This is something that Greg Hayes has been working on for a long time. We should get behind it. Sue ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- 1) L.O.S. REFORM FOR MORE BALANCED STREETS -- HEARING NEXT WEDNESDAY Even in green, "Transit-First" San Francisco, planning and implementing better, safer streets for bicyclists, pedestrians and transit riders is complicated by an over-sensitivity to automobile drivers' experience when evaluating costs and benefits. Moving more cars faster is the imperative over which all other transportation and land use concerns take a back seat. Ironically, environmental quality considerations, in the form of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) findings, are often the biggest obstacles to making quality-of-life improvements to city streets, not because pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements contribute to air / noise / water pollution (they don't), but because taking pavement away from private motorcars can potentially diminish the "Level of Service" (LOS) experienced by auto drivers below a failing-grade threshold of convenience. Next Wednesday (4/5, 1:00 pm, City Hall, Room 263) the Board of Supervisors' Land Use Committee will be hearing a resolution brought by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi which asks whether auto LOS should be abandoned as a measure of significance for environmental review in San Francisco. This is an obscure but fundamental issue for the city's aspirations to a greener, healthier future, and anyone with an interest in better transportation and land use is encouraged to come out and participate in the process. For more information contact Andy Thornley at andy@sfbike.org. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com