Comments on: Bus system would attract more riders http://actlocallysf.org/blog/talkingpoints/2007/04/25/bus-system-would-attract-more-riders/ Just another actlocallysf.org weblog Sat, 17 May 2008 07:04:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=wordpress-mu-1.0 by: rob bregoff http://actlocallysf.org/blog/talkingpoints/2007/04/25/bus-system-would-attract-more-riders/#comment-344 Wed, 16 May 2007 00:16:48 +0000 http://actlocallysf.org/blog/talkingpoints/2007/04/25/bus-system-would-attract-more-riders/#comment-344 BRT is a chance to have the benefits of light rail at a fraction of the cost. It won't rob merchants of Geary of customers, it will bring more customers out there because of they'll not be facing an hour stop-and-go bus ride. Losing a traffic lane always looks bad to the merchants. The Valencia merchants fought giving up a lane to the bike lanes, but after traffic was calmed on Valenccia, shoppers and diners started flocking there. Also, traffic mobility hasn't suffered as there are now left turn pcokets, and the thru traffic flows more steadily, and much more safely. The trick to having a successful business district is to make it user-friendly, and pleasant to be on. The merchants along Valencia are enjoying increased patronage, the bike lanes have greatly increased the number of cyclists using the street. Everybody wins. BRT could bring the same win to the outer Richmond. It's too bad that the city didn't have the foresight to put BRT on 3rd. It would have the flexibility to diverge to different terminal targets at both ends of the line, and could have taken a lane on Kearny to get to Chinatown, which would have saved us from the whole Central Subway debacle.<ul><li><label>Overall Rating</label>: 1</li> </ul> BRT is a chance to have the benefits of light rail at a fraction of the cost. It won’t rob merchants of Geary of customers, it will bring more customers out there because of they’ll not be facing an hour stop-and-go bus ride.
Losing a traffic lane always looks bad to the merchants. The Valencia merchants fought giving up a lane to the bike lanes, but after traffic was calmed on Valenccia, shoppers and diners started flocking there. Also, traffic mobility hasn’t suffered as there are now left turn pcokets, and the thru traffic flows more steadily, and much more safely.
The trick to having a successful business district is to make it user-friendly, and pleasant to be on. The merchants along Valencia are enjoying increased patronage, the bike lanes have greatly increased the number of cyclists using the street. Everybody wins. BRT could bring the same win to the outer Richmond.

It’s too bad that the city didn’t have the foresight to put BRT on 3rd. It would have the flexibility to diverge to different terminal targets at both ends of the line, and could have taken a lane on Kearny to get to Chinatown, which would have saved us from the whole Central Subway debacle.

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]]> by: Rob Anderson http://actlocallysf.org/blog/talkingpoints/2007/04/25/bus-system-would-attract-more-riders/#comment-337 Wed, 09 May 2007 22:21:54 +0000 http://actlocallysf.org/blog/talkingpoints/2007/04/25/bus-system-would-attract-more-riders/#comment-337 In spite of Jason's slur on David Heller and local merchants, he's right about where the real bottleneck for the 38 line is---between Van Ness and Market St. Otherwise, the 38 line moves very well. (A lot of people travel out to the Clement St. area, by the way, but many now use the even slower #2 Clement and #1 California lines.) Seems like people are exaggerating Muni's problems with the 38 Geary line to get onboard the BRT bandwagon. It's a fashionable solution in search of a real problem.<ul><li><label>Overall Rating</label>: 1</li> </ul> In spite of Jason’s slur on David Heller and local merchants, he’s right about where the real bottleneck for the 38 line is—between Van Ness and Market St. Otherwise, the 38 line moves very well. (A lot of people travel out to the Clement St. area, by the way, but many now use the even slower #2 Clement and #1 California lines.) Seems like people are exaggerating Muni’s problems with the 38 Geary line to get onboard the BRT bandwagon. It’s a fashionable solution in search of a real problem.
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]]> by: Jason R http://actlocallysf.org/blog/talkingpoints/2007/04/25/bus-system-would-attract-more-riders/#comment-311 Fri, 27 Apr 2007 10:29:21 +0000 http://actlocallysf.org/blog/talkingpoints/2007/04/25/bus-system-would-attract-more-riders/#comment-311 1. The BRT should obviously be the center lanes. 2. No one goes to the Richmond to shop that doesn't already live in the area anyway. These people will always shop there because they're local. No one travels to the Richmond for its AMAZING shopping as it is now. 3. If ridership increases, BRT will bring more potential customers to the area. This idea that shopping must be car-based is so 1970s I could puke. 4. If David Heller and the merchants on Geary are that stupid, then just ignore them. Improving MUNI for the community trumps whatever these idiots think - they are still in the minority. 5. BRT STILL doesn't address what happens downtown. What's the point of improving service in the Richmond if they just hit a bottleneck when they get to Van Ness and downtown anyway? Building BRT to eventually be Light Rail needs to be EMPHASISED. This needs to be presented as preparing Geary for light rail and BRT being a step in that process, NOT we're doing BRT and maybe light rail. We need to commit to light rail as the long term goal - INCLUDING a Subway from at LEAST VAN NESS to the end of Geary downtown. This is more important than the Central Subway, but since the Central is getting done first we also need to make sure it will be compatible with future Geary Subway (i.e. Union Square stop can pull double duty as Geary and Central stop. LIGHT RAIL!<ul><li><label>Overall Rating</label>: 1</li> </ul> 1. The BRT should obviously be the center lanes.

