Summertime Weather Swells Turnout for NOPA's Sunday Streets

This time the weather was perfect -- sunny, warm and only a slight breeze -- for Sunday Streets in the Western Addition, NOPA, Alamo Square and the Fillmore. Today thousands of neighbors and friends from all over San Francisco gathered on several blocks open to walking, biking, games, painting, live music, dancing and claiming a sofa seat in the middle of the street.

Thanks to the organizers -- the amazing Livable City with Sunday Streets director Susan King, program coordinator Beth Byrne, the hundreds of volunteers with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, and collaboration with the SF Municipal Transportation Agency -- for an amazing event where everyone could enjoy public spaces and envision a safer, more equitable way to share our streets.

For views of Summer Streets in NOPA 2010, check here.

Sunday Streets Set for Western Addition/NOPA September 11th

Adding more pink, Sunday Streets NOPA 2010 Photo: Michael Helquist

Which bands will play outside Matching Half Cafe this year?

Photo: Michael Helquist

Western Addition/NOPA Route for Sunday Streets Sept. 11, 2011

No sooner did the "clear the streets" call come at the close of the Civic Center/ Tenderloin Sunday Streets yesterday than organizers shifted into gear for the September 11 street celebration in the Western Addition, NOPA, Alamo Square, and the Fillmore. (Perhaps it was low-gear with a day or two off).

A few route changes accompany this year's event after the successful, if drizzly, debut in the area in 2010:

• the west-end still begins in the Panhandle and travels north on Central and then east on Grove to Divisadero with a spur up the Baker hill to stop at McAllister. This year the crossover street, the east-west transition, is Fulton. Still a hill to ride and walk but not the steep slalom Golden Gate presented last year
• Alamo Square will be more directly involved -- hello neighbors! -- with Fulton sidling Alamo Square park
• Fillmore defines the east-end from Fulton to Geary but the route doesn't extend further north or further east

The new route is more compact, manageable and focused. Programs and scheduling are largely left to the wishes and initiatives of residents, local businesses and organizations. But Sunday Streets will provide the usual kids activities, dance, exercise sessions, skate time, bike programs and lots of music.

More information to come but Save the Date and plan your events.

Details:

Sunday Streets Western Addition

Includes North Panhandle, Alamo Square and Fillmore neighborhoods

September 11, 2011

11 am to 4 pm

www.SundayStreetsSF.com

Parking Restrictions

Sunday Streets works so well because it opens the streets to walking, biking, people-watching, bands and kids play. But that means no parking from 11pm Saturday September 10th until 4pm Sunday September 11th. Remind yourself, remind your family and friends. Vehicles will be towed and who needs that?

History Races Through NOPA May 15th

Look for the Ambassadors in T-shirts; better yet: wear one

2010 racers on Fell near Masonic Photo: Michael Helquist

Brits Get Traction, Or Friction Photo: Michael Helquist

Countdown to 100th Anniversary Bay to Breakers Race

10 days

16 hours

17 minutes

05 seconds

Bay to Breakers is back and this is the big 100th. The longest continuously operating footrace zips through the North Panhandle on Sunday, May 15th. The party -- all wacky, bare, and safe -- continues long after the sprinters flash through on Fell Street. Hopes are stoked and

last year's flare-ups are tamped down. Everyone seems poised for a good time, even with different takes on what that will mean.

A coalition of eight neighborhood associations has worked to ensure the 100th race is crazy fun without the trash behavior many felt followed last year's romp. Besides the precautions for limiting participation in the race, the ban on alcohol in the race, more monitoring and more portable toilets, the group leaders have launched a Neighborhood Ambassador program for the centennial 12k run.

According to Jarie Bolander, President of NOPNA, the Neighborhood Ambassadors will help participants and visitors with the basic information they need

• Locations of restrooms
• Locations of trash collection areas
• Location of EMS services
• General event information
• General directions related to the neighborhood and course
• Provide the hotline number for neighbors and participants

Ambassadors then agree to

• Assist with clean-up efforts
• Assist with identification of problem situations or locations

But volunteers will by no means police or enforce any laws. Instead, they will observe, report and have a great time. All while wearing the limited-edition Zazzle Bay to Breakers Volunteer T-shirts.

Sound like work? Shifts are only for two hours and you can't beat the people watching. Organizers urge, "Be Part of History." Sign up at the Zazzle Bay to Breakers site .

Check more stories in the B2B at 100 series here.

Do Car-Free Streets Make A Difference? Alamo Square Flea Market and Indie Mart

Summer morning fog failed to keep hardy San Franciscans away from the annual Alamo Square Flea Market Saturday. The walkers and bicyclists kept coming all day to check out estate items and Indie Mart wares. For the first time in 27 years of the market, Scott street was free of cars allowing casual strolling and visiting without everyone pushed onto narrow sidewalks. A vintage dark brown Euro-style ski sweater for three bucks was just one of many finds. Thanks, Alamo Square, for opening things up!

