Bikes Abound, Irises Bloom at de Young

Two of my favorites: Bikes and Irises

Perfect days for spinning into the Golden Gate Concourse. When you do stop and take a look at the multiple beds of Dutch Iris in front of the deYoung. (Thanks NOPA neighbor Cynthia for helping plant these just a few weeks ago!). Go early and take a free trip to the top of the de Young tower for a great view of the city. (Is this the Spring and Summer some of you decide to get back on a bike?) See you in the park.

Supervisor Mirkarimi Proposes Pilot Project for Fell Street Traffic Management

Fell sign to be replaced by street-level, portable display sign

Oak Street sign not needed, city looking to store it

A street-level, portable message board will replace the freeway-style SFgo sign on Fell Street in a pilot project proposed by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi. The project is expected to be a joint undertaking by the MTA, the Concourse Authority, the Academy of Sciences, and the de Young Museum with input and monitoring from the Recreation and Parks Department and nearby neighbors. The trail effort will address the traffic congestion caused by museum-goers travelling by car who seek alternative parking when the Concourse garage is full.

Representatives from the Golden Gate Park institutions, the MTA, Recreation and Parks, and west-side neighborhood associations met at City Hall January 29^th in a meeting organized by Mirkarimi’s office. (Note: NOPNA, ASNA, and Cole Valley were present; I was one of two NOPNA representatives). Following a review of current efforts to deal with the traffic problems, the supervisor told the group of his plans for the pilot project. “I will ask the museums to share the costs and will ask the MTA to establish metrics and assess the impact.” Jack Fleck, MTA Traffic Engineer, estimated on the spot that the project would cost about $20,000 year with the MTA providing the sign and labor.

The museum representatives at the meeting did not object to Mirkarimi’s suggestion of financial support, but neither did they voice agreement. When asked about the timeline for initiation of the project, Mirkarimi said the prep work will be undertaken in February with answers from all parties by March 1^st.

Initially, the museum representatives expressed some resistance to further involvement with the traffic issue. An Academy of Sciences representative questioned, “What’s under our control?" She added that determining traffic and parking solutions were really “outside of our expertise.” Patricia Lacson, Director of Facilities for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco which includes the de Young, commented, “We’ve really made a lot of effort on this already.” And, in fact, both institutions have undertaken measures to encourage visitors to use transit and bicycles, including entry discounts for those traveling by MUNI or bike, transit discounts to employees, helping finance the inter-park shuttle, and staff time directing traffic.

Museum parking managers are especially frustrated by visitors who expect free parking or the easiest of directions to alternative parking. “It’s almost as if they just want to hand us their car keys,” remarked one Concourse representative. The concourse staff has tried to direct motorists to the nearby UCSF parking garage, but the few streets and turns involved seems to boggle the minds of out-of-town visitors. Museum and garage staffers have found it much easier to direct visitors to the free parking along the Great Highway and then use of the shuttle. “We tell them to turn and keep going until you get to the ocean,” one director explained.

But neighborhood representatives countered it was hardly efficient or environmentally wise to encourage a few extra miles of travel when the UCSF garage was so close. And, indeed, it is ironic for an institution like the Academy of Sciences, one of the “greenest” buildings in town, to encourage the less environmentally friendly parking option. Mirkarimi weighed in on the discussion, commenting, “It makes more sense to direct people to the UCSF garage and not depend on “free parking” as an expectation for visitors.”

NOPA and Alamo Square neighbors are not affected by the traffic congestion related to the museum-goers, and would not be involved in the discussions if the MTA had not erected the SFgo sign on Fell Street last August as a means to alert motorists when the Concourse garage is full. Neighbors found the signs near Divisadero – and a second one on Oak Street – too intrusive with a “freeway style” design likely to encourage motorists’ to speed even more on the corridors.

When the SFgo sign standards come down – by April according to the MTA, as reported here yesterday – NOPA and Alamo Square neighbors’ immediate concerns will have been met. But a portable sign will be placed on Fell, and traffic problems elsewhere in District 5 certainly have an eventual impact here as well. For now, in the assessment of NOPNA board member Dan Nguyen-Tan, the other representative at the City Hall meeting, "We're pleased to hear that Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi and the MTA are committed to removing the permanent signs."

MTA to Reconsider Oak & Fell SFgo Signs, Will Listen to Mirkarimi

MTA Executive Director Nat Ford and MTA Traffic Engineer Jack Fleck will reconsider the SFgo signs currently placed at Fell and Oak Streets west of Divisadero, according to two of the participants in a meeting yesterday with the transportation authority representatives. Ford and Fleck also said they welcomed input about the SFgo signs from nearby residents and they would look to Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi to guide their decision.

Manish Champsee, President of Walk San Francisco, and Tom Radulovich, Executive Director of Livable City, met with Ford and Fleck yesterday as part of their regularly scheduled sessions to discuss livability issues. Champsee said the two MTA reps seemed particularly ready to reconsider the Oak Street sign if the community objects to it. Radulovich said he recalled them saying that "if there are objections to the sign, they will drop it." He added, "They indicated that they are looking to the supervisor to guide them, to help them filter community input."

The Fell Street sign poses different challenges to the MTA than its twin on Oak. The MTA feels it has an obligation to the Concourse Authority in Golden Gate Park to erect some kind of sign structure on Fell Street to alert motorists when the concourse garage is full and to direct them to other parking options. While the Concourse Authority may be concerned about frustrated customers -- and lost ticket sales -- Richmond, Sunset, and Haight neighbors have voiced their frustration with motorists flooding their streets looking for parking, creating both congestion and risky driving by distracted drivers.

But even the Fell Street sign might not remain at its current location, or with its current design, if NOPA and Alamo Square neighbors mount a campaign against it, as several neighbors have discussed since last week's meeting of the North of the Panhandle Neighborhood Association. Both Champsee and Radulovich said Ford and Fleck appeared open to a more appropriate and more attractive sign that was a better fit for the neighborhood. And they might consider moving it from the Divisadero intersection. Again, the two MTA representatives suggested they would look to the supervisor for guidance.

In effect, the MTA directors appear to be granting Supervisor Mirkarimi -- and presumably other supervisors who might find the freeway-style signs riling their own constinuents -- the option to say no to SFgo, or at least to the "visual message displays."

The challenge for District 5 neighbors will be to recognize the legitimate concerns raised by those further west (in the Haight, the Sunset, and the Richmond) as well as those further east (in NOPA and Alamo Square). A review of the location of the Fell Street sign as well as the design and scale of any display may identify a solution mostly satisfactory to all. To this end, Vallie Brown, Supervisor Mirkarimi's aide, said tonight that she has scheduled a meeting to be held within the next two weeks for the supervisor to specifically discuss the SFgo signs and traffic calming measures with Nat Ford and Jose Luis Moscovich, Executive Director of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority.

Brown has encouraged all neighbors to summarize their concerns and suggestions and send them to her at Vallie.Brown@sfgov.org . She will compile their messages for Supervisor Mirkarimi to review prior to his upcoming meeting.