2. No one goes to the Richmond to shop that doesn’t already live in the area anyway. These people will always shop there because they’re local. No one travels to the Richmond for its AMAZING shopping as it is now.

3. If ridership increases, BRT will bring more potential customers to the area. This idea that shopping must be car-based is so 1970s I could puke.

4. If David Heller and the merchants on Geary are that stupid, then just ignore them. Improving MUNI for the community trumps whatever these idiots think - they are still in the minority.

5. BRT STILL doesn’t address what happens downtown. What’s the point of improving service in the Richmond if they just hit a bottleneck when they get to Van Ness and downtown anyway? Building BRT to eventually be Light Rail needs to be EMPHASISED. This needs to be presented as preparing Geary for light rail and BRT being a step in that process, NOT we’re doing BRT and maybe light rail. We need to commit to light rail as the long term goal - INCLUDING a Subway from at LEAST VAN NESS to the end of Geary downtown. This is more important than the Central Subway, but since the Central is getting done first we also need to make sure it will be compatible with future Geary Subway (i.e. Union Square stop can pull double duty as Geary and Central stop.

LIGHT RAIL!

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]]> by: Jason R http://actlocallysf.org/blog/talkingpoints/2007/04/25/bus-system-would-attract-more-riders/#comment-310 Fri, 27 Apr 2007 10:21:32 +0000 http://actlocallysf.org/blog/talkingpoints/2007/04/25/bus-system-would-attract-more-riders/#comment-310 If BRT is what we're getting, then BRT is what we're getting. It will be better than the current system. But what is really concerning me is that they keepshowing these images of those fugly "busses" they're using in Southern California (at least they look the same as those things down south). This is serious. These busses LOOK RIDICULOUS. I want to see someone tell me that when they do this BRT, the busses will look like our current boxy understated, but functional busses and not these horrendous mobile eye-sores painted bright red with plastic crap tacked to them to try and make them not look like busses. PLEASE TELL ME THEY WON'T LOOK LIKE THAT! PLEASE!!!!!!!<ul><li><label>Overall Rating</label>: 1</li> </ul> If BRT is what we’re getting, then BRT is what we’re getting. It will be better than the current system.

But what is really concerning me is that they keepshowing these images of those fugly “busses” they’re using in Southern California (at least they look the same as those things down south). This is serious. These busses LOOK RIDICULOUS. I want to see someone tell me that when they do this BRT, the busses will look like our current boxy understated, but functional busses and not these horrendous mobile eye-sores painted bright red with plastic crap tacked to them to try and make them not look like busses.

PLEASE TELL ME THEY WON’T LOOK LIKE THAT! PLEASE!!!!!!!

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]]> by: Joseph Tham http://actlocallysf.org/blog/talkingpoints/2007/04/25/bus-system-would-attract-more-riders/#comment-308 Thu, 26 Apr 2007 00:54:55 +0000 http://actlocallysf.org/blog/talkingpoints/2007/04/25/bus-system-would-attract-more-riders/#comment-308 In the short run, the 38 Geary buslines should be consolidated into just one 38 Geary line with fewer stops and eliminate the 38L. The 38BX should have less stops, same as the current 38L stops in the Avenues so that it is not used as a shuttle in the Avenues. Also, if the BRT is a done deal, then the mid Richmond south of Geary should have sticker parking as part of the deal so that drivers will not park in the mid Richmond and take the buses downtown. Residential sticker parking stops at Park Presidio Blvd. and should be extended to 25th Avenue but with 4 hour limits.<ul><li><label>Overall Rating</label>: 1</li> </ul> In the short run, the 38 Geary buslines should be consolidated into just one 38 Geary line with fewer stops and eliminate the 38L. The 38BX should have less stops, same as the current 38L stops in the Avenues so that it is not used as a shuttle in the Avenues.

Also, if the BRT is a done deal, then the mid Richmond south of Geary should have sticker parking as part of the deal so that drivers will not park in the mid Richmond and take the buses downtown. Residential sticker parking stops at Park Presidio Blvd. and should be extended to 25th Avenue but with 4 hour limits.

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