B2B at 100: AEG Manager Says 2011 Last Year to Get It Right; Announces Major Marketing Campaigns

AEG race director George Ridgely and B2B manager Angela Fang at NOPNA meeting

B2B at 100: An ongoing series about neighborhood efforts to reclaim Bay to Breakers as a foot race and party that San Franciscans can support and celebrate for all the edgy, quirky, and zany things it has represented for most of its 99 year history.

AEG fully intends to make the 2011 Bay to Breakers footrace a successful celebration for everyone involved, but if this year's disruptive after-party on neighborhood streets repeats itself, there may be no 2012 race. Angela Fang, general manager of the Bay to Breakers for corporate giant AEG, expects next year's centennial race to be a safer, less troubled event, but if it's not, she expects AEG to abandon the race in the future. "If we have another bad year next year, I think AEG will close it down," Fang told members of the North of the Panhandle Neighborhood Association (NOPNA) Thursday night. AEG has already begun its outreach to city departments and neighborhood associations, and the NOPNA meeting was one of its first stops. (In a message Fang sent today, she emphasized AEG's plans for 2011, "Our intentions are to work with the city and the neighborhoods and help to provide the resources necessary to bring this event back to it's original roots.")

Fang also announced plans for two major marketing efforts to promote the race and curtail the mayhem of the alcohol-fueled street parties. One campaign will focus on everything good about the city's iconic footrace across town, including its historical background and zany fun. The other will emphasize new restrictions on the event: no open containers of alcohol, no public intoxication, a limit on participants in the race, no floats, and a specific time for ending the race (and opening the streets to traffic).

Fang addressed the major concerns of neighbors voiced at a May meeting of NOPNA.

• AEG will pay for more police officers on the course, including adjacent neighborhood blocks
• Registration will likely be capped at 50,000 participants
• The number of porta-potties will be doubled and will be placed on NOPA and Alamo Square streets as well as in the Panhandle and on the course
• AEG won't allow floats and that will help meet their goal of opening the streets by noon. Fang noted that 96% of registrants in the race reach the top of the Hayes street hill by 10:30 a.m., allowing for closing the race by noon
• AEG will have its own clean-up crews in addition to paying the Department of Public Works to clear the area of trash which this year totaled 47 tons

Fang acknowledged that in previous years "the message has been unclear." She intends to correct that for 2011. "We'll take our message to the major media, including SFWeekly and the Bay Guardian. We'll inform colleges and we'll use Facebook."

George Ridgely, race director for B2B, reminded NOPNA members that the race was a remarkable event. "It's one of the top ten races in the country, and one of the oldest foot races in the world." He commented that the serious racers "have a great time in the race and experience none of the problems. We want everyone to have that experience."

As reported earlier this week, NOPNA participated in the first meeting of stakeholders concerned about the future of Bay to Breakers. Jarie Bolander, NOPNA's president, reported Thursday night that everyone agreed at that gathering that the race itself was the responsibility of AEG. "Who is responsible for the accompanying street party was not so clear, at least no one has been ready to step forward and assume that role." No decisions were reached among the group, and another gathering is expected in six to eight weeks. The Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services convened the meeting of neighborhood associations, merchants groups, and B2B preservation alliances. No public officials or city department heads attended.

See previous artilces in the B2B at 100 series here.

B2B at 100: NOPA Residents Upset with Mayhem, Register Alarm at NOPNA meeting and Cite the Problems in Survey

Editor's Note: This post is part of a series about neighborhood efforts to reclaim Bay to Breakers as a foot race and party that San Franciscans can support and celebrate for all the edgy, quirky, and fabulous things it has represented for most of its 99 year history.

B2B at 100: News with Commentary

For a great many residents in the North Panhandle, especially those who live near Fell Street, Bay to Breakers is no longer a whimsical, outrageous, and fun annual event. For the last four years the party following the foot race has attracted crowds of unruly, drunken revelers. They disrupt the neighborhood, threaten residents, and disrespect property. Their numbers are too great for the limited event management mounted each year. NOPA neighbors -- along with many residents in Alamo Square, the Divisadero Corridor, Hayes Valley, and the Lower Haight -- feel the city has essentially acquiesced to the sorry state of affairs that resembles mayhem to those who lived with it up close. All these sentiments and charges poured out during a NOPA community meeting and with comments registered in an online opinion survey.

