Senate Bill 288, co-sponsored by SPUR, aims to accelerate sustainable transportation projects and jumpstart a green recovery, creating jobs and reviving local economies while improving public health and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. California can get projects — and jobs — going by taking a hard look at the regulatory processes that slow down, stop or increase the cost of sustainable transportation projects.
Once a year, SPUR looks back on the accomplishments of the past 12 months. This time, it’s a bittersweet reflection. We’re exceedingly proud of all that we got done in 2019. But we know it’s a fraction of what will be needed going forward as Bay Area communities struggle to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and begin to address the systemic racism that has shaped the region.
Transit agencies around the world are facing a shared existential crisis in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. When can mass transit be “mass” again? This spring, SPUR and AECOM convened transit agencies, advocates and practitioners to explore solutions and share lessons learned. Six ideas emerged that transit agencies in the Bay Area should consider as they continue to navigate this crisis.
Should some smaller Bay Area cities merge as a way to weather the economic fallout wrought by COVID-19? The pandemic will have a significant impact on local governments — but it might also present a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rebuild a governance system that better serves the Bay Area.
San Francisco lost an extraordinary yet humble citizen activist with the passing of Ron Miguel on June 28. A former president of the San Francisco Planning Commission and former president of the Planning Association for the Richmond District, Ron was a long-time active member of SPUR and the founding chairman of the Housing Action Coalition.