Why California’s New Transportation Bill Is a Really Big, Historic Deal
News / Senate Bill 1, the state transportation funding bill passed by the Legislature this month, represents a monumental win for California and the Bay Area. Not only does it solve big problems for cities and transit agencies across the state, it shows that California can raise significant funding for transportation in an era of dwindling federal resources.
What’s Next for the Silicon Valley Economy?
News / As the rate of economic growth begins to slow down, observers are asking what’s next for Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. Will the region’s miraculous growth continue? Will high housing costs ever come down? Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Russ Hancock addressed some of these concerns when he presented the 2017 Silicon Valley Index at a SPUR forum in San Jose.
Why Central SoMa Needs to Focus on Jobs, Even in a Housing Shortage
News / San Francisco will soon adopt the Central SoMa Plan, the city’s only current major neighborhood plan. In the 230-acre area, the plan changes the zoning to allow 45,000 jobs and 7,500 housing units. Considering the housing shortage, shouldn’t there be more focus on housing in the city’s only active neighborhood plan? Not necessarily. Here are five reasons we think the plan gets the mix right.
Rethinking the Corporate Campus
SPUR Report Technology has become the lifeblood of the San Francisco Bay Area economy, but the office environments where this work takes place do not reflect the innovation occurring within. The traditional suburban corporate campus reinforces dependence on cars and pushes sprawl development into open spaces and farmland. How do we create a more efficient, sustainable and high-performing model for the Bay Area workplace?
Spare the Air, Cool the Climate: The Bay Area’s New Strategy for Clean Energy and Transportation
News / The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has adopted a major new climate action strategy that will move the region closer to attaining its goals for cleaner air and reduced carbon emissions. SPUR strongly supports this bold vision for a post-carbon economy by 2050.
Getting to 5 Percent by 2020: Building Better Bikeways in San Jose
News / In 2009, San Jose set a goal: 500 miles of bikeways and 5 percent of commutes taken by bicycle by 2020. Since then, the city has added 95 new miles of bikeways, yet the share of people commuting by bike has barely inched up. A recent SPUR forum looked at the reasons why — and how the city can build a bike network for everybody.
Lessons for Diridon: Denver’s Success Story That Almost Didn’t Happen
News / Since Denver Union Station reopened in 2014, it has become one of the nation’s best examples of a modern intermodal train station embedded in a transit-friendly urban neighborhood. The project has a number of important lessons for the team that’s planning the transformation of San Jose’s Diridon Station into a major transportation hub with the country’s first high-speed rail station.
2017 Good Government Awards: How Eva Cheong Modernized Transportation at SFO
News / The 2017 Good Government Awards, Held on March 22, recognized outstanding performances by Managers Working for the City and County of San Francisco. The ceremony honored Eva Cheong for her leadership in enabling the legal operation transportation network companies at SFO.
2017 Good Government Awards: How Robert Beck Launched the Transformation of Treasure Island
News / The 2017 Good Government Awards, Held on March 22, recognized outstanding performances by Managers Working for the City and County of San Francisco. The ceremony honored Bob Beck, for his role in the transfer of nearly 300 acres of Treasure Island/Yerba Buena Island, and his leadership in the 25-year process of transforming the former naval base into a sustainable, mixed-use, high-density, transit-oriented space.
2017 Good Government Awards: How the S.F. Benefits Net Team Streamlined Social Good
News / The 2017 Good Government Awards, Held on March 22, recognized outstanding performances by Managers Working for the City and County of San Francisco. The Ceremony Honored the S.F. Net Benefits Team for integrating t he city’s CalFresh and MediCal programs into a streamlined, one-stop service delivery model that provides nearly one in four San Franciscans with nutrition assistance and low-cost health coverage.
2017 Good Government Awards: How Donny Oliveira Champions San Francisco’s Environmental Initiatives
News / The 2017 Good Government Awards, Held on March 22, recognized outstanding performances by Managers Working for the City and County of San Francisco. The ceremony honored Donnie Oliveira for his work creating clever, culturally sensitive public outreach programs to help San Francisco achieve its environmental protection goals.
2017 Good Government Awards: How the Zuckerberg Hospital Move Team Safely Relocated Patients and Staff
News / The 2017 Good Government Awards, Held on March 22, recognized outstanding performances by Managers Working for the City and County of San Francisco. The ceremony honored the Zuckerberg Hospital Move Team for their role in safely transferring patients and staff to the hospital's new trauma center.
Who Benefits From Oakland’s “Community Benefits” Negotiations?
News / With new construction heating up in Oakland, local groups are asking developers to pay for “community benefits” beyond what the city requires. But as Uber backs away from its plans for downtown, Oaklanders should beware that pushing too hard may lose the city the most important community benefit of all: the long-term increase in tax rolls that the city desperately needs.
Friendship and Five Other Principles for Designing a New Bay Area Transit Map
News / The Bay Area has more than two dozen public transit operators, but few people use more than one service — and many don’t use them at all. Getting more people onto buses and trains will mean making it easier for potential riders to understand what services are available. A new partnership is looking at how a user-friendly regional transit map might help bridge the gap.
Planning Commission Initiates Coastal Plan Amendment
News / The Planning Commission opened discussion of the Local Coastal Program Amendments that will update city coastal policies for climate adaptation.
The Downfall of the Mall, the Triumph of the City and the Birth of Something in Between
News / The popularity of Santana Row reflects a renewed interest in urban places — and places that feel urban. As midcentury shopping malls fail across the country, many are being transformed into “lifestyle centers" that integrate entertainment, dining, public spaces and even housing. At a recent SPUR forum, UC Berkeley's Chris Calott explored the origins — and future — of Santana Row and other lifestyle centers.
Can San Francisco Grow Without Gridlock?
News / How do you keep people moving and avoid gridlock in a city that’s poised to add 190,000 jobs and 100,000 households over the next 25 years? For San Francisco, solving this problem is not a thought experiment — it’s reality. To address this issue, the city is enlisting developers in making sure their new projects don’t add up to thousands more car trips.
Inclusionary Housing: A Good Tool but Let’s Wield It Carefully
News / How much affordable housing should San Francisco require market-rate developers to build? A new study offers recommendations, and city supervisors will soon vote on a permanent requirement. The question they’ll face next is whether to stand by recommendations grounded in technical analysis or yield to political pressures to approve a higher requirement that sounds good but could backfire.
The Caltrain Corridor Vision Plan
SPUR Report The Caltrain Corridor, home of the Silicon Valley innovation economy, holds much of the Bay Area’s promise and opportunity, but its transportation system is breaking down. We propose a transformative vision for the corridor, along with recommendations for how to fund and implement it.