At the May 20th meeting of the North Panhandle Neighborhood Association (NOPNA), more than 50 concerned and angry neighbors listened to B2B organizers claim that "the event won't survive" without more community support. "The race portion is fabulous," the organizers said. "For us the race is over in two hours, but the second half keeps getting worse." They blamed rowdy party-goers, "They abuse the privilege of the event." They said ING, the insurance giant who served as B2B's primary sponsor, paid out more than $300,000 to city departments for traffic and crowd control, services, and clean-up. Even with that outlay this year's race devolved into the most disruptive and damaging of any in the last several years. Everyone at the meeting appeared to agree.

Community members complained that they had to deal with an out-of-control crowd treating the neighborhood as one big drunken party with excessive drinking the norm. One Broderick Street resident said he had to construct a barrier in front of his garage and home to deter the crowds from urinating and defecating on his property. This year he left the city during B2B to avoid likely confrontations with trouble-makers. Another resident on the same block said she was afraid to leave her home as crowds became even more rowdy. Neighbors charged that there was little "active policing" by SFPD officers in the area. "They stood there and watched, but they didn't do anything with all the mayhem in front of them," one resident said. Another claimed people who lived on the nearby blocks had to endure the brunt of the bad behavior while one corner store close to the Panhandle reaped the benefits with customers buying more than 35o cases of beer. The difficulties were not confined to Fell Street or even to Hayes; a few neighbors said they dealt with harassment along Fulton Street three blocks away. One neighbor said he was considering taking legal action against the city over the havoc from the party. No one at the NOPNA meeting objected to the race itself, the occasional nudity -- "I've seen naked people before," one older woman commented -- the floats, people gathering on their blocks in itself, or drinking alcohol in moderation.

NOPNA also sought feedback about B2B experiences from residents in an online survey; 59 neighbors responded. The survey collected the opinions of a self-selected sample, and neither the survey nor the meeting represented all neighbors. And indeed seven individuals expressed satisfaction with the day and were happy to have the B2B course through the neighborhood. One respondent said "it was the price to pay for living in such a great city." Another thought the race was "too clean" and "too sanitized" and that there should be fewer regulations. All the others reported dismay or outrage over the behavior on the streets after the racers passed through. The public urination and defecation was a flashpoint for residents' anger, but several also mentioned the combativeness and sense of entitlement among the party crowd. More than a few wrote about having to spend the day fending off drunken men and women from their porches and property. One concluded, "Generally felt like the aftermath of a battle. Overall appalling."

"The event has become something that threatens the health and safety of the neighborhood and its residents," Jarie Bolander, NOPNA president, explained at the start of the May 20 meeting. "It's been going on for four years, and it keeps getting worse." He later told BIKE NOPA that he feels a responsibility to address the problem. "I live with these people, and I'm concerned with their safety. How happy would people in the Marina be if this party happened on their blocks?"

Bolander is working with other neighborhood associations representing Alamo Square, Hayes Valley, the Haight, and Divisadero merchants to present a call to action to the city. They will demand the city develop far more extensive plans for crowd control, alcohol abatement, clean-up, and taking public health hazards seriously. (See today's accompanying article on BIKE NOPA with Bolander as a guest contributor).

San Franciscans who live several blocks away from the B2B party scene might shrug off the difficulties as the nature of big celebrations in a tolerant city. Many will suggest the solution lies simply in renting more porta-potties and stepping up police enforcement. They might support some restrictions on alcohol consumption. For them the once-a-year event will likely fade into this year's contribution to civic lore. But their recommendations fall short when tens of thousands of inebriated people too drunk to bother with civil behavior or porta-potties disrupt neighborhoods.

Bay to Breakers may fade altogether, just before reaching its centennial celebration. Unless the Mayor and Board of Supervisors, the SFPD, and department heads join with concerned citizens to reclaim the city's iconic event and make the tough decisions about regulating the party and outlawing the excessive drinking. Without such comprehensive planning and restrictions, Bay to Breakers seems likely to hit the wall after 99 years.

MTA Ready to Slow Traffic on Fell and Oak Streets, Will Re-time Signals, Shorten Green Phase

Change in signal times coming to Fell and Oak

The Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) will slow traffic on the "residential freeway" that courses through the North Panhandle and Alamo Square neighborhoods. The agency will re-time signals along Fell Street in the next two weeks and will undertake similar changes on Oak Street later in April. Residents along the two corridors have urged the MTA to implement these and other traffic calming measures for several years.

"The amount of green time for Fell will be shortened to reduce the potential for speeding by motorists at the tail end of the green wave trying to catch up to the front," according to an MTA staffer who is familiar with the project but does not work directly on it. Another benefit from the change will be increases to the green times for the north-south cross streets. The #24 Divisadero and #22 Fillmore Muni lines should experience fewer delays as a result.

