Your place to share stories on and off the bus.
Yesterday’s post from Suzanne about a cyclist hit by Muni at Townsend and Fourth got me thinking of a post I did a few years ago about the hierarchy of urban mobility.
That was then. But I’d only make a few modifications today.
In simplified form:
1) pedestrians
2) cyclists
3) mopeds and scooters
4) motorcyclists
5) public transit
6) privately owned cars
7) service trucks
Thoughts?
I was on a 49-Van Ness yesterday evening, as the results for several East Coast states were coming in and Election Day was gearing up for the good stuff.
First, I listened to a man chatting with someone on the phone, who gave the most recent play-by-play results he had been watching for all day. He then demanded a free lunch if Obama reached 350 electoral votes. Results right now (9 a.m. on Thursday) show he’s at 349, with no major network yet calling North Carolina for the president-elect.
Then two boys got on with their moms. They were buddies, clearly, talking about school and their Halloween costumes, particularly which Halloween superstore had the best Batman costume.
Boy 1 was Hispanic, and said he lives wayyy down the 49, meaning he probably lives in the Excelsior, or somewhere else near City College on the south side of town. He had a few things to say about Tuesday’s election.
Boy 1: Everyone gets to vote today. Where are you from?
Boy 2: Los Angeles.
Boy 1: Oh. That’s near Mexico, right?
Boy 2: Yeah, kind of.
Boy 1: Well, I’m from Mexico, and McCain wants us to leave. He wants all the Mexicans to leave and go back to Mexico. But Obama wants us to stay.
Make of it what you will.
It wasn’t even close, and Muni Diaries applauds the voters of San Francisco.
Okay, this one is a no-brainer to me, but I’d like to open it up, if anyone feels like talking about it.
Proposition P will be on the ballot (along with 21 other measures) next week (or now, for those of you who are voting early). It proposes changing the rules and responsibilities of the S.F. Transportation Authority Board.
Perhaps it seems a given that this site would wholeheartedly endorse a measure calling for massive improvements to regional, commuter, and public rail programs. But on the ballot in California next week is Proposition 1A, and it’s got this blogger tied up in all sorts of knots.
Thanks, 14-Mission. Now Mayor Newsom is never going to funnel money into Muni.
Stay safe, folks. Any moving vehicle on Mission Street (as well as some of the pedestrians) will take more than your mirror off if you zone out too long.
-Tara