[TLC News & Alerts] Downtown parking reform * Geary Rapid Transit * Jan Gehl in San Francisco * Car-free saturdays in Golden Gate Park

[Tom Radulovich]

"In a Society becoming steadily more privatized with private homes,  
cars, computers, offices and shopping centers, the public component  
of our lives is disappearing. It is more and more important to make  
the cities inviting, so we can meet our fellow citizens face to face  
and experience directly through our senses. Public life in good  
quality public spaces is an important part of a democratic life and a  
full life." —Jan Gehl


DOWNTOWN PARKING REFORM REINTRODUCED!

This Tuesday, Supervisor Aaron Peskin reintroduced a modified version  
of the downtown parking reform legislation vetoed by Mayor Newsom two  
weeks ago. The reform measure, which sought to reduce the amount of  
parking required in new downtown housing and protect downtown's major  
transit, pedestrian, and bicycle streets from traffic conflicts,  
enjoyed strong support by the City's Planning Director, Dean Macris,  
and was supported by both the Planning Commission and the Board of  
Supervisors.  In his veto message, Mayor Newsom supported most of the  
main principles of the legislation – elimination of minimum parking  
requirements, establishing a maximum of three spaces for every four  
units, protecting street frontages on the city's main transit,  
bicycle, and pedestrian streets from curb cuts, and requiring that  
new parking be located underground, or on the ground floor with  
active uses on all public frontages – but asked for "modifications"  
that would allow curb cuts and parking on upper stories under certain  
conditions.

Supervisor Peskin's reintroduced legislation retains most of the  
provisions of the vetoed legislation, while allowing some exceptions  
for curb cuts and parking on upper floors, where specific conditions  
apply (like underground transit lines) and with special approval from  
the Planning Commission. Some of the exceptions 'sunset' after eight  
years. The bad news is that some stupid projects, like the proposed  
Nordstrom Garage near fifth and Market, may be able to proceed  
(although they can be appealed to the Board of Supervisors). The  
great news is that the new legislation retains most of the benefits  
of the old, and two provisions – the requirements for car-sharing and  
secure bike parking in new residential buildings – will now apply  
citywide! The legislation's next move is to the planning commission,  
where approval is expected; TLC will keep you informed. Check out our  
campaign page (http://www.livablecity.org/campaigns/c3.html) for more  
information and updates.

***

SUPPORT GEARY RAPID TRANSIT
Geary Corridor Citizen's Advisory Committee
Thursday, March 23 at 6 PM
San Francisco Transportation Authority offices
100 Van Ness Avenue, 26th Floor

Geary Boulevard, which runs is one of the most important transit  
corridors in the city, carrying an estimated 50,000 riders per day.  
Unfortunately, the 38-Geary buses are crowded, slow, and unreliable.  
Proposition K, the city's 2003 half-cent sales tax for transportation  
made rapid transit on Geary – either light rail or bus rapid transit  
(BRT) – a top priority. TLC strongly supports rapid transit service  
on Geary – the corridor's 50,000 daily riders deserve faster, more  
reliable service, and better service which would attract thousands of  
additional riders each day. We also support making Geary a "complete  
street", with streetscape improvements to make it a great walking  
street, and bicycle access, especially along the crucial middle  
portion of Geary through the Western Addition.

The SF County Transportation Authority (TA) is working on a study of  
bus rapid transit alternatives for the Geary Corridor (http:// 
www.sfcta.org/geary.htm). Unfortunately, a small group of Richmond  
District merchants are trying to derail the entire study, in the  
hopes that the current status quo – a car-dominated Geary with slow  
and unreliable transit – will prevail.

If you want to show your support rapid transit on Geary, please  
attend the Citizens' Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting for the project  
this Thursday, and let the CAC know that you support a complete Geary  
Boulevard, with rapid transit and improvements for pedestrians and  
bicyclists.

***

URBANIST JAN GEHL IN SAN FRANCISCO
"The People Dimension of Public Space: Jan Gehl and Allan Jacobs in  
conversation"
Tuesday, April 4, 5-7 PM
South Light Court, City Hall

Jan Gehl, an architect, urban designer based in Copenhagen, is one of  
TLC's heroes. He oversaw the pedestrianization of much of  
Copenhagen's historic center, transforming city streets and underused  
plazas into vital public spaces through pedestrian-centered design.  
He has inspired a generation of urban designers around the world to  
convert town centers to "people-centered spaces", and restore public  
life to streets and squares dominated by the automobile. Mayor Ken  
Livingstone engaged Mr. Gehl to begin the transformation of central  
London along the lines he pioneered in Copenhagen. Check out his  
placemaker profile on the Project for Public Spaces web site: http:// 
www.pps.org/info/placemakingtools/placemakers/jgehl. Mr. Gehl will be  
in conversation with San Francisco's own Allan Jacobs,  another  
distinguished urbanist and author of Great Streets and The Boulevard  
Book.

TLC will use the occasion of Mr. Gehl's visit to kick off our Livable  
Downtown Initiative, an effort to move San Francisco towards a  
livable, walkable, and greener downtown. Check out our Livable  
Downtown campaign page for an outline of the initiative (http:// 
www.livablecity.org/campaigns/downtown.html), and stay tuned for more  
updates!

***

SUPPORT CAR-FREE SATURDAYS IN GOLDEN GATE PARK
A coalition of pedestrian, bicycle, open space, and children's  
advocates has advanced the Healthy Saturdays Initiative, which will  
expand the wildly successful car-free Sundays on Golden Gate Park's  
John F. Kennedy Drive to Saturdays as well. Supervisors Mirkarimi and  
Mc Goldrick have introduced legislation to start a six-month trial of  
car-free JFK drive this May. Contact the Mayor and your Supervisor  
and let them know you support the Healthy Saturdays proposal; check  
out the healthy Saturdays web site (http://www.sfpix.com/) for more  
information.

***

Tom Radulovich
Executive Director
Transportation for a Livable City
995 Market Street Suite 1550
San Francisco CA 94103
415 344-0489
www.livablecity.org
tom at livablecity.org



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://livablecity.org/pipermail/news_livablecity.org/attachments/20060322/ae018d98/attachment.htm