Other ripple effects will include safer passage for pedestrians with longer "walk" periods for crossing Fell and Oak and an updating of "all-reds" (the brief period when all signals have a red light) to meet current standards.

Although Bond Yee, MTA's long-time traffic engineer, advised westside neighbors last October that the Fell and Oak signal changes would apply only to the evening hours, the adjustments ready for implementation will be in force during all periods of the day, including AM, PM, and off-peak periods, according to the agency representative who spoke with BIKE NOPA.

North Panhandle and Alamo Square residents have complained for years about the speeding traffic on the two busiest streets through the neighborhoods. Ever since the corridors were switched from two-way streets to three and four lane thoroughfares decades ago, speeding motorists have treated Fell and Oak like freeways.* Neighbors were especially upset when MTA erected sign standards for its SFgo mobile displays on Fell and Oak that many thought gave additional visual cues that freeway driving was expected on the streets. Responding to concerns by neighbors and by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, MTA removed the SFgo signs last month.

At a North Panhandle neighborhood meeting last September, MTA's Jack Fleck promised to study the speeding problem on the two streets. The project about to be implemented results from that pledge and the steady advocacy of residents, the North Panhandle and the Alamo Square neighborhood associations, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, WalkSF, Streetsblog, and Supervisor Mirkarimi's office.

*For additional coverage of neighbors' concerns, see this Streetsblog post.

Special thanks to Janel Sterbentz for her tenacious urging to get MTA to conduct the studies that led to the traffic signal changes. Individuals can affect policy changes with persistent, positive work on their own as well as supporting group efforts.

Spring Climb (just a bit) with NOPA VELO on Sunday

What's better for a bright San Francisco morning than a spring spin to a few "Peaks of NOPA"? Don't worry that NOPA VELO's third monthly ride will be too much for your biking ability. Last weekend we tried the route and pared it to a very reasonable outing.

Power-up with coffee and sweets at Apollo Coffee at 9:30 Sunday and be ready to roll by 10 a.m. Alamo Square, we like your views. Buena Vista, so good to behold. And Parnassus, we're awe-struck. Glide back down into Golden Gate Park** and take the Panhandle Path to NOPA's own Divisadero Farmers' Market for all sorts of treats to enjoy at a few tables reserved just for us. (Thanks SF-Grill and Dmitrius of Farmers' Market!).

Costumes encouraged, sing-along biking very possible. All neighbors and friends welcome. Kids OK if with own bike and accompanied by adult guardian. Heavy rain cancels...but rain on Maria von Trapp's special day? We don't think so.

Sunday, March 28th

9:30 am -- meet at Apollo Coffee, Turk & Divisadero (say hello to Manaf, the owner)

10:00 am -- mountain climbing gear ready, we're taking off, grab your lederhosen

90 minute ride

11:30 am or so -- drinks and lunch at Farmers' Market, Grove & Divisadero

** We're dropping the stop at the de Young Museum tower; too much of a logistical challenge for us. But for the real "Climb Every Mountain" riders, an optional ride is Lone Mountain Campus just north of the Park. One of us will lead.

How popular is NOPA VELO? More than 75 cyclists have joined our Google Group. Don't be left out, join here. See you Sunday.

"No on SFgo" Campaign Launched in NOPA, Alamo Square

Neighbors on both sides of Divisadero have united in opposition to the two freeway-style signs that the city recently placed on Oak and Fell streets. Both NOPNA and the Alamo Square Neighborhood Association (ASNA) sent letters of protest to Nathaniel Ford, Executive Director of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority (SFMTA), the SFMTA Board of Directors, and the SFMTA Traffic Engineer Jack Fleck. In addition, the associations have urged District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi to do all he can to get the Oak Street sign removed and the Fell Street sign relocated to a more effective and less dangerous site. NOPNA and ASNA leaders asked their members to express their opposition to the SFgo signs by email or letter to the SFMTA authorities and to Mirkarimi. A petition against the signs is also being circulated. (Note: I have been an active participant in the development of the campaign against the placement of the two SFgo signs at Fell and Oak).

ASNA President Ben Allison wrote to Mirkarimi that SFMTA conducted “no advance outreach whatsoever to our organization or our members on this issue.” In his message to the SFMTA director, Kevin Rafter, President of NOPNA, wrote, “Our neighborhood is outraged that these signs are going up, as was voiced in our neighborhood meeting on September 17 where we had over 80 people in attendance.” As noted in a previous post, SFMTA notified nearby residents of an upcoming hearing concerning the proposed signs with a brief mention of “variable message displays.” The notice included nothing about freeway-style signs or electronic traffic messages.

