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At the dawn of the social media era, Belle Gibson became a pioneering wellness influencer - telling the world how she beat cancer with an alternative diet. Her bestselling cookbook and online app provided her success, respect, and a connection to the cancer-battling influencer she admired the most. But a curious journalist with a sick wife began asking questions that even those closest to Belle began to wonder. Was the online star faking her cancer and fooling the world? Kaitlyn Dever stars in the Netflix hit series Apple Cider Vinegar . Inspired by true events, the dramatized story follows Belle’s journey from self-styled wellness thought leader to disgraced con artist. It also explores themes of hope and acceptance - and how far we’ll go to maintain it. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews executive producer Samantha Strauss. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched Apple Cider Vinegar yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts .…
streetscast Archives - Streetsblog San Francisco द्वारा प्रदान की गई सामग्री. एपिसोड, ग्राफिक्स और पॉडकास्ट विवरण सहित सभी पॉडकास्ट सामग्री streetscast Archives - Streetsblog San Francisco या उनके पॉडकास्ट प्लेटफ़ॉर्म पार्टनर द्वारा सीधे अपलोड और प्रदान की जाती है। यदि आपको लगता है कि कोई आपकी अनुमति के बिना आपके कॉपीराइट किए गए कार्य का उपयोग कर रहा है, तो आप यहां बताई गई प्रक्रिया का पालन कर सकते हैं https://hi.player.fm/legal।
streetscast Archives - Streetsblog San Francisco द्वारा प्रदान की गई सामग्री. एपिसोड, ग्राफिक्स और पॉडकास्ट विवरण सहित सभी पॉडकास्ट सामग्री streetscast Archives - Streetsblog San Francisco या उनके पॉडकास्ट प्लेटफ़ॉर्म पार्टनर द्वारा सीधे अपलोड और प्रदान की जाती है। यदि आपको लगता है कि कोई आपकी अनुमति के बिना आपके कॉपीराइट किए गए कार्य का उपयोग कर रहा है, तो आप यहां बताई गई प्रक्रिया का पालन कर सकते हैं https://hi.player.fm/legal।
David Chiu testifying before the MTA Board two weeks ago. San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu has introduced a motion ( PDF ) that would allow his colleagues to reject the MTA’s budget, which is due to be finalized and voted on by the MTA Board next week. As we’ve reported , Chiu testified before the MTA Board earlier this month that he is concerned about work orders from other departments that are draining Muni’s budget. He is also “deeply concerned” about fare hikes and service cuts. Chiu called Streetsblog San Francisco this afternoon for a brief interview: The post Streetscast: An Interview with BOS Prez David Chiu on the MTA Budget appeared first on Streetsblog San Francisco .…
Photo by Bryan Goebel MTA Executive Director Nat Ford sat down with Streetsblog San Francisco last week for an hour-long interview. In today’s segment, he addresses the funding crisis facing California transit agencies, the long-awaited implementation of the Bike Plan and the internal MTA battle over how to balance the different modes. I also asked him about criticism from some advocates and officials in other agencies that the Mayor has hamstrung the MTA in some areas, preventing bold action to make San Francisco a true Transit First city. “I think, from my meetings with the mayor, there’s some situations where he wishes we were moving a whole lot faster,” said Ford. “There are situations where we are very aggressive, and then there’s some situations where we need to be a little bit more deliberate in what we’re doing.” Part II of the interview with me and reporter Matthew Roth was recorded on April 8th: On the funding crisis facing transit agencies: “All of us are working very hard to develop a strategy to talk about the relevance of the funding, and it is very interesting to me at a time where we are seeing ridership increases over the last year or two that now is the time we’re going to have a difficult time trying to increase our service capacity. So this couldn’t come at a worse time. We are working hard to educate our local legislators; we’ve sent letters to them. Two weeks ago, there was a state lobbying day for all of the transit systems. We participated in that. But we have a lot of work ahead of us, because I think the voters, this was a mandate from the voters; they wanted this state transit assistance program to be part of the state budget, and now for it to be raided and divvied up at a time that the citizens probably need transit more than they ever needed it for their transportation needs, it’s unfortunate. So we will be working closely with our colleagues across the state.” On criticism the Mayor is preventing bold action at the MTA: “From my meetings with the mayor, I think there’s some situations where he wishes we were moving a whole lot faster, but for resource constraints and things of that nature, we want to be very deliberate in what we’re doing. We are testing out some things with the pavements, the parks strategy in terms of projects