The SF Municipal Transportation Agency's Central Subway project, opposed by transit advocacy group SaveMuni, received a Full Funding Grant Agreement from FTA that dedicates $942.2 million to the Caltrain to Chinatown extension of the 'T' LRT line.
Muni's newest light rail line, the T Third St. began service in 2007. Phase I runs from southeast SF along the Bayshore Corridor to the Caltrain (commuter rail) Depot (where it joins existing tracks to go downtown. See current route). Phase II will run from the Caltrain Station for several blocks and then enter a "new Central Subway" to cross under Market St. and continue to Chinatown. The $1.6 billion Phase II now appears to be fully funded, though legal obstacles remain. Opening date is set at 2019, the same year that electrification of the Caltrain line is expected to be completed.
"U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Congresswoman Jackie Speier, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Administrator Peter Rogoff, Board of Supervisors President David Chiu and other federal, state and local officials joined San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee at a ceremony at the future site of the Central Subway's Union Square/Market Street Station to announce the approval of the New Starts funds.
The Central Subway's Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) was approved by FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff on October 11."
According to the Federal Transit Administration, "the full funding grant agreement (FFGA) is the final step of the New Starts planning and project development process."
Michael Cabanatuan, transportation reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, writes that a "lawsuit, filed by subway critics Save Muni, is the latest, and so far most aggressive, effort to stall or kill construction of the 1.7-mile subway from Caltrain to Chinatown. The suit contends that the Municipal Transportation Agency's plans to build an entrance to the Union Square/Market Street station in the square violated a City Charter prohibition of nonrecreational uses in city parks."
The transit advocacy group prefers bus-based surface and 'shallow subway' alternatives to improve one of the most heavily used transit routes along Stockton St. into Chinatown. Electric trolley buses currently service this corridor.
FULL STORY: SFMTA receives $942.2 million in federal funding for Central Subway Project
The Mall Is Dead — Long Live the Mall
The American shopping mall may be closer to its original vision than ever.
The Paradox of American Housing
How the tension between housing as an asset and as an essential good keeps the supply inadequate and costs high.
Report: Las Vegas, Houston Top List of Least Affordable Cities
The report assesses the availability of affordable rental units for low-income households.
Anchorage Leaders Debate Zoning Reform Plan
Last year, the city produced the fewest new housing units in a decade.
How to Protect Pedestrians With Disabilities
Public agencies don’t track traffic deaths and injuries involving disabled people, leaving a gap in data to guide safety interventions.
Colorado Town Fills Workforce Housing Need With ‘Dorm-Style’ Housing
Median rent in Steamboat Springs is $4,000 per month.
City of Yakima
City of Auburn
Baylands Development Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.