their agricultural operations. This includes testing different strategies of rotational grazing, encouraging laying hens to follow the path of the cattle from pasture to pasture, and studiously protecting habitat alongside streams near where the cattle roam.
Fifth Crow FarmThe last stop on the tour, Fifth Crow Farm, was the only farm we visited producing vegetables. The owners are graduates of the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems apprenticeship in ecological horticulture at UC Santa Cruz, a training program for many young farmers in the region. They farm about 20 acres with row crops, an orchard and pastured egg production and sell their harvest mostly through farmer’s markets, direct to restaurants, and through a local farm box subscription (also known as a CSA).
While these four farms and ranches reveal an impressive diversity within San Mateo County, a similar diversity of production exists throughout the Bay Area, as the 2008 San Francisco Foodshed study attests. One of the most striking aspects of the tour was the variety of business models supporting the operations including wholesale, retail, direct sales and nonprofit education. As we think about the region’s producers, this small sample of San Mateo county agriculture is a reminder that agriculture in the Bay Area comes in many shapes and sizes — and policy that supports agriculture must do so as well.
- February 18, 2013
The Key to a Stronger Economy? Better Regional Governance
By Jennifer WarburgThe Bay Area economy has rebounded from the recession. Yet major regional challenges threaten our continued prosperity. These topics were a major focus at the 2013 State of Silicon Valley, the annual event where Silicon Valley and Bay Area leaders gather to discuss the state of our region’s economy. This year the conference organizers, Joint Venture Silicon Valley and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, invited SPUR to write a special analysis about regional governance for presentation at the conference and inclusion in the event’s flagship publication, the Silicon Valley Index.
In the resulting piece, Strengthening the Bay Area’s Regional Governance, SPUR Regional Planning Director Egon Terplan made the case that some of the biggest threats to the Bay Area’s long-term economic competitiveness are challenges best addressed through better regional governance.
Regional decisions are responsible for much of what makes the Bay Area such a great place to live and work, including our large areas of open space and the transit infrastructure that links our cities and suburbs. Regional agencies like BART, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, which SPUR played a major role in establishing, were set up to manage these assets in perpetuity. Yet our regional agencies have changed little since the 1970s, and they are increasingly inadequate to address the issues shaping the Bay Area’s future.
Currently, our regional agencies are single-purpose entities — they lack the power to integrate land use planning, transportation, natural resource protection and climate change adaptation. Cities working to address these issues on their own often inadvertently exacerbate them in another part of the region, thwarting overall regional competitiveness.
SPUR’s report for the Silicon Valley Index focuses on five major regional issues in need of better planning and coordination:
1. Job sprawl. As the regional grows, jobs are being added in a decentralized pattern with few connections to reliable transit. This growth pattern is resulting in unsustainable commutes and increased levels of greenhouse gas emissions. In our thinking about The Future of Work, SPUR has made the case that locating jobs closer to transit — and closer to one another — will be key to the Bay Area’s long-term economic growth.
2. The need for more overall housing production. Local jurisdictions have a greater incentive to add jobs than housing. This dynamic has resulted in a jobs-housing imbalance as well as high housing prices in much of the region. SPUR has encouraged regional agencies to increase regional housing growth totals in their planning scenarios.
3. Competition between cities for tax revenues. The winner-take-all approach to local tax revenues results in fiscal and service disparity among cities. It also undermines regional cooperation and can lead to inefficient land use outcomes. SPUR has explored the promise of regional tax sharing. We've also looked at shifting to a system of more green taxes and fees as possible solutions to this regional problem.
4. The need for better coordination of regional transit services. The Bay Area has a huge transit system, but it is managed by 27 separate and poorly coordinated agencies. This fragmentation results in challenges for users and operators alike. SPUR has many recommendations for saving regional transit — including contemplating a possible merging of BART and Caltrain — and strategies for better funding and governing regional rail.
5. The need to prepare for sea level rise. Climate change is a problem that threatens every jurisdiction in the Bay Area. It demands a coordinated response, yet no regional agency exists with the mandate or the tools to direct an adaptation strategy. SPUR has done some of the leading thinking around how the Bay Area’s response to sea level rise could be better.
