Streetsblog brings word of a bafflesome episode in the life of San Francisco:
Two-and-a-half years after a judge issued an injunction preventing the city from adding any new bicycle infrastructure to its streets, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and the San Francisco Planning Department have released a 1353-page Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) on the San Francisco Bicycle Plan.
At a cost of more than $1 million, the city has attempted to demonstrate in excruciating detail what would seem to be obvious: better bicycle amenities contribute to increased cycling and an improved environment.
Apparently SanFran undertook this research in response to an injunction arising from a single lawsuit filed by Rob Anderson.
I hadn't heard of this guy. Up in Seattle we have our own self-appointed Transit Crank, Tim Eyman -- he's wasted untold municipal time and money putting forward an endless series of anti-transit, pro-road-building state initiatives. But $1 million and two years with a single lawsuit? Against bike paths? That's a special brand of crankery.
Anyway, having scientifically proven that fewer drivers means fewer emissions, it looks like SanFran is clear to go forward with its ambitious bike plans, increasing capacity by 75 percent starting, probably, in mid-2009.
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gregobad Posted 5:20 am
02 Dec 2008
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Delay And Deny Posted 10:57 am
02 Dec 2008
Sign the petition to our president-elect and congressional leaders, encouraging them to provide explicit funding for biking and walking in the economic recovery package.
http://support.railstotrails.org/recovery
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy will deliver the petition with your name and the many others who believe that balance is critical to our nation's transportation system.
Please ask at least five friends to sign the petition.
http://support.railstotrails.org/recovery
Texeme.Construct.Questioner
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DebraB Posted 10:07 pm
02 Dec 2008
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archigeek Posted 11:41 pm
02 Dec 2008
The mellotron is your friend.
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amazingdrx Posted 12:57 am
03 Dec 2008
Rob just needs to get some and relax. Trying to date a 60 something lawyer is most likely causing much of his crankery? Just a guess, but imagine negotiating a once a year tryst with her!
Get him out on a bike with a well mannered prostitute, his mood will improve signifigantly with the exersize, fresh air, and regular sex.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin
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JMG Posted 3:02 am
03 Dec 2008
Any enviro assessment like an EIS is subject to challenge. Big EISes are even more so, especially on procedural grounds (i.e., the substance is fine, but the rules weren't followed along the way at some point).
While it's a pain when a project you like gets held up by an objection to the substance or process for an enviro assessment, remember that providing opportunities for such challenges is the whole point of making agencies do them. If the public couldn't raise objections---and enjoin further work until those objections are shown to be baseless---then the assessment process would be simply useless paperwork.
The 5% Project
Let's live on the planet as if we intend to stay.
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