Friday, October 6, 2023
Show HN: Smartphone haptics for inducing calm, an alternative to meditation https://ift.tt/KzRPcZC
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SFMTA Projects Honored as Exemplars of Community Engagement
By Che Harmon
Ambassadors helping people at Union Square Station on opening day of free weekend shuttle service in Central Subway, November 19, 2022.
The Central Subway and the Potrero Yard Modernization Project were both nationally recognized by the International Association for Public Participation at the IAP2 USA Core Values Awards in Seattle, Washington this September. Each year, the awards go to projects that demonstrate public engagement best practices and advance the field of public engagement.
Both the Central Subway Project and Potrero Yard Modernization Project are prime examples of the positive effects that community engagement and effective public participation can have on public projects and programs. Both projects embody IAP2’s core values centered on the belief that the people affected by a decision have a right to be involved in decision-making and participate in shaping outcomes.
Central Subway
The Central Subway was awarded the Diversity, Inclusion and Culture Core Values Award and the Project of the Year Award for engaging with the diverse communities and neighborhoods impacted by the project. Our team focused on ensuring community voices were heard from day one of project planning up until the opening day of service for San Francisco’s first new subway in 50 years.
Public input was critical in determining the locations of four new Central Subway stations, station design and station elements such as gathering spaces, retail spaces and a police sub-station. Diverse communities across San Francisco helped to shape the future of the subway thanks to a culturally appropriate outreach approach that ensured the community was heard and respected over the two decades of planning and construction.
“The consistent commitment to outreach and involvement over a 20-year period is remarkable, through all the demographic changes, neighborhood transitions, changes in city administration and more recently the COVID pandemic. Most often, public participation occurs during the planning stage with only infrequent updates during construction,” said IAP2 USA President Heather Imboden. “[The] SFMTA provided a very good explanation of the initial problem and how additional problems that came up over time were addressed. They made strong use of multilingual ambassadors from the community while providing funding for initiatives to help the community.”
The agency worked closely with valued community partners, including the Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC), Community Youth Center (CYC), Chinatown merchant groups, Union Square Alliance, Yerba Buena Alliance, the Bayview community and many others.
Potrero Yard
Members of the public take a tour of the Potrero Yard in 2019 as part of the award-winning outreach program recognized in September by the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2).
The Potrero Yard Modernization Project was awarded the General Project Award with its work to build a new state-of-the-art bus maintenance and storage facility that integrates affordable housing. It is the first joint development project of its kind in the United States.
The project not only expands and modernizes a 100-year-old bus yard but also provides much-needed housing, community spaces and services that have been co-designed with the community. Community input continues to shape the project through initial planning, a sensitive procurement process and the launch of the City’s first public-private partnership to the 100% schematic designs we have today.
IAP2 President Imboden commented, “It was remarkable that what could have been approached by [the] SFMTA as a simple modernization of a bus yard project instead acknowledged the community’s gentrification issues and created a multiple benefit project that addressed the community’s affordable housing challenges in a meaningful way.”
A key part of the project’s engagement has been the Potrero Yard Neighborhood Working Group that was created in 2018. This group serves as a conduit to the greater community. Bilingual English-Spanish communications have also been part of public engagement from the start.
For more information about the Potrero Yard Modernization Project, visit the project page (SFMTA.com/PotreroYard).
The International Association for Public Participation’s guiding principles have been the foundation for the SFMTA’s Public Outreach and Engagement (POETs) program since its inception. To view the awards submissions and videos, visit the IAP2 2023 USA Core Values Awards website.
Published October 05, 2023 at 11:23PM
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Show HN: Dittofeed v0.5.0 – Self-host SMS and email customer messaging https://ift.tt/pZmv193
Thursday, October 5, 2023
New Rebate Programs Will Help Taxis Go Electric
By Asher Eskind
We are proud to announce the launch of two groundbreaking rebate programs to spearhead efforts to reduce vehicle emissions in the city's taxi industry. Supported by a generous grant of nearly $350,000 from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (TA), these initiatives represent a significant step towards a more environmentally friendly transportation landscape.
Clean Air Taxi Rebate: Accelerating the Shift to Electric Taxis
Building on its success since the program’s inception in 2012, the Clean Air Taxi Rebate program has been instrumental in reducing emissions from San Francisco's taxi industry. Low-emission vehicles comprise over 90% of the city's taxi fleet, making it one of the cleanest in the nation.
Now, the SFMTA is taking a bold step forward to transition to a completely zero-emission taxi fleet. Under the Clean Air Taxi Rebate program, we will provide rebates ranging from $3,750 to $30,000 to qualifying taxi companies and operators who upgrade their previous gas-powered or hybrid taxis to electric vehicles (EVs).
To participate in this program, taxi companies and operators must purchase an EV, and both new and used EVs are eligible for rebates. Participants also have the flexibility to lease EVs if they prefer.
EV Charging Infrastructure Rebate: Fueling the Future with Charging Stations
In conjunction with the Clean Air Taxi Rebate, the SFMTA is introducing an EV Charging Infrastructure Voucher Rebate program to bolster the city's EV charging infrastructure, specifically for electric taxis. The SFMTA will provide a rebate of 90% of the total cost for the construction of EV charging stations. The estimated cost is $90,000 per charger for DC fast chargers with a six-vehicle-per-day capacity, which would yield a rebate of $81,000. To ensure efficient use of these charging stations, this rebate is exclusively available for permitted taxi companies.
Both Programs: Transforming Transportation Together
Both the Clean Air Taxi Rebate and the EV Charging Infrastructure Rebate programs operate on a first-come, first-served basis and are expected to run for two years or until funding runs out. Should participation levels exceed expectations, the SFMTA will consider requesting additional funding from the BAAQMD and the TA on an annual basis to sustain these programs beyond 2025.
If you have questions about these innovative rebate programs, please send an email to sftaxi@sfmta.com.
For more detailed information regarding the EV taxi rebate please visit the Clean Air Taxi Rebate page (sfmta.com/clean-air-taxi-rebate) and for more information about the EV charging infrastructure visit the EV Charging Installation Rebate Page (sfmta.com/ev-charging-infrastructure-rebate).
Published October 05, 2023 at 12:57AM
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