In what ended up being a big coincidence, I was planning on writing about issues of public notice and involvement with major Public Works projects, including the Transportation Commission, last week. Then the department managed to prove my point exceedingly well by chopping down 21 apparently healthy trees on Park Streetwithout telling anyone about...
Tonight at Planning Board, the Boatworks Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will get its day in the sun. The plan, 242 housing units shoe horned on to an old industrial site with very little public open space and contrary to the General Plans goals for roadway design. (quick note to Planning Board, please, please,...
In a little less than four weeks, AC Transit will be going through major service changes in Alameda and throughout the East Bay. One of the problems with reading maps that show all the lines, and much of AC Transit's service area, is that figuring out which line goes where becomes more work than...
There's only one problem. There's no stop on Main Street at Midway (see map for location...hint: it's where the bullseye is). It turns out that after the community and schools came out and asked for the bus to run on Midway, AC Transit made the change and requested that the stops be put in....
Did I miss the memo that the City Council had decided to disband the Transportation Commission last year? There hasn’t been a meeting since the special meeting in Mid-August, which wasn’t really a meeting either. And staff isn’t even bothering to list it on the City Calendar anymore.
At that moment, City Manager Ann Marie Gallant summed up the difference as “the problem is the intent and the initiative language are two different things, and we opted to go with what the initiative language says.”
Two of the things I’m hoping will be discussed at tonight's council meeting are Fiscal Neutrality and Public Benefits. A lot has been made of a supposed “$500 million dollar shortfall” despite the fact that it’s a made up number that doesn’t withstand the smell test.
I attended the AC Transit service reduction workshop at Independence Plaza along with about 120 other folks. Someone called both the Fire Dept and the Police because the room was over capacity. The meeting went well: 30-minute presentation of what was happening, 60-minutes of discussion with planners.
On Saturday, Alamedans have one last chance to weigh in on proposed changes to AC Transit’s service. I’ve highlighted what I see as the pros and cons here. The end result is less bus service in Alameda, and no matter what anybody does, that’s where we will end up.