that make the city more walkable and enjoyable, and there are situations where we are very aggressive, and then there’s some situations where we need to be a little bit more deliberate in what we’re doing. I think we’re fortunate between the mayor and the Board of Supervisors, we have passionate people about transit. They may have different opinions about how we go about it. Passionate about transit, but passionate about pedestrians, passionate about bicyclists. So we’re not short for any passion and advocacy on any of those fronts. We get an adequate amount of pressure to move things along, but I mean for example, with the bike plan, what is it, shoot and then aim? And I think in this case we shot and then ended up with an injunction that slowed us down significantly, because we wanted to be very aggressive in terms of expanding the bike network. I think that should be a lesson to all of us that while we all feel we have the greatest idea and the timing is right to move forward rapidly, not everyone agrees with us and there’s ways…legally, through the courts…to make sure that we adequately review what we’re doing before we implement it. “ On moving the Bike Plan forward: “As soon as we get from under the injunction, we’re moving rapidly forward with the projects that are listed out in the plan. We do have to bring this back to the MTA Board to get their approval before we go forward, and full disclosure, one of the challenges that we’re seeing for I’d say a small percentage of the projects, is there are trade offs and some controversial trade offs as it relates to its impact on Muni versus impact to automobiles versus impact to pedestrians, and I think that’s a difficult challenge the staff will have to try and balance out. We have a transit first mantra, and that’s the city’s charter policy in terms of transportation decisions, but we do recognize that there is a shared use of our rider ways and our conveyances, and we need to balance that out. So I think the vast majority of the project is pretty straightforward; it’s striping, it’s building and getting some infrastructure in place, and we’re excited about that. And then we do have the more difficult trade off type situations that we just need to think through and make sure we’re trying to make the right decision.” How do you balance the different modes? “I’ll tell you, I think that’s the type of stuff that keeps me awake at night and keeps a lot of our staff challenged and we’ll go in my conference room and we’ll lock the doors and we’ll come out hopefully with something that the vast majority of our citizens would prefer. The challenge that we do have is we live in a dynamic environment, and there’s no kind of cookie-cutter policy on these things. I guess some would say it’s cut and dry, transit first, bikes, pedestrians. We have to be very careful in that, and we want to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people in the city. I think it’s very clear, there’s a large majority of individuals that feel that automobiles should be last on the list, and automobile or parking infrastructure, parking availability should be last on the list, and we take that very seriously. We are transit first. We want everyone to ride Muni, and if they’re not on Muni, either walking or riding a bike, and we’ll put those filters into place when we make those decisions.” What are the MTA’s goals for reducing the amount of auto trips? “Well one, our goal, initially I think our primary goal, is to get them on a reliable transit system, and then if people do choose and need to use an automobile, that when we provide our parking resources, that they’re adequately priced, so they help out the transit system. If there is a parking need, that availability is readily available so people don’t have to circle around to find a parking spot, thereby creating more greenhouse emissions, thereby creating more congestion. Our SF Go and SF Park projects are kind of build around that, primarily the SF Park project, which is real time information on parking availability, but also pricing that parking based on the availability at that moment. So it’s not going to be easier to park, but if you need to park, we’re going to make it readily available for you to quickly get in your parking spot, and then we’re going to charge you what the appropriate rate is to discourage you from doing it, but also to support the transit system and the bike infrastructure and the pedestrian infrastructure in the city. So that’s our global strategy in trying to deal with that. There are some people that definitely need to use an automobile, but we’re going to make sure all the other conveyances are first rate, and then if they choose to, that they’re doing it in a very orderly fashion.” Next in Part III: Pedestrian safety and infrastructure in the city. Listen to Part I. The post Streetscast: An Interview with MTA Chief Nat Ford, Part II appeared first on Streetsblog San Francisco .…
