The True Cost of Residential Street Parking - Nov 16, 5pm
Co-hosted by SPUR and Streets for People

Just a quick reminder to sign up now for our FREE virtual event this Monday at 5pm. We've got an all-star panel lined up, including Donald Shoup, the UCLA professor who literally wrote the book on the high cost of free parking. Can't wait to see you there.

Plus, scroll down for a petition to keep bike lanes on Better Market Street, from our friends at Streets for People. And check out this article on San Francisco's recent vote to ban natural gas in new buildings starting next year!


Today's Action: Save the Protected Bike Lanes on Market Street

In October 2019, after nearly ten years of community outreach, the SFMTA Board approved the Better Market Street plan. This once in a generation update to our main civic boulevard included sidewalk-level protected bike lanes the length of Market Street, shown in the rendering above. This facility was a hard-won victory for bicycle advocates and was to provide a safe and pleasant cycling experience for all ages and abilities.

Now, the SFMTA wants to re-open the project and throw out the protected bike lanes from the plan, instead forcing cyclists to share the curb lane with taxis and delivery vehicles. This will lock in place for another generation the current unsafe conditions on Market Street where cyclists regularly risk injury and death due to sharing street space with careless drivers. Additionally, all Muni vehicles will be forced to use the center lane, creating more delays for transit riders compared to the previously approved plan.


Please sign the Streets for People petition and tell the SFMTA that we need safe cycling facilities on Market Street. If you want to say this in person, there will be public comment opportunities coming up - follow Streets for People on Twitter to stay updated.


See you Monday,

Zack, Joanna, Cliff, Jon, Robert, and Terry at Urban Environmentalists

We know you are all probably saturated with election news these past few weeks that have brought both inspiration and disappointment. We first want to recognize the courageous and tireless contributions of our postal service workers, our poll workers & volunteers, activists and organizations driving up voter turnout, and all of the Americans who took on physical risk and showed incredible patience to exercise their right to vote and directly support others' right to do so.


Before we do a deeper election recap-- we want to make sure you don't miss our all-star lineup for our event TOMORROW. Join us for The True Cost of Residential Street Parking.


Election Recap

In January, we will have a president that recognizes both the reality of climate change and the US housing shortage, who respects expertise, and whose ideas for "building back better" show a path for enhancing climate resilience, social equity, and shared prosperity all together.
Not all the votes are in, but so far we are also seeing a number of local victories for candidates and ballot measures supporting Urban Environmentalist values. We won't be able to list everyone here, but here are some of the ones we are most excited about:

• City council / supervisor races: Myrna Melgar in SF, James Coleman in South SF, Amo Lee in San Mateo, Terry Taplin in Berkeley, Sally Lieber in Mountain View, Alysa Cisneros in Sunnyvale, and Hung Wei in Cupertino.
• State legislative races: Alex Lee for State Assembly in the South Bay, Dave Cortese for State Senate on the Peninsula, and Scott Wiener for State Senate in SF.
• Transit board races: Lateefah Simon and Bevan Dufty for BART Board, and Jean Walsh for AC Transit Board.

Ballot measures:

• Measure RR to save Caltrain 🚊: thanks to those who volunteered, and thanks especially to Urban Environmentalist Adina Levin's leadership in making sure this got to the ballot!
• Measure W in Sonoma and T in Antioch to protect urban growth boundaries
• Tentative defeat for Measure Y (still too close to call) in San Mateo would roll back density and height restrictions
• Measure DD in the City of Albany to support climate and the environment
• Measure S in Santa Clara county to support resilience

The True Cost of Residential Street Parking
It's never too early after the election to talk about parking!
Free or inexpensive street parking near home is a benefit that many take for granted, as residential parking permits range from $35 or less in San José to $144 annually in San Francisco (and many neighborhoods don't require permits at all). However, even residential permit holders often find themselves circling for parking at the end of the day, while individuals without cars receive little to no benefit from this valuable curb space. Is the public right-of-way the right place for parking private vehicles? What are the true costs and benefits of residential street parking, considering externalities such as racial justice and carbon impacts? If we as a society decide to change how we allocate and regulate curb space, what steps would be required and how could we ensure that our new approaches are equitable? Hear an expert panel (listed below) discuss these questions and much more. Co-hosted with SPUR and Streets for People.

• Anna Muessig / Gehl
• Chris Elmendorf / UC Davis
• Donald Shoup / UCLA (Don Shoup has a spot in our platform further reading!)
• Raynell Cooper / SFMTA

RSVP here on SPUR's event page to join us Mon, Nov 16 at 5pm.


What We're Watching
About Here has a great video about the Missing Middle Mystery in Vancouver, dramatizing the themes we covered in our more lengthy Beyond Towers and Sprawl conversation last month (rewatch here).