Featured
Bus Rapid Transit Planned for Geary Boulevard
Good news for pedestrians along Geary Boulevard will soon benefit from safer and more pleasant intersections plans with a new Bus Rapid Transit project along the corridor.
The new BRT project will improve Muni service 15 to 20 percent faster and also more reliable between Downtown, the Richmond District, and neighborhoods in between, say’s planners David Uniman and Colin Dentel at the San Francisco County Transportation Authority and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Planners will also propose improvements to make street crossings safer, especially in the Western Addition and Japantown neighborhoods.
As part of urban renewal in the 1950s, Geary Boulevard was constructed with expressway-like underpasses and wide intersections, restricting pedestrian crossings and dividing the Japantown and Western Addition neighborhoods. The BRT project includes new, safer street crossings and other measures to help rebuild the historic connections between the adjacent neighborhoods.
The potential downside for some are that the street would lose two lanes and become less favorable for car traffic and street parking will be reduced. Although, the narrower roadway would calm speeding traffic and give pedestrians fewer lanes to cross and leave room for new intersection treatments.
At Webster and Steiner Streets, new crosswalks on Geary Boulevard would have multiple pedestrian refuge areas, and protected medians for safety. New pedestrian signals will be adjusted with longer time and provide countdowns to let you know how much time you have left to cross the street. Other intersections would have bulb-outs, sidewalk extensions that narrow the street width and shorten pedestrian crossings.
The BRT project is currently in the environmental analysis phase, with a draft report expected in September that will compare several alternatives and detail their benefits and impacts. Public meetings will be scheduled this fall to discuss the alternatives and planners’ recommendations with the communities along the corridor.
If the proposal is approved, buses could be running faster and pedestrians feeling safer would be a major benefit for pedestrians along Geary Boulevard by 2019.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
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Alameda County
DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland
Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.
Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.
City Government
Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall
At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.
Special to The Post
At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.
Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.
Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”
According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.
“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”
When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.
At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”
While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.
On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.
“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.
The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.
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