If you missed the awesome coverage being provided by Chris Roberts at the SF Appeal, here’s this week’s break down. Chris is doing a stellar job of covering the city’s issues in all their glorious variety. You can support the SF Appeal and their reporting here. If we can raise another $100 Chris will do a breakdown of his work for us and give an insider’s view into covering San Francisco city life.

• Failure To Observe 250 Foot Gap Rule May Have Contributed To F Market Crash
• No Elephants at the Zoo Again, Ever
• Subverting Expecations, Pot Commission Confirmations Divisive, Ornery
• Gas-Guzzlin’ City — $25M Annually Spent On Fuel
• The Drew School Expansion To Move Forward, Despite Neigbors’ Protests
• SF’s Bike Plan Hits The BoS, But Don’t Expect A Quick Fix(ie)
• Pay No Attention To The Vacant Lot in HP: Mayor, Chronicle Team Up To Bury Examiner Story (which itself was buried in the Examiner)

Is this the future of the San Francisco Bay? Photo: liz_noise on flickr

Algae Bay

NASA has its eyes set on the San Francisco Bay to be a testing ground for producing large colonies of floating algae to sequester carbon, clean waste water and produce biofuel. (SFBG)

MUNI Collides Again

Just two weeks after the L-line MUNI crash at the West Portal, two MUNI streetcars collide at Market and Noe, this time with an SUV squashed between them. Any one scared yet? Don’t worry, MUNI officials assure you that every thing is A-Okay. (Examiner)

The Ghosts of Union St’s Past

Budding entrepreneurs should head to Union St. to set up shop. Just about every property between Gough and Fillmore is for rent, as one Curbed SF reader documented. (See his photo collage here)

Maybe Spot.us should continue an investigation into the vacant storefronts on Union St. once the Mission district is finished?

–Related pitch: The Stories Behind the Empty Storefronts in the Mission

From Environmental Disaster to the Next ‘Green Mecca’

In addition to a new 49ers stadium, Mayor Gavin Newsom announced a United Nations global warming center planned for the Hunter’s Point shipyard — an attempt to create green-collar jobs and revitalize an area plagued by poverty and toxic waste. (SFAppeal)

–Related pitch: Bay Area Toxic Tour

Are you a fan of SF Appeal? If so, you may be interested in contributing to their Independent City Hall Reporting crowd funded through Spot.us!

What’s Next for California State Parks?

The $39 million blow to the California State Park system that state legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger approved in the finalized budget could mean closures, but also partnerships and corporate control. (SFist)

–Related Tip: I Heart California Parks

Local Labs Divvy Up Stimulus

Four Bay Area laboratories will rake in the last of the Department of Energy’s stimulus allotment for projects ranging from fusion energy research to the mathematical analysis of a smarter electric grid. (SFbizjournal)

Governor Okays New Death Row, Others Question Legality

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislative restrictions on building a new Death Row at San Quentin State Prison to cut costs and green light construction—but he may be asking for a lawsuit. (SFGate)

–Related pitch: Prison Health and Our Community: A Public Health Investigation

Social Spot: Event Picks

• SPUR Citizen Planning Institute Series Final Session: Local Government’s Role in Low Carbon Development, Thursday Aug. 6, 4pm. Registration Required (Streetsblog)
• SF Chef’s Food and Wine Festival, Aug 6-9, Union Square (SF Citizen)
• Critical Mass, Friday Aug. 7, 6pm: meet at Justin Herman Plaza (SF Appeal)
• East Bay Express Best of the East Bay Party, Friday Aug. 7, 5pm-midnight at the Oakland Museum of California (Oakland Living)
• San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Buddy Ride: learn the route from Downtown to the Bay View-Hunter’s Point, Sat. Aug. 8, 2pm (Streetsblog)
• Annual Laurel Street Festival, Aug. 8-10 in Oakland (Oakland Living)
• Aloha Festival, Aug. 8-9 10am-5pm on the main parade grounds of the Presidio (SF Appeal)
• Sunday Streets at the Beach: Second to last ride of the summer, this time from Golden Gate Park to the San Francisco Zoo along Ocean Beach, Sun Aug. 9, 10am-2pm (Streetsblog)

Spot.us vlogger Brian LeBow reports on the Jennifer Ward’s story: “Forthcoming Oscar Grant Shooting Report Will Lift Veil on Transit Police Work”

BART story – Jennifer Ward interview – Transcript

This story is an examination of what it is that transit officials do, and it looks at how these two reports will really for the first time give us a peek into the world of transit officials, the procedures that they use as well as the actions that they take. This is pretty critical because, as the country and the State of California grow their transit lines we’re going to continue to see transit officials in the public news. So, it really is critical to begin to look at it a comprehensive way, how transit officials work, that’s what this story is about.

