NOPNA Board Votes Strong Support for Masonic's Boulevard Design

The Board of Directors of the North of the Panhandle Neighborhood Association (NOPNA) has added its support to an extensive re-design of Masonic Avenue dubbed the Boulevard option. Jarie Bolander, NOPNA President, informed city planners this morning by email, that the board decided to support the Boulevard option "because that's what the majority of our neighbors want." The NOPNA board's decision is based on a recently completed survey the group presented to NOPA and Masonic area residents.

Bolander noted the data from that survey revealed a preference for the Boulevard treatment by more than 87% of respondents compared with nearly 54% for an alternative, less extensive option. Especially persuasive to board members was the striking 86% support for the Boulevard among paid NOPNA members. The board's official decision for NOPNA now places the association among other neighborhood groups who support the safety and re-design measures for Masonic as well as the majority of residents who supported the same proposal in a SFMTA survey last year.

Bolander guided the association board's discernment of the Masonic-related issues through a thorough and sometimes contentious process that reached resolution only with the additional evidence of strong support from the neighbors that the NOPNA survey provided. He noted in his letter to the city that the board's decision was not unanimous.

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