Berkeley City Council discusses BRT tonight

If for some reason you read this blog and live in Berkeley, I urge you to attend tonight’s City Council meeting and speak up in favor of BRT. If you read the Berkeley Daily Planet ever, you know already that East Bay BRT is in danger due to pro-parking activists in Berkeley. Although there is strong support for BRT among some Berkeley residents, it is the anti-transit contingent that shows up in greater force at these meetings. Read more

Required reading

Between my work commitments and a visit from a family member, I have absolutely no time to blog right now. I will return on Monday. In my absence, I would like to recommend two wonderful posts on local blogs recently.

Dogtown Commons has an excellent post condemning pro-parking activists, and Living in the O has an equally excellent post about zoning on Telegraph Avenue. Everyone should read both of them. (Seriously, please, click through. I know none of you did so when I told you to read the McKinsey Report. But these are much shorter.)

BTW, I am changing the name of this blog. I love “Great Expectations,” which I named after one of my favorite books. No, not the fiction (haven’t ever actually read that one). The name was inspired by an excellent book about Oakland that very much informs my political opinions. Still, people seem to find the differing URL and name confusing (what was I supposed to do? greatexpectations.com was taken!), so this blog is now just “A Better Oakland.” Enjoy the simplicity.

I am at a complete loss as to why this concept is so difficult to grasp

As the deadline for comments on AC Transit’s Draft EIR on BRT approaches, the pro-parking activists are going on the attack. I can hardly look at my RSS feeds these days without being subjected to some whiny story or blog about how giving the bus dedicated lanes on Telegraph and E. 14th is going to cause traffic problems. The East Bay Express is the latest offender.

Since nobody seems to be getting it, I’m going to state this as simply as I know how. The entire point of BRT is that you get out of your goddamned car and take the fucking bus instead. O.M.G.! Why is this so hard to understand? Read more