Leah Shahum with Wade Crowfoot, Nat Ford, David Chiu and Ben Caldwell. Photo by Bryan Goebel. The Mayor’s Director of Climate Change Initiatives, Wade Crowfoot, joined MTA Executive Director Nat Ford, Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, SFBC Executive Director Leah Shahum and many others this morning to formally announce this year’s six Sunday Streets events. The first one, April 26th, takes place on the Bayside portion of the Embarcadero, which will be closed to vehicle traffic from the Giants ballpark to Aquatic Park. That’s about 3.4 miles that will be open to pedestrians, bicyclists, joggers, rollerbladers and anyone who wants to take part in healthy activity. We’ll be posting a lot about Sunday Streets in the weeks and months ahead but we wanted to bring you today’s press conference via Streetscast: The post Streetscast: Sunday Streets Press Conference appeared first on Streetsblog San Francisco .…
Photo by Bryan Goebel Municipal Transportation Agency Executive Director Nat Ford has been on the job for more than three years now and is a veteran public transportation manager. He began his career as a train conductor 26 years ago at New York’s MTA before moving on to a number of managerial positions. He was an assistant chief transportation officer at BART before being named to oversee Atlanta’s public transit system. Ford has often been criticized by advocates for not taking more aggressive and bold action to make San Francisco a true Transit First city. He sat down for an hour-long interview with Streetsblog San Francisco this week to discuss a wide range of issues. We’ll be examining segments of the interview and transcribing it in the days to come but for today, we bring you Part I: Highlights from Part I: How do you get around? “I split up alternating between taking public transit to the office, and during the day for the most part, I’m on public transit. But there are some situations where I need to use an automobile to get around. So I mix it up, but I think it’s pretty obvious that I ride the system quite a bit. I think a lot of our operators and employees are well aware of that, because I usually come back with something to report or talk about when I get back to the office.” On rumors he wants to leave the MTA: “My career goal really is to focus on the San Francisco MTA and get it to I think a good state of operation, and stabilize it. We have more work to do, so right now I have more than enough in front of me to keep me interested and occupied, and it’s an interesting time in transportation around this country. So there are always opportunities out there in challenging cities, and I’m fortunate from time to time to get a phone call to see if I’m interested. But my plan at this juncture is to focus on the MTA and really continue with the voter’s mandate, which is a well-run, holistic transportation system that not only looks at public transit, but looks at all surface transportation needs and subway transportation needs for the city. So I’ve got enough to keep me excited and engaged.” Why did you miss the Budget and Finance Committee hearing on word orders? “That hearing was called pretty late in the week last week. We had planned for a host of meetings with the 5000 employees of the MTA, to keep them focused on the job that they have in hand, and it was really a management decision that we sent a representative there. The Chairman of the Board was there, and the decision was I needed to focus on getting out there and talking with our employees about what was discussed in the board meeting yesterday.” On other city departments raiding MTA funds: “Going back to the deep dive that we did on all of our expenditure about two or three years ago, we recognized that being a city department, we had to subscribe certain services to other departments for the agency, and in some cases, we increased the work orders, requested an increase of the work orders, particularly with police, on the T Third line, when we opened it up; we wanted to make sure we had adequate security out there on that corridor on our LRVs. So there have been incidences where we’ve requested additional services. And then there’s been times when for example, with 311, where it’s felt that we are the bulk of the calls into 311, primarily for vehicle location; people want to know when their next transit vehicle is showing up. And in that particular case, there’s been some growth because it initially started as a program that there was some assumptions on calls, and then it increased. I wouldn’t say it’s a rubber stamping of it, but it’s clearly a situation where there’s increased levels of work that we have identified, and at the same time, these other departments are suffering through budget cuts and challenges, and they’re trying to make sure that for whatever services they’re providing for the