Rafter stated NOPNA’s fundamental disagreement with the SFMTA staff position that the signs will increase safety. “Rather, we predict that they will distract drivers from watching the road and provide a subtle signal that Fell and Oak are extensions of the 101 freeway.” Both NOPNA and ASNA believe the signs will “encourage speeding and put bicyclists, pedestrians, and children more at risk.” Neighbors' concerns were heightened two weeks ago when a pedestrian, Melissa Dennison, was struck and killed by a motorist on September 15th while she crossed Fell just west of the SFgo sign standard. A memorial to Dennison has been placed at the site.

Ironically, the SFgo conflict coincides with the start of the city’s makeover of the Divisadero Corridor with bulbouts, repaving, new street trees, and more attractive street lamps. Allison of ASNA objected to what his organization considers the negative impact the signs will have on this revitalization. “We also feel that the installation of these signs completely contradicts the extensive community planning that took place leading up to the current construction on Divisadero to help make the area feel less like a freeway and more like the neighborhood commercial district and dense residential zone that it is.”

The leaders of the joint campaign recognize that Inner Richmond and Inner Sunset neighbors are concerned about unwanted traffic clogging their streets as motorists seek parking when the Golden Gate Park Concourse Garage is full. (SFMTA acknowledged at the September 17 NOPNA meeting that the primary purpose for the Fell Street sign is to advise drivers of the status of the garage in the park). But NOPNA and ASNA believe the freeway-style sign should be moved to the off ramps of the Central Freeway to give motorists “maximum advance notice” of the garage status when they will more have more options for routes and parking. During the NOPNA meeting, SFMTA representatives said they would consider relocating the Fell sign and a sign that would fit the neighborhood aesthetic better. Since that meeting, Cheryl Liu, SFMTA manager of SFgo, confirmed that her office will respond to the list of questions previously posted here on behalf of concerned neighbors.

ASNA and NOPNA proposed other alternatives as well to the Fell street sign including the use of mobile/temporary signs, developing overflow parking detours at the entrance of the garage when full, developing permanent non-electronic signs that directs traffic to the nearby UCSF garage when needed, and discouraging park visitors from seeking neighborhood parking by granting residents free neighborhood parking permits.

Supervisor Mirkarimi’s office is encouraging neighbors to offer suggestions and comments on the SFgo signs as well as their concern about speeding on Oak and Fell, according to his aide Vallie Brown. “Ross is looking at this as a much bigger picture with traffic calming, bicycle and pedestrian safety, traffic on side streets, and the influence of Market and Octavia traffic,” Brown explained. But when asked if the supervisor would request a hold on the Fell and Oak signs until a big picture analysis was completed, Vallie deferred comment. Instead she emphasized that they first needed to study all the factors involved. “It’s not like MTA has come to our office with SFgo information and briefed us on this. We were left wondering, ‘How did these signs suddenly appear?’” Mirkarimi intends to convene a meeting with the directors of SFMTA and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority within the next few days to discuss SFgo and the larger traffic and safety concerns.

One proposal advanced by NOPNA and ASNA was apparently tried but then dropped. Brown explained that the California Academy of Sciences placed mobile signs to advise motorists when the concourse garage was full, but the institution found the signs very expensive. “The Academy told us ‘we can’t afford these signs,’” Brown said. Instead the Academy pressed the city to erect signs similar to the SFgo standards, financed with local and federal funds.

None of the neighborhood groups want a return to the Central Freeway ballot wars that pitted western residents against North Panhandle, Alamo Square, and Hayes Valley neighbors in three separate electoral skirmishes. Leela Gill, former president of NOPNA, expressed a hope that with the help of Mirkarimi, the MTA “will hear our suggestions and work with us to come up with a win-win solution for everyone.”

NOPNA and ASNA request that everyone who believes the Oak and Fell signs are inappropriate, ineffective, visually offensive, or dangerous voice their sentiments to Supervisor Mirkarimi and to SFMTA representatives:

nathaniel.ford@sfmta.com ; jack.fleck@sfmta.com ; mtaboard@sfmta.com , and ross.mirkarimi@sfgov.org . For more information on the opposition to the SFgo signs, search “sfgo” here at BIKE NOPA and at sf.streetsblog.com .

MTA Really Wants -- But Can Get By Without -- Fell & Oak Signs, According to SFgo Manager

Cathal Hennessy, Deputy Director of the SFgo program for the Municipal Transportation Authority (MTA), conceded after a long and heated neighborhood meeting last week that the controversial message display signs on Fell and Oak streets are not crucial to the success of the system.

Both Hennessy and Jack Fleck, city traffic engineer, had already described to the neighbors the most important components of the SFgo program. Fleck explained, “The primary and biggest part of SFgo is infrastructure replacement.” Many of the city’s current traffic signals and corresponding technology date from the 1950s, according to Fleck, and an upgrade of the system was necessary to apply computer technology to traffic management. Hennessy added that an underground network of fiber optics connect with upgraded signal lights and new overhead traffic cameras to funnel information to a central communications center. From this command post, MTA expects to manage traffic to reflect conditions on the city's streets.

