Balancing Oakland's Budget
Closing the city’s structural deficit to move toward fiscal solvency and economic growth
Bringing BART to Downtown San Jose: Three Things to Consider
News / The extension of BART to San Jose is moving forward. The city and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Board of Directors will soon vote on some major decision points: where to locate stations and what tunneling method to use. While SPUR isn’t taking a position on all of these decisions, we offer a few ways to think about each of the options.
Harnessing High-Speed Rail
SPUR Report / In connecting the Bay Area to Los Angeles, high-speed rail will run through cities such as Fresno and Bakersfield that were bypassed when Interstate 5 was built. High-speed rail can reconnect these cities with each other and the coast, which has the potential to improve their economies. It can also change California’s sprawling growth pattern by revitalizing downtowns and shifting growth back toward urban centers.
What Temescal and Rockridge Have to Do With Oakland’s Housing Shortage
News / Oakland neighborhoods like Temescal and Rockridge are walkable, have great restaurants, parks and transit access — and are too expensive for most. These neighborhoods would be great places to build the city’s needed housing, but many have zoning regulations that prevent it.
How the Bay Area Can Get the Most Out of Bike Sharing
News / Ford GoBike has launched in five Bay Area cities. At its planned scale of 7,000 bikes, the program has potential to change how people get around — but only if there are policies in place to help guarantee its success. SPUR shares five ways Bay Area cities can get the most out of this and other bike-sharing programs.
How Clipper Masks the Bay Area’s Transit Fare Policy Problems
News / The next generation of the Clipper transit payment system is now under development. While Clipper has removed a barrier to traveling on different transit operators, it did so only by masking a complex web of transit fares, passes and policies, making it challenging for the region to realize the promise of transit. We take a close look at the problem and recommend next steps.