Golden Gate Park’s main drag has been closed to cars during the pandemic. The fight over its future is heating up

By Heather Knight : sfchronicle – excerpt

San Francisco’s leaders love arguing vociferously over pretty minor issues, but 54 years of fighting over how often cars should be restricted from one stretch of one road in one park must be some kind of record.

John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park first went car-free — the eastern stretch of it, anyway — on Sundays in 1967. Supporters have wanted the closure expanded ever since and did get some Saturdays added to the mix, but they have repeatedly run into arguments from museum officials and others that a full closure would prevent people in cars from reaching their destinations.

Finally, the city closed JFK Drive to cars every day during the pandemic, a silver lining in a miserable year. In a city coping with dozens of traffic deaths annually and in a world facing a major climate crisis, keeping it that way permanently seems like a very tiny, very needed solution…
But the fight has taken a surprising and heated turn with Supervisors Shamann Walton and Ahsha Safaí recently tweeting simultaneously that they want JFK Drive to reopen to vehicles now that the pandemic is subsiding. They argued that people of color can’t access the park because of the closure, and Walton, in an ensuing editorial, called car-free JFK Drive elitist, segregationist and an example of “recreational redlining.”…(more)
There are hundreds of miles of bike paths and pedestrians paths in the park where cars do not drive. The roads are for the cars. The park is a family place for groups to visit and cars are the way most groups travel, especially now, when hate crimes are prevalent.
People who do not drive should not design streets for cars. Their “calming efforts” are creating angry drivers and angry drivers are not safe drivers. They angry and confused. If there is an uptick in accidents, that is an indication that the pilot projects are flawed.
My personal rant for the week: When SFMTA gets around to figuring out how to run a Muni system that does not involve bunching 5 Muni 22’s along a 3rd street lightrail served street, we may expect them to start figuring out how to return service that they removed to serve the Chase Center.
Log in and comment or write a letter to the editor if you feel strongly about this. Or, call or comment on one of the many “live” meetings that will not doubt be reviewing this for a while. Not keeping up the Cancalendar lately, but, links to some of the meeting agendas are here: https://cancalendar.wordpress.com/agendas/

Updates from SFMTA

OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT ON SFMTA BUDGET. With declining transit ridership (before and after Covid-19), focus on simpler/ citywide transit improvements. No more boondoggles.
https://www.sfmta.com/projects/meeting-transportation-needs-growing-city-sfmta-budget-fiscal-years-2021-2022

Tell them what you think is important now!

For the duration of the current public health emergency related to COVID-19, we are responding by making important changes to key SFMTA operations. This is an evolving and challenging situation, and it’s reasonable to have questions. That’s why we created an up-to-date resource to help you keep up with changes that currently include:

  • Modified Muni service
  • Paratransit guidance
  • Parking enforcement rules
  • Parking garage operations that include some facility closures
  • Temporary adjustments to SFMTA “Fines and Fees”

To get the most up to date information, please check our regularly updated webpage at SFMTA.com/COVID19.
The SFMTA is also taking proactive measures to minimize the risk of exposure for employees and customers and to ensure that our transportation system works for people when needed – like when residents need to make a grocery trip or when a healthcare worker needs to go to their job.

We all should continue to follow public health guidance

  • Stay home if you are sick
  • Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
  • Cover your cough or sneeze
  • Avoid touching your face
  • Try alternatives to shaking hands, like a wave or smile

The current “Shelter in Place” Public Health order could be extended. And we are preparing. Thank you for your support and your patience.

SFMTA Updates: SFMTA.com/COVID19
Citywide Updates: sf.gov/topics/coronavirus-covid-19