MTA, we are adequately reimbursing them for it. Is it a perfect system? No system is perfect. We do need to, I believe, improve the autotability of the charges, to make sure that what the MTA is paying for, we are actually receiving those services. And I think that’s where there’s a question in the debate, and I think there’s a simple way of figuring that out.” How good a metric is reliability? “The challenge that this system faces is all of our operation, with the exception of the metro subway, is at street level, and we do have great separation out on the T Third line, and bus only lanes, but we know how strictly our citizens adhere to those bus only lanes and it creates some reliability issues. I get pages every once in a while on my Blackberry, where we’ll be blocked by somebody who inadvertently parked the car in the wrong place and infringed on the right of way of our LRVs. So I think the 85 percent goal was set because there was a great deal of frustration back when proposition E passed, and I think it was a stretch goal, and that’s where the citizens want the system to attain. We have some corridors where literally we have a bus every couple of minutes. In that particular case, I think the frequency of service is more important than the 85 percent on-time performance. If you’re standing at the bus stop, you want frequency; you don’t care really if that bus is five minutes late or ten minutes late, but you’re more concerned about your on-time performance. It would be an interesting metric if we looked at passenger on-time performance for a trip versus the vehicle’s on-time performance. And I talk to my staff about that quite often, because we go beyond 85 percent on time performance when we evaluate this, we start looking at okay, what are our largest corridors? What are our heaviest lines? What is the on time performance on those lines? And you’ll find that 15 corridors represent about 80 percent of our ridership. Our numbers tend to be a bit better there. They are the ones with the dedicated bus lanes. They are the ones that we’ve put parking control officers out there. There are the lines that we have our inspectors out there to make sure that the line is running evenly. So there’s more resources there. “ Besides bus stop spacing, what aspects of the TEP will the MTA be able to implement?: “Clearly we need to revisit and modify our schedules of our service and our lines. We have schedules out there that were built quite some time ago, and the travel patterns have changed, and we are forcing or trying to have our operators adhere to schedules that create reliability issues, and are not realistic at this point, because of the increase in automobile use, because of the increase in pedestrians and bicycles, and there’s a lot more folks out there, and we want our operators to operate safely and on an adequate schedule. That’s going to require to make sure we have an adequate number of schedulers. Also, in terms of managing that, an adequate number of street supervisors that make sure that buses are leaving on time, on schedule, proper oversight of the operators who are running the system every day. Parking control officers, expanding their role beyond issuing parking citations, but they’re out there at these intersections making a clear path for our vehicles. I’d also say our proof of payment officers; I believe that the current system of trying to get everyone through the front door to ensure they pay their fare, in this dense city, with the ridership levels we have, that’s a delay factor, dwell time at the bus stops is also a delay factor. It’s my hope that either on a corridor basis or on a zone basis, there’ll be zones where we’ll allow all door boarding, but we will enforce fare enforcement with using our proof of payment officers. So right now we have planned to continue some of these activities, but we cannot be as aggressive with the hiring in those particular categories that I think will have the biggest impact.” The post Streetscast: An Interview with MTA Chief Nat Ford, Part 1 appeared first on Streetsblog San Francisco .…
District 2 Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier represents the Presidio, Cow Hollow, Marina, Pacific Heights and part of the Richmond District. She was originally appointed to her seat by Mayor Gavin Newsom in 2004, and comes from a well-known political family. Her grandfather, Joe Alioto, was mayor from 1968-1976 and her aunt, Angela Alioto, was President of the Board of Supervisors and a candidate for mayor. In an extensive interview in her City Hall office, Alioto-Pier said the number one transportation issue in her district centers around commuter traffic. “As a result of being the district that has the honor of being connected to the Golden Gate Bridge, we get a lot of traffic that comes in off of the Golden Gate Bridge,” said Alioto-Pier. “It makes for a lot of congestion and a lot