Kristi Coale

Dec 26, 2024 | thefrisc.com | Kristi Coale

The past year has brought big changes to San Francisco’s streets and transit, and to the agency in charge of running them. Next year will require something close to a financial miracle to keep everything running smoothly.  After a five-year tenure dominated by the pandemic’s crushing blow to public transit, SF Municipal Transportation Agency chief Jeffrey Tumlin is leaving.

Dec 23, 2024 | thefrisc.com | Kristi Coale

Making San Francisco’s streets safer is a constant effort. Some roadways made big headlines this year, but dozens of other projects are in progress at any given moment. Despite promises to improve streets with more urgency through “quick build” projects, SF’s Vision Zero era – the past 10 years – has brought no overall reduction in traffic deaths or injury collisions.

Dec 18, 2024 | thefrisc.com | Kristi Coale

Ricardo Olea has worked on San Francisco’s streets for 30 years. He’s not a cop, a vendor, or a sweeper. Olea is a traffic engineer, and he’s been involved in some of the city’s most transformative changes. One of his first projects was the post-quake demolition of the Central Freeway that opened up Hayes Valley.

Dec 4, 2024 | thefrisc.com | Kristi Coale

Patrick Linehan was backing out of his driveway near City College on the evening of October 19 when he saw a driver make a left turn at the corner of Hearst and Forester streets. The car slammed into a bicyclist. The rider managed to jump off his bike, Linehan recalls, but the driver continued, dragging the bike six feet before stopping. Linehan measured the scar on the pavement.

Nov 14, 2024 | thefrisc.com | Kristi Coale

When asked about San Francisco public transit during his mayoral campaign, Daniel Lurie sometimes preferred to make a public safety statement. In response to a debate question about Muni, he talked about seeing a guy with a pit bull, smoking on the 49 Van Ness, to suggest that this wasn’t the “safe, reliable, atmosphere that we want our kids riding on.”  The campaign is over. Mayor-elect Lurie soon must pivot from campaign stories to hard financial choices.