“The fiber optic cables are already in place at Fell and Oak, and they are essential links to other locations in the city,” Hennessy said in a separate conversation after the meeting. With this essential component of the system already secured, Hennessy reluctantly agreed -- with a nod and a "yes" -- that dismantling or moving the Fell and Oak signs would not cause a major disruption to the program. He stressed that the work was already under contract, but shrugged at the suggestion that contracts are re-negotiated all the time.

During the sixty minute discussion at a meeting of the North of the Panhandle Neighborhood Association (NOPNA) last Thursday evening, both Hennessy and Fleck emphasized that the purpose of SFgo has always been to help implement San Francisco’s “Transit First” policy through better traffic management. Yet Hennessy also told the group that the Fell street sign had a different purpose. And it had nothing to do with transit priorities.

“The primary message for the Fell Street sign is to tell about garages that are full at the de Young and to direct motorists seeking parking to alternatives like the UCSF garage,” Hennessy said referring to the underground garage in Golden Gate Park that serves visitors to the de Young Museum and the California Academy of Sciences. He explained that the MTA wants to keep museum-goers from circling streets in the Inner Richmond and Inner Sunset in search of parking when the concourse garage is full.

No one in the audience dismissed the "full garage" message, but they objected to the Fell street location being used for that purpose. Several neighbors complained that the SFgo sign would be a distraction to motorists exactly at the point where drivers need to be most alert to bicyclists and pedestrians. The Fell and Divisadero intersection is already hazardous with entry and exit to the ARCO service station regularly blocking the bike lane and sidewalk and with motorists' tendency to speed once they clear Divisadero. Others complained that the SFgo signs added a visual blight to the Divisadero Corridor which only this week the city began to tear up for physical improvements and visual enhancements. None of these comments appeared to have any impact on the MTA representatives. Hennessy, who introduced himself as a NOPA resident and cyclist, simply declared, “These signs are not distracting.”

Michael Smithwick, long-time Alamo Square resident, voiced some of the strongest sentiment against the Fell street sign, but he also offered a solution. “Put the sign at the off ramps of the freeway.” Smithwick suggested that motorists using Fell to get to the deYoung Museum and the Academy of Science are primarily coming off the freeway and that was when they should receive a “garage is full” message because then they would have a real chance to change their route.

The SFgo sign on Oak street just west of Divisadero was equally criticized by the neighbors. Michael Khavul said he hoped to develop property at Baker and Oak streets into a mixed-use complex but the SFgo sign would effectively prohibit it. “We are looking to have twelve bedrooms that will face that sign, (but) we cannot have anyone sleep there with those signs.” MTA regulations prohibit placing SFgo signs outside any second or third floor windows, and the managers chose the sidewalk along the Dept. of Motor Vehicles building with that in mind. Apparently MTA did not consider the impact on any new development at the site or existing buildings across the street.

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi has already objected to the Oak Street sign, according to his aide, Vallie Brown, who attended the NOPNA meeting. He told the MTA “no way,” she said, but apparently the MTA took little note of his objections. Brown explained, “We found out when you did about the sign going up on Oak Street.” Earlier in the day Mirkarimi told Streetsblog that “Nobody’s made a good case to me on Oak at all.”

The bottom line for the neighbors. No one objects to SFgo plans for infrastructure upgrades, the underground fiber cables, the above-ground traffic cameras, or the communications center. But the Fell Street sign creates a traffic hazard instead of preventing one, and it could better serve its real purpose – the garage parking issue – at a different location. The Oak Street sign would provide traffic messages, but few outside the traffic management world of MTA believe it will provide an essential service.

And the surprising thing is, one of SFgo's directors believes the program will do just fine without either sign.

For previous posts on SFgo in NOPA and Alamo Square, see these for 9/18, 9/17, 9/14, 9/09, 8/11

Change in NOPA: September Update

BIKE NOPA covered a lot of biking and livability territory in July and August. Let's see where things stand with some of the previous posts:

NOPA Play Blocks were a conjecture back in early July. One small step for play blocks: Sunday, Sept. 27 BIKE THE BLOCK opens Grove Street between Lyon and Baker from 10 am to 1pm. Playing in the street not limited to kids.

NOPA green businessman and bicyclist, J.P. Collins is on a roll. Following his profile here, JP now appears in the current issue of momentum, the magazine for self-propelled people. JP, a graphic designer, illustrated the article which delves into how much he and his wife Lizbit Bailey continue to "green their lifestyle."