Where to begin? At the conference, we highlighted a few of these items for immediate action, including regional transit coordination and pilot tests for tax sharing.
Over the long term, the special analysis argues, we have three broad options for reforming regional governance:
1. Strengthen existing agencies by giving them more power.
2. Establish one or more new regional entities with new powers to respond to specific problems.
3. Move toward a multipurpose regional agency like those in Portland, Oregon, and in Minnesota's Twin Cities.
To achieve any of these options will require convincing Bay Area residents and politicians to recognize our linked fates.
The truth is that in today’s economy, the region is the scale where we compete globally. We face increasing competition from places that act and work regionally, such as Singapore, Shanghai and Vancouver. Failing to strengthen our own ability to act in concert as a region means risking the Bay Area’s economic standing globally.
Our needs are more interconnected now than ever. Our governance should reflect that.
Download the full index and special analysis >>
Read the special analysis online >>
- February 7, 2013
SPUR Initiates Next Phase of the Ocean Beach Master Plan
By Shilpi Chhotray
Ocean Beach looking northwest and the Great Highway’s southbound lanes, closed for sand maintenance.
For the past two years, SPUR has led an extensive interagency and public process for the development of the Ocean Beach Master Plan. This work represents the first move SPUR and San Francisco have made to directly address sea level rise. Now we are beginning the first steps to implement the plan, which presents recommendations for the management and protection of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach through the year 2050. The master plan lays out an ambitious and proactive vision to adapt to rising seas, protect infrastructure, restore coastal ecosystems and improve public access. The vision was developed through the participation of a wide range of public agencies, advocates, and citizens over an 18-month period.
Read the complete Master Plan >>
Immediate Successes
The Ocean Beach Master Plan is already achieving tangible benefits and improved partnership among public agencies. In August and September of 2012, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) partnered with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to truck 73,000 cubic yards of excess sand from the north end of Ocean Beach to the south, tackling two problems at once: the record accumulation of sand at the north end, and severe erosion at the south end. The results — a “sacrificial” dune protecting the beach and covering unsightly rubble — hint at the potential of large-scale beach nourishment, a key ingredient in the Ocean Beach Master Plan vision.This year, the San Francisco Department of Public Works (DPW) is repaving the Great Highway from end to end. As key a partner on the master plan, DPW was well aware of the plan’s proposals to improve pedestrian and bicycle access to Ocean Beach. DPW Director Mohammed Nuru directed his staff to add recommended planted medians and improved crossings to the repaving project, which will improve safety and access while improving environmental performance and aesthetics.
SPUR Leads Implementation Studies
The Ocean Beach Master Plan is a vision document. Although it is already shaping actions on the ground, it doesn’t yet have the force of law or policy. SPUR is now engaged in efforts to implement the vision, helping to translate plan recommendations into implementable projects, develop more detailed technical analysis, and prepare for environmental and regulatory review. We have been awarded funds from the California State Coastal Conservancy, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the National Park Service to conduct implementation studies. These will include a transportation analysis, a coastal management framework and open space planning.
Transportation Study
Implementing the Ocean Beach Master Plan vision will require significant reconfiguration of roadways, including the closure of the Great Highway south of Sloat Boulevard, the re-routing of traffic behind the San Francisco Zoo via Sloat and Skyline, and the redesign of Sloat Boulevard into a multi-modal coastal gateway. This project will conduct detailed transportation analysis, including an existing conditions study, the development of roadway configurations based on Ocean Beach Master Plan recommendations, and modeling the effects of the proposed changes on the city’s transportation system.SPUR is working closely with SF Municipal Transportation Agency and SF Planning Department staff to scope this project and ensure it will meet the city’s technical requirements.