of different issues.” While she supports the Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP), and wants more people to ride Muni, she doesn’t necessarily feel the City should be encouraging people to get rid of their cars. “When we look at San Francisco as a transit first city we want the carrot approach more than the stick. We want people to use public transportation and I personally believe that the way we do that is by making it more accessible, by making it run better, not by telling people not to use their cars.” Alioto-Pier gets around mostly by car. She was left unable to walk after a skiing accident at the age of 13 and became a disability rights advocate very early in her life. She said she does occasionally ride a recumbent bike, but mostly around her other home in St. Helena. Some highlights from the interview: On the TEP: “If done right, it can certainly turn Muni around. And I think that before we look at trying to fix any problems we might have, especially if we’re looking at it, you know, as the entire city, and trying to figure out which routes work for us, which one’s don’t, where we might be able to improve it, we have to have some kind of an effectiveness study. And so in those ways the TEP, I think it’s going to be great. I’m very hopeful that we’re going to learn a lot about transportation in San Francisco, where people pick up their rides, where they drop them off. I mean, we’re already seeing that information, which is really interesting, it tells us a lot about how San Franciscans live, and it tells us a lot how they commute. And then it also is giving us a really good idea during the day, where people go, and how they get there, and I think it’s going to be really interesting, and I think it will be very effective.” On Paratransit: “Ninety percent of our Paratransit is taken care of through our taxi service. And I think that’s says a lot quite frankly, you know, we really rely on the private sector to get people with disabilities around San Francisco, and I think that’s just reprehensible quite frankly. I think that we need to be taking a bigger role in providing those services to people, and providing them honestly with dignity and with respect. It’s really hard, as a person who uses a wheelchair, it can be really difficult to catch a bus. I know they try, but systems break down, those ramps are not very fun to go on, those little lifts, they can be pretty scary, and you know, it would really behoove I think some people in the MTA, and frankly some members of the Board of Supervisors to get in a wheelchair for a couple of days and go try San Francisco’s public transportation system, because it just doesn’t work as well as I think people would expect.” On the Bike Plan: “I support the Bicycle Plan. I’m a little concerned [about a] strip on Broadway Street. I’ve been told by the MTA that’s been taken off, and I’ve recently been told that it’s been put back on, which is this strip from, I believe its Webster going down to Franklin, or something. And my main concern there is that we have five schools on Broadway Street, we pick off and drop of hundreds of school children twice a day, so there are some safety concerns with that. But aside from that, I am definitely in support of it.” On congestion pricing: “I am not a fan of congestion pricing. You know, the way we’re looking at it right now, I’m always open to options, I’m always open to hear what people might say, or ideas that they may have, but right now for my community it would be particularly taxed just by getting around San Francisco in a car, and I’m not sure that it would do what we need it to do.” The post Streetscast: An Interview with District 2 Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier appeared first on Streetsblog San Francisco .…
San Francisco Supervisor Carmen Chu represents the Sunset District, which includes some of the city’s major thoroughfares: the Great Highway, 19th and Sunset avenues and Sloat Boulevard. She was appointed to her post by the Mayor in 2007 and elected last November. Chu’s main mode of travel tends to shape her views on transportation issues. She gets around mostly by car and only rides Muni a few times a month. In a lengthy interview in her City Hall office, she expressed tepid support for studying a car-free Market Street , said she needs to study the Bicycle Plan before she “wholeheartedly” supports it, but hopes the Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP) will help overhaul Muni. “I’m very, very happy that we were able to embark on the TEP process, the Transit Effectiveness Project. We have for a very long time had a transit system that truly wasn’t reflecting what the changes in the demographics of this city were.” At the same time, Chu believes there is a parking shortage in the city. She recently voted to support a conditional use permit for a developer who wants underground parking for