CPMC Davies Bike Parking: The engineering department of Davies responded to requests from medical center users and is about to install new bike racks. The outdated and unused section of bike parking has now been removed. Expect new racks for ten more bicycles within three weeks.

The Dying Turk Street Trees: DPW's Bureau of Urban Forestry responded to our post, and a representative stated that an arborist was dealing with the problem of the contractor planting the trees without a plan to water them. The recent cuts in DPW's landscaping and tree care staff makes the problem more challenging, but the need remains.

NOPA's Grafitti Watch: Doug Diboll continues monitoring much of the neighborhood for tagging and trash. His job -- and OUR job -- becomes more important as the city tries to keep pace with grafitti control, which is a major drain on the DPW budget. Report tagging to 311, cover the tags using methods outlined by DPW, and help keep the streets and sidewalks clean.

Those freeway-style standards intended for digital traffic management messages: still hulking from the sidewalks, but find out what SFgo reps have to say about these "traffic calming" installments on Oak and Fell streets at the next NOPNA meeting: Thursday, Sept. 17, Poleng Lounge, 1751 Fulton near Masonic, 7pm meet and greet, 7:30 pm meeting. Say hello to the Alamo Square neighbors who will be joining us for this issue of mutual concern.

We have a very fond spot for Beth Byrne, the graphic designer who gave BIKE NOPA window signs their distinct look. Then she went even further and designed the BIKE THE BLOCK party poster gratis and her company picked up the tab for copies. Beth has many fans, including the already mentioned magazine momentum which wisely profiles her as "The Lunch Hour Bike Advocate" in its current issue. Beth lavishes much of her free time on bike improvements in the city as part of her volunteering with the SF Bicycle Coalition.

No matter how much we welcomed new NOPA resident and SF Bike Coalition staffer, Marc Caswell, to the neighborhood, he still must face the afternoon headwinds on the uphill climb of McAllister Street at the end of the day. Sorry, Marc, some things don't change.

Divisadero Work Begins Monday: Next Chapter of "Comeback-kid story"

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi nailed it when he described the revitalization of Divisadero street as a "come-back kid story" already underway. Long before the planning for a "Great Streets" makeover of the prime north-south corridor was completed, neighbors helped preserve landmark buildings and support new and old businesses. Their persistence primed the pump for the structural change being launched next week.

Who remembers the battle to keep Burger King out of the historic landmark building on the NE corner of Fell and Divisadero? Neighbors in NOPA, Alamo Square, Lower Haight, and Cow Hollow battled the burger chain and the city Planning Department for the sake of historic preservation, environmental protections, and local, non-chain operations. The neighbors won before the Planning Commission, and the Madrone Lounge flourishes at the corner now.

The city's Entertainment Commission was shocked, pleasantly so, when many of these same neighbors supported the expanded liquor-serving hours and hours of operation for Club Waziema on Divisadero between Fell and Hayes. Waziema was one of the neighborhood's friendly meeting places, and neighbors wanted it to thrive and enliven that block.

And then there was the battle over the Central Freeway, that contentious issue that visited the ballot three times until finally the configuration that prevails today was approved. Alamo Square and NOPA still contend with the frequent speedway driving on Oak and Fell, but the anti-freeway action helped invigorate neighborhoods further east and calmed the traffic a bit as well.

Expect inconvenience as Divisadero gets its makeover: periodic reduced parking, slowed traffic with side streets taking more of the burden, and a temporary disruption of daily patterns. The work is expected to continue through 2010.

Support the local merchants even more. Here's the chance to help our Divis merchants continue business almost-as-usual. But why settle for that? How about helping our local businesses thrive during the revitalization? Say hello to the Dept. of Public Works crews while you're at it.

Find out more:

• the Divisadero project overview and the construction flyer
• the city's Great Streets Program
• today's Examiner article about the "rehab" of Divisadero

SFgo = Traffic First in NOPA, Alamo Square?

Most NOPA and Alamo Square neighbors had never heard of SFgo. But the "freeway functional," newly erected sign standards on the already too narrow sidewalks along Fell and Oak streets grabbed attention. Their reaction was more WIMBY than NIMBY, as in "Why In My Back Yard"? How will freeway signs add anything to our neighborhood and why now, just as the city invests $3.3 million to help make our prime transit and traffic corridor more livable?

In an earlier post, BIKE NOPA introduced neighbors to what seems an egregious intrusion in our midst. Today we present more in-depth coverage of the goals, uncertain messages, and specific concerns of the people who live here.

SFgo is an ambitious -- some say misguided -- program to upgrade the city's arterial traffic management and traffic signal system. Program goals include: manage traffic in real time, provide transit signal priority, and support emergency services. The plan envisions signal upgrades at 100 intersections, signal controller replacements at 400 intersections, fiber optic communications, transit priority measures at 500 intersections, and installation of variable message signs and traffic cameras, according to a June 26, 2008 presentation by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).