Coastal Management Framework
The Framework will test and further develop the master plan’s approach to coastal management, which includes a combination of managed retreat, beach nourishment and coastal armoring, all designed to protect threatened infrastructure while also supporting coastal access, recreation and ecological functions. This study will include interim protection strategies, as well as defining triggers and actions as sea-level rise sets in. It will lay the foundation of an interagency agreement for adaptive coastal management actions by the three major responsible agencies (SFPUC, GGNRA and the United States Army Corps of Engineers).SPUR is working closely with SFPUC and GGNRA staff to scope this project and hire a coastal engineering consulting team.
Listen to SPUR's Ben Grant in KQED's piece on managed retreat: "San Francisco: A Test Case for Coping with Rising Seas."
Joint Open Space Planning
This project will coordinate collaboration between local and federal partners in managing Ocean Beach as a recreational and ecological resource. The study will include open space schematic design and programming studies, as well as pilot studies and the installation of temporary amenities. It will lay the foundation of an interagency agreement for open space management actions by the two major responsible agencies, GGNRA and the SF Department of Recreation and Parks).Stay tuned for more updates on the implementation of the Ocean Beach Master Plan!
- February 4, 2013
Two Bayview Corner Stores Turn a Healthy Corner
By Eli Zigas, Food Systems and Urban Agriculture Program Manager
The crowd of a few dozen people that spilled off the sidewalk at Lee’s Market on an overcast morning had gathered to celebrate. The occasion: the grand re-opening of the corner store with new offerings of fresh fruit, vegetables and an expanded selection of healthy grocery items.
The January 24 event marked the launch of the Healthy Corner Store project of the Southeast Food Access Working Group (SEFA). The community group’s Food Guardians, three staff members who work on a variety of food issues in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood, collaborated with the owners of Lee’s Market and Ford’s Grocery to increase the number of healthy products sold at each store. The initiative was inspired by a 2007 survey showing that residents were taking dollars outside of the community when they frequently traveled to other neighborhoods to buy groceries. SEFA believed that if those items were stocked in neighborhood retail locations, the local businesses would see increased sales and residents would have more convenient access to healthy food.
The change at Lee’s Market was clear and prominent. Limes, oranges and heads of lettuce were visible through the door. Oatmeal, bread and tortillas were on display in the front window. And while ramen noodles, candy bars and alcohol still had significant shelf space, tobacco advertising on the front door had been removed and the difference between the before-and-after photos on display at the launch event was striking.
The participation of the corner store business owners is a credit to their willingness to try out a new set of products, including perishables. In making the change, they received assistance from a coalition of city agencies and community groups. In addition to the outreach by Food Guardians, several city agencies — acting together under the umbrella of the Bayview Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Zone and funded by a large grant from Kaiser Permanente — provided a mix of grants and loans to the two corner markets to cover the costs of technical assistance and equipment purchase. Initial signs indicates that the storeowner’s investment is paying off. One of the most important measures of success is whether customers will buy the new items. In the first week of offering produce, Lee’s Market sold out and placed another order with its produce distributor.
One of the distinguishing features of this initiative is its focus on working with resources already in the community rather than trying to recruit a retailer to move into the neighborhood. As one of the speakers at the launch put it, the project was an example of “change from the inside out.” While SEFA was involved in attracting full-scale grocer Fresh & Easy to the neighborhood, it has also focused significant attention on changing the offerings at existing retailers like Foods Co., Super Save and now corners stores. Other groups in the city are watching closely. Organizers in the Tenderloin have begun their own neighborhood assessment using the Food Guardian’s model and Supervisor Eric Mar has introduced legislation referencing SEFA’s work.
SEFA plans to evaluate the impact of its corner store initiative. While increasing access to fresh, healthy food is a clear improvement in terms of convenience and quality of life, the impact of this initiative, and others like it, in terms of affecting obesity, diabetes and other public health issues is not yet proven. Even so, it is clear that positive change, driven from within the neighborhood, is happening at two corner stores. And that is a milestone worth celebrating.
