Why is it taking so long to retrofit our car-oriented cities to make them more walkable and bikeable? In part, it’s because of an antiquated engineering concept called “auto level of service” or LOS. Here’s how LOS came to control our built environment — and what the State of California is doing to release the hold this little-known metric has had on our cities.

SPUR is leading a transportation study at Ocean Beach to further develop the access and circulation recommendations of the Ocean Beach Master Plan. The transportation design team has proposed a new solution for Skyline Boulevard: a series of well designed modern roundabouts.

Recent data suggest that an El Niño weather pattern may develop in the Pacific Ocean this year. El Niños typically generate wetter and more frequent winter storms in California, with potential implications for erosion at Ocean Beach. What will these storms mean for the future of the beach, and for the recommendations in SPUR’s Ocean Beach Master Plan?

The Central Subway extension of the T-Third light rail to Chinatown doesn’t include a plan for future service to North Beach or the neighborhoods beyond. A community-led movement is ensuring the proper evaluation of the light rail extension. Residential, commercial, transit and tourist hubs are heavily concentrated on the eastern side of the city, yet not enough fast and reliable transit connections exist between them.