This story doesn’t just talk about BART, it also talks about Muni, and Amtrak and some of the rail lines because there’s no comprehensive information out there, it’s important that we understand what everyone is doing. I was fortunate enough to talk with officials from all of those transit or rail lines, that’s what this story will bring to light.

As the state of California as well as the nation grows their transit lines they really need to begin to think about how they want to have their security forces work. So, for example BART is looking at putting together a citizen’s review board, and in fact, they might be the only transit agency that has a citizen’s review board. So the question becomes, would this be something that would really help our citizens or is this something that we really don’t need? It’s unclear at this point.

BART is a very interesting organization; they are one of the most unique transit agencies in the country. They’re one of the only transit agencies that have its own stand alone police force. The large ones that come to mind is Washington DC’s Metro Line, as well as Philadelphia’s SEPTA System. Additionally, BART also is looking at putting together citizen review board, and it could be the first time that any transit agency has a citizen’s review board for its police department.

This post comes to us via Ben Youngerman who has an AMAZING pitch up on Spot.Us about the public work projects that we can expect in the bay area – and the rise in volunteerism that will be needed to sustain the “change we can believe in” movement.

As you can see below: Ben isn’t playing around. He is starting to do some serious reporting. Help support his research and eventual short-film.

Ben writes….

This is just a fraction of the roughly $1.9 Billion San Francisco will see invested in Public Works. Where is the money going? This post is the first to break down some of the specific areas scheduled to recieve stimulus funding. Today’s focus is Transportation ($500 Million in total planned funding):

$100 Million:

$67 Million to SFMTA Construction

• Doors and Steps Reconditioning
• LRV Collision Repairs
• Motor Coach Component Life-Cycle Rehabilitation
• Centralized Communications
• New Cables
• Updated Computer Technology
• Bus Yard Work Station Replacement
• Cable Car Kiosks
• Change Machines
• Preventative Maintenance
• 67 new Ticket Machines
• Infrastructure Enhancement and Maintenance

$11.3 Million to Repave the following San Francisco streets:

• Jones (Market to California St)
• Turk (Market to Van Ness St)
• Divisadero (Waller st to Geary Blvd)
• 7th Ave (Hugo st to Judah St, Kirkham st to Laguna)
• Laguna Honda Blvd (7th Ave to Dewey Blvd)
• Geary Blvd Intersections (19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd Ave)
• Bush (Van Ness to Presidio Ave; Euclid Ave from Presidio to Masonic Ave)

$9.4 Million to the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation Dept.

• Ferry Refurbishment

$9.2 Million to CalTrain

• Bike Racks
• Track and infrastructure Rehabilitation
• San Mateo County Railroad bridge replacement
• Centralized Control Upgrade

$1.9 Million to Berkeley Streets

• Repave University Ave from San Pablo Ave to Sacramento Street

$1.4 Million to Oakland Curb and Sidewalk Repair*

*(Oakland Will receive a total of $7 Million for various Street Repairs)

State and city budget cuts hit transit agency hard, but changes could still boost popular express buses.

For years, a lack of information left Muni in the dark about what it was doing well, what it had to improve and what its riders actually needed. But a proposed shuffling of resources following the Transit Effectiveness Project, a massive systemwide study, would add more frequent service and extend routes on some express lines serving city commuters.

By Tom Prete, funded by members of the Spot.Us community.

Even from a distance, it’s clear that something’s different about this Muni bus stop. Instead of a disorganized clump of people standing around near the intersection of Fifth, Cyril Magnin and Eddy streets, there’s an orderly, quiet queue, and quite a large one. More than two dozen people, many clutching umbrellas or wearing raincoats, though the morning’s rain has passed, gather just after 5 p.m., chatting with each other, sending text messages or checking their watches. Someone new arrives, briefcase slung over his shoulder, and takes his place at the end of the line.

Then a diesel bus rumbles around the corner of Eddy Street and pulls up to the head of the queue of waiting people. They all file on quickly and in order – with none of the pushing and jostling common when boarding other Muni buses and trains. Once everyone in the line is on board, though, the driver doesn’t close the door. Instead, he checks his watch and waits. After a few more passengers run up to the bus and climb inside, the driver checks his watch again, shuts the door and pulls away from the stop, the 16BX-Noriega embarking on a nearly direct 40-minute journey across town to the outer Sunset District.