- January 15, 2013
The Year Ahead: SPUR's Agenda for 2013
By Gabriel Metcalf, Executive Director
2012 was a big year for SPUR and for the urbanist agenda. Years of work culminated in dramatic victories on the November ballot: San Francisco voters created a Housing Trust Fund, passed a parks bond and reformed the business tax. San Francisco also adopted the Transit Center District Plan for the part of downtown surrounding the new Transbay Transit Center. The Central Subway and the electrification of Caltrain were fully funded. State legislators gave the green light to begin building the initial segment of California’s high-speed rail system. And SPUR completed the Ocean Bean Master Plan and began its implementation.
It was also the year we launched SPUR San Jose, marking a major expansion of our work to support the urbanist agenda in the Bay Area’s largest city.
Can we top this in 2013? We’ll sure try. Here is a sneak preview of some of the big projects we’ll be working on at SPUR:
Climate change. If you're tired of hearing about this we’re sorry, but this is — truly — the biggest issue facing us. There are two parts to SPUR’s climate work – reducing greenhouse gas emissions and beginning to adapt to the climate changes that are now inevitable – and we are determined to make progress on both fronts in 2013. Eventually, we are going to have to get to the point where our cities are carbon-neutral, meaning, we do not generate more carbon each year than can be absorbed by our share of the earth. The sooner we make this transition, the better we will all fare. To us it seems clear that we should be world leaders in this region. Given our wealth and our environmental consciousness, we have the best chance of any place to figure this out.Caltrain and Transbay. The most important infrastructure project for us right now is actually a set of four inter-related projects: construction of the Transbay Transit Center; Caltrain electrification; the extension of Caltrain to the Transbay Transit Center; and finally, the connection of the Caltrain line to the state high-speed rail system. This has been a focus of SPUR’s for more than a decade, and it will remain so for at least another decade. Two out of the four are now fully funded. Now our job is to get the rest of the funding and make sure we work out a long list of design and planning issues.
The Central Corridor Plan. Right now, the largest plan area in San Francisco undergoing comprehensive rezoning is the Central Corridor, roughly the area within easy walking distance of the new Central Subway in the South of Market neighborhood. It represents one of the last major opportunities in San Francisco for adding high densities of employment within walking distance of regional rail transit. It’s important to get this plan right, building on the lessons of the very successful 1985 Downtown Plan.
The San Francisco Waterfront. A lot of activity is focused on the waterfront right now, from the Giants’ proposed Mission Rock development to a proposal for a Golden State Warriors stadium to redevelopment plans for Pier 70. We will work to make sure these proposals are thoroughly vetted and that the city considers the full spectrum of planning issues — from urban design to transportation infrastructure.
The Sewer System Improvement Program. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is preparing to spend between $3 billion and $8 billion retrofitting and upgrading the city’s sewer system. As the rebuilding of the agency’s Hetch Hetchy water supply system heads toward completion, the SSIP will be the the next big phase in modernizing San Francisco’s water system. The magnitude of this project represents a major opportunity to design the system in a more environmentally sensitive way while providing economic opportunity for thousands of people.
The Resilient City. Our resolution for the year: Make some progress on a seismic retrofit ordinance for San Francisco’s soft-story structures — buildings of a certain age that lack strength in the ground floor because of garage doors or storefronts. This has been identified as a class of buildings that places residents in significant danger from a major earthquake. We have all the information we need to take action now.
San Jose. We will be working on major policy studies on: new planning approaches to downtown San Jose that can add vitality and investment without the tools of redevelopment; a new vision for the Valley Transportation Authority; and a big urban design study intended to help the city implement its 2040 General Plan.
Regional projects. In 2013, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Association of Bay Area Governments will complete and adopt the first ever Sustainable Communities Strategy, a project we’ve been working on for several years. We will also push to solve some longstanding and intractable transit issues, such as the need to better coordinate fares, funding, schedules and others aspects of regional transit systems like BART and Caltrain. We will release a paper on reforming regional governance and another on managing our long-term water supply. We will conduct a major study on the Bay Area food system. And we will also be leading a major project to produce an economic development plan for the Bay Area that focuses on social equity.
As this year gets underway, it’s clear that urbanists in the Bay Area have some major problems to confront. But looking at all we’ve accomplished in the last year, we face these challenges with a sense of optimism and momentum. 2013 is a good time to be an urbanist. If you’re not already a member of SPUR, we hope you’ll join us. - January 10, 2013
At Last: Bike Racks at the Urban Center!
By Molly Schremmer
Ever since the SPUR Urban Center opened in 2009, our bike-riding members have asked, “If SPUR supports cycling, why don’t you have bike racks?” It’s a long story, and it finally came to a close in December when the Yerba Buena Community Benefit District (YBCBD) unveiled the first of a new fleet of bike racks in the Yerba Buena district. Today, SPUR is happy to announce that three of these artful bike racks have been installed in front of the Urban Center at 654 Mission Street!
The installation of a bike rack on January 9.
The story begins in 2006, when a court injunction placed a hold on all projects laid out in San Francisco’s formerly approved Bicycle Plan, including bike lane striping and installation of any bike parking. The injunction was the result of a lawsuit by a local blogger who claimed the city ought to have done a full environmental impact report before approving the Bicycle Plan. In August 2010, the San Francisco Superior Court lifted the injunction, declaring that the city had complied with the California Environmental Quality Act and the court’s orders regarding the approval of the Bicycle Plan.
The installation of bike racks is part of the Yerba Buena Street Life Plan, a 10-year plan of 36 proposed improvements for the public space in the Yerba Buena district. The sidewalk in front of the Urban Center was the number one requested spot for bike parking in the district.
The Yerba Buena Street Life Plan calls for bike racks that are consistent and distinctive to the neighborhood, identifying the district’s strong arts and culture identity. Neighborhood residents are funding all the bike racks as part of the YBCBD, before they are turned over to the city for installation. A total of 250 racks have been planned for the district. They are being produced in batches of 30, each batch with a different pattern embedded in the rack form. CMG Landscape Architecture, the firm that authored the Street Life Plan, designed the first two batches.
One of the three new bike racks in front of the Urban Center.
SPUR is grateful to the YBCBD for working so aggressively to realize this worthwhile project. We look forward to the continued implementation of the Yerba Buena Street Life Plan, including the proposed conversion of a block of Annie Alley into a pedestrian-only zone.
- December 13, 2012
BART Metro: Bridging BART's Two Identities
By Molly Schremmer
In November, BART released conceptual plans for a multi-billion dollar rejuvenation that would introduce a new wave of service called BART Metro. BART expects vast ridership expansion in the next several years, and these changes would allow 50 percent growth — bringing the number of daily riders to an average of 560,000 — by 2025. The plans hinge on the idea that BART is not only a commuter rail that connects the suburbs to the cities, where most rides happen during rush hour, but also an urban-style metro, where large numbers of people are traveling throughout the day. The project seeks to balance improved service effectiveness (especially during mid-day and evening hours) with the need to enhance capacity on a two-track railroad.
How can BART improve its service to its two different groups of customers? The preliminary BART Metro concepts involve a balance of two approaches. The first approach, Phase I, would be to start running shorter train lines with more frequent service connecting stations in the urban core, primarily the stops between the Richmond and Hayward stations in the inner East Bay and extending through the Transbay Tube southeast to Glen Park in San Francisco. The second approach, Phase II, would be to continue the service to more distant suburban destinations with an eye toward future skip-stop or express service to reduce travel times.
Some Phase I projects are already underway. BART is working on replacing its fleet with the Fleet of the Future, with three doors per car for faster on- and off-boarding; Phase I calls for about 200 more cars than are currently on the tracks. The agency also intends to increase peak service on the Pittsburg/Bay Point-SFO line and the Fremont-Daly City line, and to extend service hours during the nights and weekends on the Richmond-Millbrae and Fremont-Daly City lines. In fall 2012, BART extended Richmond-Millbrae service until 8 p.m.
Longer-term concepts focus on shortening some train lines by adding turnbacks, often created by adding a side track that allows the train to reverse directions. For example, turnbacks could be built adjacent to downtown San Francisco stops and the Bayfair station in the East Bay, in order to shuttle more trains back and forth under the bay. During peak commute hours it could work as follows: Destinations like Richmond would have 10 trains an hour with a gap of six minutes between trains, while West Oakland — the jumping-off point for all trains entering the Transbay Tube — would have as many as 27 trains an hour, with a gap of about 2.2 minutes between trains. In the future, on evenings and weekends, the northern part of the Richmond line would see eight trains an hour, with the urban core dropping down to 16. Downtown Oakland and Berkeley stops would also see an increase in trains; for example MacArthur station in north Oakland would receive 21 trains an hour during peak times and 12 during off-peak times. In this way, BART would be molded to more efficiently serve the urban core while not losing its other identity as a commuter rail.
This model can be compared to public rail transit in Paris, where riders are served by two different rail systems: the RER, or Regional Express Network, for regional commutes and the Paris Métro for shorter trips within the urban core. With the BART Metro plan, BART aims to continue filling both roles while improving service through efficiency. While the BART Metro plan increases the number of trains and cars on BART tracks, it would actually decrease the total number of miles traveled by trains annually.
BART hopes to have the changes in Phase I completed by 2025. Longer-term Phase II planning is ongoing; eventually BART riders could see changes such as skip-stop and express route trains traveling to key commuter destinations, coupling of trains on the Dublin/Pleasanton-Daly City and Fremont-Daly City lines, 100 additional cars and planning for a second transbay tube.
SPUR applauds the development of BART Metro. We have advocated for concepts that increase BART service in the urban core for a number of years, and we recommended several of these ideas our reports A Mid-Life Crisis for Regional Rail and the Future of Downtown San Francisco.
View a presentation on BART Metro >> - November 19, 2012
A Future for Farming in the Coyote Valley?
by Eli Zigas, Food Systems and Urban Agriculture Program Manager
Southern Santa Clara County used to have a widespread and thriving agricultural sector, helping the area earn the name “Valley of the Heart’s Delight.” Today, much of that famed farmland has been replaced with homes and offices. One exception is the Coyote Valley, a narrow, 5-mile-long area between southern San Jose and Morgan Hill. Before the recent economic downturn, much of Coyote Valley was slated for development, and intense land speculation had driven up property prices. After 2008, however, local open-space and agriculture advocates saw a sharp drop in the development pressure and wondered whether it would be economically feasible for Coyote Valley to retain its agricultural character.
That question led Sustainable Agriculture Education (SAGE) to conduct an in-depth feasibility study over the past eighteen months. In its report, Coyote Valley: Sustaining Agriculture and Conservation, SAGE concludes that an agricultural economy is feasible for the area if significant investments in land, infrastructure and policy are made in the next 25 years. The report outlines a three-phase strategy that would split a $50 million investment between: 1) agricultural land preservation, mainly through purchasing conservation easements on existing farms; 2) infrastructure, including updating and expanding irrigation in the valley; and 3) program coordination and marketing. The report envisions that a new entity, the Coyote Valley Agricultural Enterprise and Conservation Program, would work to implement the strategy using funds from both public and private sources.
In addition to presenting an ambitious vision, the study is notable for recommending an agricultural preservation strategy that anticipates integrating farming into a “mosaic” of other land uses. Rather than propose the creation of one large contiguous block of farmland, the study recommends the preservation of at least 50 percent of the existing farmland throughout the north, middle and southern sections of Coyote Valley, interspersed with clusters of residential and commercial development. The study also presents an incredibly detailed assessment of current opportunities and challenges such as: vast acreage in the valley currently owned by developers who currently have little interest in leasing long-term to farmers; the potential to increase the value of production by 300 percent by changing what crops are planted; and initial indications that policy and overall trends in the real estate market are easing development pressure in the area.
SAGE’s report on the Coyote Valley is a fantastic case study of urban-edge agriculture. It shows that the opportunity to retain and expand a self-sustaining agricultural economy that provides food and livelihoods in Southern Santa Clara still exists. But the report also makes clear that, as in many parts of the Bay Area, the opportunity will slip away unless policymakers, farmers and food-system advocates focus their energy on shifting the Coyote Valley in a new direction.
Tags: sustainable development
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