Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Repaving Finally Set for MLK Drive in Golden Gate Park


Western section of JFK Drive used to look like this -- how soon we happily forget

Worn-to-concrete-base pothole on MLK Jr. Drive was first tagged a long, long time ago

Part of the "treacherous section" of MLK Jr. Drive in Golden Gate Park

At long last repaving is coming to the south side streets of Golden Gate Park, primarily to Martin Luther King Drive. While a repaved western section of JFK Drive has delighted bicyclists, motorists, and pedestrians since last spring on the north side of the city's premiere park, MLK has posed a dodge-and-swerve guantlet to travelers for years. Body-rattling and sometimes jaw-dropping craters have plagued the long stretch between the Great Highway and Kezar Drive. Even the Recreation and Parks Commission's Capital Committee referred to the "treacherous eastern section of MLK Drive" in a memo last month to General Manager Philip Ginzburg.

The repaving project includes the MLK roadway between Kezar Drive and 19th Avenue, including Bowling Green Drive and Stow Lake Drive. Additional options include segments of MLK Drive west of 19th Avenue to the Great Highway. The $2.5 million resurfacing will rely mostly on Proposition 40 funds along with a half million dollars from the Open Space Fund.

The scope of work will include a process familiar to BIKE NOPA readers who followed the stages of repaving JFK Drive last spring:
  • grinding off the top 2 inches of asphalt
  • cutting away of damaged areas and more repair as needed
  • adding new curb ramps
  • installing new paving fabric
  • applying 2 inch overlay the full length of the roadway
  • road and crosswalk striping
Work is expected to begin this Spring.

1 comment:

  1. That is such great news. My hands would go numb riding over MLK currently and I have just avoided it entirely. We'll be able to take our NOPA VELO riders on a loop through the whole park once MLK is re-paved.

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