This is San Francisco’s Muni express-bus service in action, and for thousands of riders who need to travel between home in the city’s residential neighborhoods and jobs downtown, riding an express is a dependable daily ritual.

But if the service is so popular and moves passengers with such seeming efficiency, why doesn’t Muni run more express buses?

Lack of information

Part of the reason Muni doesn’t run more expresses is that it wasn’t sure anyone wanted them. Until recently, it had been many years since the transit agency carefully examined whether its level of service was in line with what its riders needed.

“They haven’t been a real market-research-driven organization in the past,” noted Tom Radulovich, a member of the BART Board of Directors and the executive director of Livable City, a San Francisco nonprofit organization that advocates for better transportation systems.

Dave Snyder, director of transportation policy at the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association think tank, which has been analyzing Muni and pushing for improvements, agreed: “They haven’t had the opportunity to adjust their service to meet demand for a couple of decades.”

“This was a mistake on their part not to have done more evaluation,” Snyder said.

Hidden costs

Julie Kirschbaum, manager of Muni’s Transit Effectiveness Project, says there also are other reasons why Muni doesn’t run more expresses. One is that although they might seem to be highly efficient – buses fill to capacity and swiftly transport full loads of passengers all the way across town with a minimum number of stops – there are some hidden costs to express service.

One of those hidden costs is that express buses only gather revenue for Muni in one direction. In the morning, a bus may be full going downtown, but on the return trip to pick up more morning commuters, it travels empty. A local-service bus, on the other hand, may go through the equivalent of three or four full loads of passengers over the length of a similar route, as riders get on and off. Another important consideration for Muni, which often has been criticized as having high labor costs and inefficient scheduling and management of its workers, is that each driver assigned to work on a given day is guaranteed a minimum of eight hours of work, with a daily maximum of 12 hours.

But the span between the start of morning express service and the end of evening express service is more than 12 hours. This means, said Kirschbaum, “you would typically need two operators … to drive one express route.”

Study prompts changes for expresses

But the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency, the body that oversees Muni, last year concluded the Transit Effectiveness Project, an exhaustive examination of its service, rider demand and opportunities to improve service or make it more efficient. Among the findings of the TEP was that some of the express lines should add stops, adjust their routes or institute more frequent service.

“We’re proposing starting increases in express service on our busiest routes. We want to continue to deliver a high level of service to our existing express customers,” said TEP manager Kirschbaum.

Muni even considered whether the fact that many office workers now have flexible hours meant that express service should start earlier and run later. The answer is that although some changes are warranted, they’re limited in scale.

Radulovich says that although more commuters are traveling on the “shoulders” or edges of traditional commute times, most transit agencies still serve most of their commute riders in strongly concentrated morning and evening peak periods.

“In the Transit Effectiveness Project, we evaluated that route by route,” said Kirshbaum. “If the last trip was well used, that was a signal to us that there was probably a market” for more runs. Accordingly, the TEP calls for modest adjustments in the start or end times for some express service, and more frequent buses on some other lines. In some cases, proposals would reduce service in either the morning or evening, but increase it at the opposite end of the day.

Among the more significant expansions the TEP proposes for express routes would come on the 16AX and 16BX – but not by making buses arrive more frequently. These routes now travel between the outer Sunset District – mostly along Noriega Street – and the area near the Powell Muni/BART station. But the TEP found that large numbers of people traveled every day from the Sunset District to downtown, and more of these people might use the Noriega express buses if they went all the way to the Financial District.

“One of the things we’re talking about is extending those routes to downtown to capture the market that isn’t on those buses,” said Kirschbaum. The TEP proposes extending both the 16AX and 16 BX further into the downtown job core, to Market and Spear streets.

Optimism despite anemic budget

Shrinking transit funding from the State of California and the City of San Francisco – as well as the federal government’s preference for funding buildings and equipment, rather than operating costs – will have an effect on Muni, including potential hits to vehicle maintenance, which would reduce Muni’s reliability systemwide.

And budget problems will have an impact on the TEP. “We do expect the budget challenges to slow the implementation of the TEP,” says Muni spokesman Judson True.

In 2008, an idea emerged to charge riders who pay cash fares an extra dollar to board express buses, but the proposal petered out. True said there’s still a chance the SFMTA might decide to pursue an express-bus surcharge again.

“Once an idea is out there it never really goes away. … It’s still out there as an idea,” said True.

In fact, the SFMTA Board is scheduled to discuss its budget for the coming fiscal year at a meeting Tuesday morning, March 17 — including the possibility of raising express cash fares. According to documents prepared for the meeting, Muni could gather an additional $1.4 million by raising the fare for all cash-paying express riders by $1.