When transportation planners developed what would evolve into SFgo ten years ago, local livability and transportation expert Dave Snyder was already against it. "They all questioned how I could be opposed to innovative, state-of-the-art improvements," he recalled. "I thought it represented poor priorities. They planned this when a different team was in there. Part of what we're witnessing is the delayed effect of transportation priorities of the old guard." Snyder added that the $72.5 million alloted to SFgo would be used much differently by today's planners. "They wouldn't be putting message boards on Fell and Oak streets; they'd focus on more important public transit corridors."

Snyder believes that theoretically the SFgo system could be a good thing. In the case of the traffic message signs on Oak and Fell Streets, SFgo could manage the traffic signals to make sure the Muni #24 bus gets a green light every time it approaches the two intersections. Once the bus passes through the intersection, the east/west traffic could be given a longer green light until the next bus approached. That would really screw up Fell Street traffic though, according to Snyder. "To be really effective, traffic signals all along Divisadero would have to allow Muni preferential passage, and that's not likely to happen. The way SFgo is being implemented now it seems to be just a way to speed up traffic."

The primary purpose of SFgo sometimes gets muddled by program managers' own descriptions. There are the three goals listed above, but then the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority (SFMTA) also gets down to basics with its statement that SFgo is "largely motivated by the need to upgrade existing equipment and infrastructure. Fair enough: traffic signals in the city are old and ill-suited for tech upgrades. But note this treatment of the benefits touted in its goals: "...the benefits, such as the ability to provide transit priority, pedestrian scramble phasing, incorporating bicycle elements into signal elements, are expected to accrue as a byproduct of the upgrade." (my emphasis). That reads, to me, as if the progam is primarily an infrastructure improvement with a very big price tag and a few good perks along for the ride.

SFMTA has good reason to spin the positives, and the agency knows its opposition. Another presentation ("Smart Corridors Task Force Notebook") about SFgo answered the question, What's the greatest challenge to the program?

• "Addressing the prevailing skepticism about the benefits of the project and the prevailing resistance to modernization borne out of a fear that the project would encourage auto traffic." (my italics)

"Prevailing skepticism" in NOPA and Alamo Square: check. Fear about encouraging auto traffic: check. But "resistance to modernization": not so fast.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the San Francisco Freeway Revolt that stopped plans to better manage traffic flow by thrusting the proposed Panhandle/Golden Gate Park Freeway from the Central Freeway, up Oak and Fell while slicing 60% of the Panhandle for the pavement and then tunnel under Golden Gate Park to reach Park Presidio. Advocates then were, no doubt, derided for their "resistance to modernization." Today they're considered local heroes.

NOPA and Alamo Square residents cite three primary concerns with SFgo in their neighborhoods:

• SFgo seems to undermine the benefits of the Divisadero Corridor makeover

The city plans to revitalize the Divisadero Corridor from Haight to Geary to encourage more social interaction among neighbors and shoppers in a more conducive environment, i.e., less dominated by vehicular traffic. Expect to see bus bulbouts, a wider median planted with trees, upgraded light fixtures (no more ominous "cobra-head" lights), and landscaping. While the Divisadero makeover has been criticized by several livability advocates for being too limited in its scope -- not widening the sidewalks and calming traffic more -- NOPA and Alamo Square neighbors will nevertheless welcome even these changes for the long-neglected streetscape.

After two years of neighborhood input for the re-design and the expected expenditures, why is the city also spending millions to erect freeway-style message signs on Fell and Oak right next to Divisadero? Take out the cobra-head lights but erect functional/ugly sign standards? How will the digital displays -- bright lights -- enhance the neighborhood? Part of the long-term thinking for Divisadero is to encourage new housing, especially at the Fell intersection. But "up-close to SFgo signs" hardly fits the "location, location, location" mantra for developers or renters and homeowners.

• SFgo may be used to delay Divisadero traffic, causing more congestion, while it stalls Muni and makes pedestrians and cyclists wait even longer to cross Oak and Fell Streets.

During the Divisadero re-design planning process, Muni reps were adamant about not slowing the #24 bus in any way. But Muni #24 will definitely be stalled if Oak and Fell traffic gets more of the green.

• SFgo may encourage faster, more dangerous driving on Oak and Fell with longer green lights and with visual cues (e.g., the freeway-style message boards).

For some motorists, Oak and Fell are the most direct and quickest routes across town and onto the freeway. Everyone's busy and pressed for time; if the corridor allows fast driving as a result of traffic signal timing, who will resist? The signs might also present more distractions for motorists right where they encounter more bicyclists and pedestrians using the streets.

What do neighbors want? