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February 7, 2013SPUR Initiates Next Phase of the Ocean Beach Master Plan By Shilpi ChhotrayOcean Beach looking northwest and the Great Highway’s southbound lanes, closed for sand maintenance. In the next phase, SPUR will investigate the traffic and transportation impacts of permanently closing the Great Highway south of Sloat Boulevard, as well as innovative strategies for managing coastal erosion. Photo courtesy Flickr user Robert B. LivingstonFor the past two years, SPUR has led an extensive interagency and public process for the development of the Ocean...
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February 4, 2013Two Bayview Corner Stores Turn a Healthy Corner By Eli Zigas, Food Systems and Urban Agriculture Program ManagerThe 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...
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January 15, 2013The Year Ahead: SPUR's Agenda for 2013 By Gabriel Metcalf, Executive Director2012 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...
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January 10, 2013At Last: Bike Racks at the Urban Center! By Molly SchremmerEver 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...
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December 12, 2012BART Metro: Bridging BART's Two Identities By Molly SchremmerIn 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...
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November 19, 2012A Future for Farming in the Coyote Valley? by Eli Zigas, Food Systems and Urban Agriculture Program ManagerSouthern 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...
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November 19, 2012SPUR Ballot Endorsements Sweep Election 2012 By Corey Marshall, Good Government Policy Director While the majority of voters were lost in a sea of presidential fervor, San Francisco was busy having a historic local election. And after four years of significant cuts to education and public services, Governor Brown’s elimination of redevelopment agencies and a flagging local economy, the city had some serious business to address. On the ballot were a number of important issues — from education to parks, housing to taxation. Voters universally supported SPUR’s ballot...
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November 16, 2012City Trip to Oakland: SPUR Explores the Sunny Side of the Bay By Tomiquia Moss, Community Planning Policy DirectorLast month, SPUR organized a two-day study trip to Oakland for our board and staff members to get a glimpse of what is happening in this great city. While recent media reports have focused on corporate protests and vandalism, Mayor Jean Quan describes Oakland as a “city on the rise” — and from what we saw, we strongly agree. We met with city and community leaders to better understand Oakland’s opportunities and challenges and how SPUR might get involved in the Bay Area...
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November 15, 2012Prop. A Alone Won’t Save City College By Corey Marshall, Good Government Policy DirectorCity College of San Francisco (CCSF) Interim chancellor Pamila Fisher offered a blunt assessment of the state of the college at a SPUR breakfast on October 17, just two days after the school released an action plan to address deficiencies identified by the Accreditation Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. “Our commitment to San Francisco values has sometimes gotten in the way of making good decisions,” she told the audience.The words were striking given CCSF’s recent...
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November 13, 2012Cap and Trade Is Here at Last By Laura Tam, Sustainable Development Policy DirectorThis week, one of the most important pieces of the 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act (Assembly Bill 32) goes live: the first-ever quarterly auction of carbon permits under California’s Cap and Trade program is set for Wednesday, November 14. California’s cap and trade program for greenhouse gases is designed to help achieve an 80 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2050. To learn more about the opportunities and challenges of cap and trade...
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