Either way, because the TEP is focused on ways of doing business and on redirecting existing resources, Kirschbaum says she thinks the TEP’s recommendations for improved express service will remain largely intact: “Because the TEP service plans are resource-neutral, we’re still looking forward to implementing the TEP route proposals.”

Recent article: Branding Muni – SF Chronicle.

Websites that own the beat:

• J Judah Chronciles
• Muni Diaries
• StreetsBlog
• RescueMuni.org
• TransBayBlog

Important Links for Action

General: SFMTA Board meeting schedule and agendas

SFMTA Board meeting agenda for meeting 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 17, including fiscal year 2010 budget discussion calendared as Item 11.

Express bus fare additional charge of $1 appears on page 13 of the following PDF document, but consists only of an estimate of revenue if the add-on is enacted

Watch SFMTA Board meetngs via live stream at SFGTV2 (Note this is channel 2)

Meetings also usually are carried on SF cable Channel 78, and are archived on SFGTV.

Also worth noting is that at the beginning of SFMTA Board meetings, members of the public are afforded the opportunity to address the board on any subject within its jurisdiction, usually for up to three minutes. If a certain topic, particularly an action item, is on the agenda, then comments must come then and not in the general public comment period.

Sidebar: Local, limited, express: What’s the difference?

San Francisco Muni buses offer three main types of service: local, limited and express.

• A local bus makes every designated stop along the full length of its route, whenever a passenger wants to board or exit. They do not have to stop at any particular stop if no passenger wants to get off or on there. This service provides the most convenient service for people who don’t want to – or can’t – walk far, but it also is the slowest type of service.

• A limited bus makes only a limited number of the designated stops on its route, but it doesn’t go long distances without stopping to pick up or drop off passengers. Typically, limited buses provide a good mix of speed and convenience for passengers who want to stop at any point on the route. Muni’s Transit Effectiveness Project calls for significant increases in limited-stop buses.

• Express buses, as Muni operates them, specialize in cross-town trips. They make most of the local stops at the start of their route, then make no stops at all for a substantial segment of the route, and resume making most of the local stops toward the end of the route. This service is ideal for passengers who want to go all the way across town with a minimum number of delays in between.

Sidebar: What about crowding?

One of the common complaints of express riders, like other Muni riders, is crowding. Do crowded buses indicate a problem, or is crowding just a fact of life for public transit in a dense city?

Dave Snyder, transportation policy director at the civic think tank the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, says crowding on cross-town vehicles could be driving away people who might otherwise want to use public transit.

“It’s a problem,” said Snyder. “Standing-room-only buses say that more people would take the bus if they could get a seat. … It’s a sign of success that there’s demand for the bus, but there’s more people [who would take it if it were not so crowded].

“Standing on buses for short trips is OK, but any time people are going to be on for 15 minutes or longer, people want to be able – and should be able to – sit and read a book.”

Other transit advocates agreed that bumpy rides and crowded vehicles are easier to tolerate for people only traveling a few blocks than for cross-town commuters.

“For someone standing 40 minutes, 50 minutes as you go across town, that’s real taxing,” said Tom Radulovich, a member of the BART Board of Directors who also heads up the transit-boosting nonprofit organization Livable City.

Radulovich said that crowded buses are a particularly important issue for Muni riders, who may be on the bus for as long as some interurban rail commuters, but ride vehicles that are designed only for short trips.

“In some ways, Muni riders get the worst of both worlds,” said Radulovich.

However, Julie Kirschbaum, the manager of the Transit Effectiveness Project at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, disputes the idea that very full vehicles are bad, and says that Muni isn’t in the business of cushy transportation.

“The Muni system is designed for all seating customers, plus standees,” she said. “We don’t have a system that’s designed for everyone to get a seat.”

Kirschbaum said transit industry experts don’t necessarily agree that crowding is a problem. Furthermore, she said, since express buses only carry paying riders in the peak travel direction – toward downtown in the morning, for instance – they need to carry a full load.

“We strive to have all of our buses full but not crowded,” she said. “Express buses in particular should be full of customers.”

Muni express buses by the numbers

.    Number of routes: 16

.    Number of routes offering all-day service: 1 (9X-Bayshore)

.    Typical minutes between buses: 10

.    Express riders as percentage of total Muni riders: 4.5

.    Average number of passenger boardings per weekday on all express lines: 29,200

Sources: SFTEP Draft Proposals Report Cards (data based on FY06/07 cost information and ridership collected by automatic passenger counts); SFTEP Service Evaluation (October 2007).

