Hidden away near Potrero Hill is a little-known body of water called Islais Creek. Though the Creek has survived for centuries, in the last few decades it's faced near-destruction at the hands of pollution, industrial misuse, earthquakes, and most disastrously, a careless construction accident in 2004 that released millions of gallons of raw sewage into the neighborhood.
Now, plans are being drawn up for a new Muni bus yard along the banks of the Creek. The cutting-edge environmental measures that Muni wants to incorporate into the facility could mean that the city agency with the best shot at saving the dying wildlife sanctuary could be the same one that nearly wiped it off the map.
I've begun research into the new facility, reading design docs, speaking to representatives from Muni, visiting the site, and learning more about Muni's 2004 construction accident. This story will trace the history of the creek back to times before European settlers; through grandiose landscaping plans that were derailed by the 1906 earthquake, and into the future with the most environmentally ambitious facility Muni has ever attempted to construct.
As a reporter for NBC, Curbed, SFist, and the SF Appeal, I've covered Bay Area transit news for many years, reporting closely on Muni's behind-the-scenes struggles. My close journalistic relationship with key figures in local transit gives me unique insight into how Muni works -- and how it fails to work.
I've uncovered multiple NextBus scandals, evidence of unsafe drivers, highlighted incompetent officials, traced the failings of agencies across the bay area to corporate and federal mismanagement, and explored the history of how transit choices affected urban development over generations.
I know the people to approach and the questions to ask to get this story written.
For $399, I can document the current site, interview Muni stakeholders, and research the history of the area.
For $799, I can present a broader perspective of the issue by tracking down neighbors, gardeners, and artists affected by Muni's accident in 2004 and by the construction of the new facility.
And for $1199, I can go even deeper, comparing Muni's efforts to restore the environment of Islais Creek to transit contstruction elsewhere in the country and speaking to local biologists about the state of the creek's ecosystem.