a condo complex at 299 Valencia above the ratio set in the Market/Octavia neighborhood plan, a sustainable blueprint that took ten years to craft. “In San Francisco we do have a parking issue, whether people want to say that we can just ignore the parking issue and that people will eventually choose public transportation, there truly is a parking shortage, where people are kind of fighting for spaces. In a situation where the parking was all underground…I didn’t see a problem with adding the additional parking spaces underground.” Chu also outlined some of the initiatives she has undertaken to improve streets and sidewalks in her district, particularly along corridors that have seen a high number of fatal pedestrian crashes. The interview with me and reporter Matthew Roth was recorded on February 26, 2009. Other highlights: On pedestrian safety in District 4: “We do face the challenges of how do you try to create an environment that is good for pedestrians when there are so many cars moving at high speeds. On 19th Avenue we’ve worked very much in partnership with the state to try to provide additional benefits, making sure that we have pedestrian count down signals at some of our very, very busy intersections. Providing for mass arms, which are basically more visible street lights so people can actually see it and stop, because there have been a number of fatalities that have occurred from collisions, people and car collisions, on 19th Avenue. We’ve installed a left-hand turn signal on Sloat, which has been good to help facilitate car traffic there.” On a car-free Market Street : “I would definitely consider it. I think we need to take a look and see where we’re going to be diverting traffic otherwise. So does it mean when we say ‘car free Market Street’ that that’s going to leave the Muni lines continuing to go through there, or does it mean no Muni line at all? Does it mean cabs can go there, or cannot? Private vehicles, does that mean that they get routed off to Mission Street, or other places, what is that traffic pattern going to look like? I think that’s important to consider before just saying that you’re going to go on board with it. But we all know that Market Street is very congested, very many people already avoid Market Street to begin with if they are driving their own vehicles. And so it’s worth taking a look at.” On denser development in the Sunset : “I know that there has been some conversations about transit-oriented development that would mean higher density along the transit areas. I would say that for me there would be a very big concern with moving forward with some of that, because I do know that if you were to have more dense development along say the two major corridors in our district, which would be the N Judah and the Taraval line, there are also residential spaces abutting. How do you deal with the increased amount of individuals who’d be living there? What would you do with a lot of the parking issues that are already exacerbated? To be frank, we see a lot of individuals right now who are driving out to the Sunset, parking their cars there to take the transit line. We see a lot of neighborhood concern with regard to that issue.” On the Bicycle Plan : “I would say that I’m not as familiar with all the details of what the bike plan would entail, so before I would say that I’m wholeheartedly for the bike plan, I would like to take a look at all those details. But I would say in general I am supportive of being able to improve the safety experience of bicyclists. I think that we are also very, very concerned with improving the safety for pedestrians, it’s just a different mode of travel. And so how is it that we provide for sort of a more integrated, a more thoughtful, a more safe environment for a pedestrian, for a bicyclist, for automobiles.” The post Streetscast: An Interview with District 4 Supervisor Carmen Chu appeared first on Streetsblog San Francisco .…
Supervisor Bevan Dufty aboard a streetcar recently named in honor of gay civil rights legend Harvey Milk. District 8 Supervisor Bevan Dufty was elected the chairman of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (TA) this week, rounding up the necessary six votes to beat District 6 Supervisor Chris Daly. It’s a position Dufty says he’s excited about. “It’s a very creative, energetic environment. It’s not at all bureaucratic. There a lot of young, hard-working transportation planners that are there. I would like to have a culture at the staff level that is positive and good and keep the talented staff that we have and hopefully get a lot of good things done.” Dufty, who is serving his last two years as supervisor, was first elected in 2002 and is a likely candidate for mayor in 2011. His District 8 encompasses an area stretching from the Lower Haight, to the Castro, all the way south to San Jose Avenue. Today we present our second Streetscast. The