Seamless Transit
How we can dramatically improve public transit without building more of it
The Urbanist /
An Up Market Brings Housing, but Not Jobs, to Downtown San Jose
News / 2014 was the hottest recent year for real estate in downtown San Jose. Hundreds of residential units broke ground in new apartment towers, with several thousand more approved. While high-density housing in the transit-rich downtown is great, the city also needs to keep in mind the long-term availability of land for jobs — specifically sites that can accommodate large office buildings near future BART stations.
Could Mountain View’s Endorsement Jumpstart Silicon Valley BRT?
News / Silicon Valley’s El Camino Real caters almost exclusively to private automobiles, but a recent decision from the Mountain View City Council may shift the boulevard’s car-first status quo. Last week, city leaders voted 3-2 in support of dedicated lanes for the El Camino Real Bus Rapid Transit project.
Greening Up
Policy Brief San Francisco is poised to channel significant new investment to integrated urban watershed planning and green infrastructure through a planning process called the Urban Watershed Assessment. In partnership with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, SPUR convened an advisory group to ask: What is needed to scale up green infrastructure in San Francisco?
Why Do Transit Systems So Often Ignore Design?
News / Great design can transform and enhance any user experience. Why, then, is thoughtful design often ignored within our transit systems? SPUR recently held a day of workshops and presentations, sponsored by TransitCenter, to explore the future of design and public transportation.
Muni’s New Map Takes a Step Toward Seamless Transit
News / This month, San Francisco will introduce a new transit map designed to give riders more information at a glance. First exhibited at SPUR in 2014 as part of our exhibition Urban Cartography , the new Muni map makes the complex web of San Francisco’s 82 municipal transit lines far easier to use and understand.
Healthy Food Incentive Programs Get a Big Boost from Uncle Sam
News / The U.S. Department of Agriculture just gave a big shot in the arm to healthy food incentive programs. On April 1, the agency announced $31 million in grants to groups large and small — including three recipients in California — that provide matching dollars to low-income families who use their food assistance benefits to buy fruits and vegetables.
Seamless Transit
SPUR Report The Bay Area’s prosperity is threatened by fragmentation in the public transit system: Riders and decision-makers contend with more than two dozen different transit operators. By integrating our many public transit services so they function more like one rational, easy-to-use network, we have the opportunity to increase transit ridership and make better planning decisions for the future of our region.
Big Changes at GGNRA
News / The Golden Gate National Recreation Area lost two longtime leaders this month, Frank Dean and Nancy Hornor, both of whom were instrumental in the development of the Ocean Beach Master Plan. Congratulations to them both on their well-deserved retirement.
The Long-Awaited Transformation of SF’s Southeast Waterfront
News / The Blue Greenway project proposes a 13-mile continuous open space and waterway network along San Francisco's southeastern waterfront. The idea has enormous support, but it has yet to overcome some hurdles, namely a geography that encompasses dozens of sites with dozens of owners. To address these complications, SPUR, the San Francisco Parks Alliance and others partners have kicked off the Blue Greenway Action Plan.
Bay Area Vs. Drought: How Are We Doing?
News / Headlines are sounding the alarm that California might have only one year of water left. How are water suppliers in the Bay Area responding to our state’s worsening drought? This week SPUR invited a few of the region’s principal water managers to share the outlook from their parts of the Bay Area.
2015 Good Government Awards: Jimmy Chiu's SFO Runway Safety Program
News / Jimmy Chiu , Airport Infrastructure Program Director, led both design and construction efforts for the successful implementation of FAA-required runway safety areas at San Francisco International Airport ( SFO ). Chiu worked to build consensus among the FAA, airlines and airport operations staff to ensure the project would be completed by the December 2015 federal deadline.
2015 Good Government Awards: Paula Kehoe's Water Supply Diversification Programs
News / Paula Kehoe oversees pivotal water conservation and water resource diversification programs for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission . With California’s severe drought conditions, the work of the Water Resource Division, led by Kehoe , is particularly critical. Kehoe directed the development of new strategies for water supply diversification through non-potable supplies.
2015 Good Government Awards: The James R. Herman Cruise Terminal Team's World-Class Terminal
News / The James R. Herman Cruise Terminal Team managed design, financing and project implementation to create a LEED-certified , world-class cruise terminal at Pier 27. The team set priorities, aligned interests and assured financial stability for this Port of San Francisco project.
2015 Good Government Awards: The Family Violence Prevention Team's Safe Communication Strategies
News / The Family Violence Prevention Team implements new strategies to promote safe communication between parties in child-support cases. Through their work with the Family Violence Initiative, they have facilitated a 16 percent increase in the number of child support cases that are receiving payments.
2015 Good Government Awards: Colleen Chawla's Groundbreaking Health Care Services Master Plan
News / Colleen Chawla led the effort to create the groundbreaking Health Care Services Master Plan ( HCSMP ) for the City and County of San Francisco. The first of its kind in the nation, the HCSMP allows policy makers to evaluate the impact of citywide health-promotion efforts, community planning and land use decisions on the health of citizens.
What Does SJ’s City Hall Plaza Need to Become a Great Urban Space?
News / Building an iconic, future-oriented city hall in downtown San Jose was a leap toward urbanity. But to truly reap the rewards of density will require more work. Gehl Studio and the Tech Museum of Innovation partnered to survey the existing conditions of the plaza, test a series of prototypes and provide recommendations for animating the space.
Prosperity and Opportunity in the Bay Area’s Innovation Economy
News / The Bay Area’s “innovation economy” — i.e., the high-tech sector — is thriving. Though longtime observers are right to wonder when the next crash will happen, the region’s current boom has some fundamental qualities that hint prosperity will continue. This time of expansion is an opportunity to acknowledge some of the challenges associated with economic growth.
Urban Ag Incentive Proposals Spread in California
News / The idea of urban agriculture incentive zones has begun to spread within California. On February 10, both the City of Sacramento and Santa Clara County took official steps toward creating zones that would allow landowners to receive a property tax reduction in exchange for committing their land to urban gardening or farming for at least five years.