NOTE ON THE NUMBERS: The average daily passenger boardings figure doesn’t necessarily mean that 29,200 different people ride expresses every day. The same person may be counted once headed downtown in the morning and once headed back out in the evening (or may not be counted in one of those directions at all, if he or she travels by any method other than one of the express buses).

Links to sources or information directly referenced in the story:

.    San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (the body that oversees Muni) -

.    Transit Effectiveness Project of SFMTA

.    TEP recommendations by transit line

.    Muni routes and schedules, including express lines

Support more reporting on issues on transit issues.

Rapid Bus Lines on Geary and Van Ness?

How will the SFMTA change your next taxi ride?

Tom Prete has updated us on the progress of the MUNI story – but has also agreed to give us a small appetizer for the story itself.

One thing that I absolutetly love about this pith: It has a specific focus. Tom writes “Why doesn’t Muni run more express buses?”

Through research Tom has found the answer seems to come down to two things: money and information. The specifics behind that will be revealed more in his article.

But to help him figure this out Tom has spoken with local experts including.

• Tom Radulovich, who’s a member of the BART board of directors and executive director of Livable City, an organization that does analysis and advocacy on transit, transportation and other topics related to creating a well-running city.

• Dave Snyder, transportation policy director at the think tank San Francisco Planning and Urban Research. Dave is a well known and respected analyst of transportation, particularly transit and biking.

• Julie Kirschbaum of Muni. She leads Muni’s Transit Effectiveness project, which conducted a top-to-bottom examination of MUNI operations and make a comprehensive set of recommendations on how to improve service.

MUNI has lovers and haters in all shapes and sizes. From RescueMuni.org to MUNI Diaries. As the work on this story moves forward – we hope to add to the conversation about how MUNI can better serve our city.

It has been two weeks since the “official” launch of Spot.Us.

I’m happy with its progress but I remain unsatisfied. The new media hype has been great. I’m truly honored at how much attention Spot.Us has received, the optimistic and hopeful remarks, the young journalists with questions, etc. But that will die down.

With the initial hype of our launch we’ve managed to fund two different stories: “Return of the Hooverville” and “When the Longevity Revolution Hits Your Town.”

Together they represent $1,550 donated by 53 people who gave an average of $29 each (some of that money was raised during our beta-wiki phase).

And the general theory for Spot.Us has show it has some legs. The Hooverville pitch is going to be republished by KALW and Roxbury News who both contributed to the story and the Longevity Revolution pitch wouldn’t have been successful if it weren’t for the community organizing of Raines Cohen, Redwood Age and others in the aging community.

But what Spot.Us (and journalism in general) needs right now isn’t just a chummy knock of the chin, we need a movement.

We need a shift in how people traditionally interact with journalism content. I’m looking for journalists but just as important are civic leaders. People who don’t just donate money – but time. Without them Spot.Us won’t last the Winter.

(Image inspiration)

Behind every story is a cause, a movement, an opportunity for community organizing just waiting to break out. But we need to find those community organizers (enter Palin joke here) and convince them that good journalism is a goal to strive for.

Take the simple pitch about MUNI’s Express service in San Francisco. We’ve raised $70 and only need another $180 to fully fund this story. That is just 18 people giving $10 each.

A quick scan and you’ll find 300 people that have joined different Facebook groups based on MUNI. Meanwhile San Francisco has various groups and blogs dedicated to transit from RescueMuni.org, N Judah Chronciles, MUNI Diaries and more. It is in ALL these individuals and blogs interests to get good reporting on why MUNI doesn’t run more express buses.

Furthermore, between all these blogs and groups there is enough interest and people to fund this story in a single day without anybody giving more than $10. The problem isn’t finding people. The difficult part is convincing people that good journalism about a topic, even a topic they care about, is worth a small $10 tax-deduction.

And that is where I need the help of every journalist, civic-minded individual, leader, friend and foe. You don’t have to give much – just $5 but what is more meaningful is finding five other people who will match your donation. That is how networks grow and thrive.

Can Spot.Us usher in this new relationship between communities and journalism? Can we show people that solid reporting is worth $5-$10?

I don’t claim to know the answer – but that is why this is a fun job. I know this. Spot.Us won’t be able to do it alone. We need your help. We need your support to spread the word, not just with a link and a passive, there is a new startup. But with your genuine enthusiasm not only for Spot.Us – but EVERY journalism startup that might help the craft continue despite the economic realities staring us in the face.

Lets work as if we were in the early days of a better time for journalsim….. because we are.