interview, with myself and reporter Matthew Roth, was recorded on Inauguration Day, January 22nd, a week before Dufty was elected TA chair: Some highlights from the interview: A rare bike ride for Dufty: “I never learned how to ride a bike so Bike to Work Day is always exciting for me because they get me a tandem bike and they always put a handsome guy in front of me.” On Muni: “We have the bones of a great system and hopefully we’ll continue making progress. The volume of Muni complaints that I’ve gotten in the last six months has diminished quite a bit.” On traffic calming: “I think we feel that this is a very pedestrian-oriented town and that speeding vehicles, unsafe driving habits, these are all things that are dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists and really creates a hostile environment for people living in a neighborhood.” On a car-free Market Street: “I’m excited and open to it,” Dufty said. “I think that there is a lot of potential and a lot of questions…there are a lot of tools we can apply to Market Street to make it a better thoroughfare, a grand thoroughfare for the city.” On the Upper Market Community Plan: “What was important to me was that developers not be demonized, and looked at as money grubbing people and that people in the neighborhood not just be viewed as NIMBYs and people opposed to anyone’s related view by anyone at anytime.” On Market/Octavia: “I’ve been very engaged trying to protect the safety of bicyclists and making sure we don’t have illegal right turns onto the Central Freeway entrance there and that’s important. My intersections in the Castro are not what I want them to be.” Flickr photos: bkusler and alwaysupndown The post Streetscast: An Interview with New TA Chair Bevan Dufty appeared first on Streetsblog San Francisco .…
Supervisor David Chiu doesn’t own a car and walks, bikes and takes public transportation. District 3 Supervisor and newly-elected Board President David Chiu says he would be willing to consider a car-free Market Street and study an idea by the Transportation Authority to charge drivers a user fee to manage congestion. Though he was cautious, and didn’t express outright support for a car-free Market Street, a concept resurrected by Supervisor Chris Daly last year, he said he is well aware of examples in other cities where closing down major thoroughfares has worked to attract more foot traffic and business. “I think that most drivers of private vehicles have bad experiences anyway going down Market Street. Most people don’t choose to use Market Street as a thoroughfare. So, I would be open to looking at examples but I think we need to do this in close conjunction with not just transit experts but the local business community along Market Street.” Chiu sat down with Streetsblog San Francisco in his City Hall office for a brief interview one day after rising to one of the most powerful positions in city politics. I saw it as an opportunity to present our first Streetscast: Chiu also expressed his support for the Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP) and said he held his first meeting with MTA Executive Director Nathaniel Ford last week. “I very much want to make sure that there is a lot of focus from the Board of Supervisors on the effectiveness of MTA,” said Chiu. Other highlights from the interview: O n the bike injunction: “I very much support moving as fast as we can to lift the bike injunction and moving forward with really developing all of the bike paths that we need.” On the budget deficit: “It will affect our ability to invest more in the programs around public transit and public transportation. All this being said, I think right now in this budget crisis it is critical for us as a city to think about whether there are innovative programs that either will not cost money or could potentially save money to move forward in certain areas.” On bureaucracy and dysfunction in city government: “We are a city government that is well known for having a great deal of public process to allow everyday citizens to weigh in on governmental decisions and to really have a meaningful input. That input is often at the expense of being able to move quickly with things and this is certainly an area that I think I and others would love to move faster than we’ve been able to.” On District 3 transportation issues: “District 3 is the densest neighborhood not just in San Francisco but really on the West Coast, and it is incredibly important that the transit options in my district are robust. And frankly I find those options often to be somewhat lagging on a number of respects. Obviously we don’t have enough bike lanes in the district. Muni is late 30-percent of the time.” Flickr Photo : Greg Dewar, N-Judah Chronicles The post Streetscast: An Interview with David Chiu appeared first on Streetsblog San Francisco .…
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