SPUR Publications

[Photo Credit: flickr user NicoleAbalde ] As those who follow the Bay Area transit blogosphere already know, Wednesday's Giants World Series victory parade spurred BART on to its highest ridership ever"” by a huge margin. The system carried over half a million riders — 522,000 to be exact, which beat the previous record (from Oct 29, 2009, when the Bay Bridge was closed for…

Across the Bay Area, only one in 10 commuters takes transit work each day. And half of those transit commuters go to one job center: downtown San Francisco. But since most work is outside of downtowns, SPUR is trying to understand a little more about emerging suburban and non-downtown job centers. This series will look at the Bay Area's evolving and emerging business districts…

"The only way we're going to do something about sprawl, which is the environmental problem of our generation, is to increase density near transit and already urbanized areas." Watch the full interview with SPUR's Executive Director.

Jarrett Walker of Human Transit has an intriguing post comparing transit ridership in American cities to those in Canada. As you can see in the chart below (based on these data), Canadian cities seem to have higher transit usage than American metro regions of similar size (the points on the chart are all based on metropolitan areas, not central cities). [Chart via: urbanist.typepad.com/ ]…

Long-time and fair-weather Giants fans alike are enjoying a thrilling — yet quintessentially torturous — postseason this October, hoping for a fourth World Series trip since the team moved to San Francisco in 1958. Listening to postseason baseball commentary is often a lesson in history — or at least a lesson in obscure team records for most strikeouts in a playoff game or what players…

Election Day is fast approaching - make sure you're not stranded at the voting booth without all the right information. We've compiled a list of resources on San Francisco and statewide Props to help you navigate the ballot this November. SPUR Voter Guide: SPUR's official analysis of San Francisco's ballot measures, including detailed pros and cons, and an official position on each measure. California Choices…

[Photos: left: flickr user armstrks , right: via SF Chronicle] "Nothing big happens in less than a decade," the late Brian O'Neill was quoted as saying. Those words from the ambitious superintendent of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (and longtime SPUR board member) who worked to transform one of the largest urban park districts in the country, still serve as a reminder when tackling…

In a speech last week on infrastructure investment, President Obama recommitted his administration to a "fundamental overhaul" of the nation's infrastructure, following up on a previous Labor Day announcement that had excited smart growth advocates and set off speculation about the form such a "second stimulus" or "infrastructure bank" would take.

Your neighbor's car could soon be available for hourly rental. Any takers? [Photo Credit: Fabiana Meacham ] Would you rent out your car to offset the costs of owning it? Would you get rid of your car if you could rent one from your neighbor? Until recently, those weren't legal options in California. But new legislation could dramatically increase the practice in the state. Starting…

The Central Subway project is the second phase of Muni's T-line, the biggest transit project in San Francisco today. Once completed in 2018, the line will connect Visitacion Valley and Bayview with downtown, SOMA, and Chinatown. As with any project this large, the project has its fair share of detractors, and we thought it would be useful to remind everyone of some of the benefits…

Dorothy Erskine: Graceful Crusader for the Environment doesn't exactly relay the magnitude of impact that one woman had on the entire Bay Area some 50 years ago. Janet Thiessen's brief biography delves into the life of a one-woman powerhouse whose influence is on par with other, more well-known civic leaders, like Dianne Feinstein, Willy Brown, Jr. and Harvey Milk. UC Berkeley geography professor Dick Walker…

Operating with a much larger canvas than SF, and the ability to shape its surroundings, the planned Dubai City dwarfs SF and takes on the Bay Area Sprawl Crawl: A CEO's for Cities study shows sprawl as the true cause of traffic. As opposed to the Urban Mobility Report, which focuses specifically on travel times, this report takes into account such factors as land…

In its first year, Paris' popular Vélib' bike share program — one of the first major programs of its kind and the largest system in the world — battled higher-than-expected rates of vandalism and theft. But in Dublin, where dublinbikes launched last September, the surprise has been just how smoothly and successfully the program ran in its first year.

CARB and MTC have adopted strong regional targets for reducing emissions through better planning and less driving. [Photo Credit: flickr user Jovi Girl J] In late September, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) voted unanimously to adopt a strong set of regional targets for passenger vehicle emissions reduction under SB 375, the state's anti-sprawl law. The historic vote was the culmination of a…

PARK(ing) Day 2010 was a resounding success -- at SPUR, in San Francisco and around the world. SPUR's PARK(ing) spot used milk crates, giant wooden spools, house plants and a colorful painted canvas to transform two parking spaces in front of the Urban Center into a delightful urban park. Friends of the Urban Forest kindly donated trees; Rebar lent us Bushwaffle and a section…

The Divisadero Street parklet in front of Mojo Cafe. Last Friday at a noontime forum at SPUR, the San Francisco Planning Department announced the release of a Request For Proposals for parklets, due October 18. Anyone interested in installing a parklet in front of your business or institution should download the application and program overview here. Pass along the information to businesses and other…

Click to enlarge Commute times to zip code 94105 (SOMA) in San Francisco To the dismay of many a futurist envisioning the world in 2010, the vast majority of people commute significant distances to their jobs. Although the recent recession has led to reduced vehicle miles traveled, the average American still commutes 46 minutes a day. And while we don't always have a choice…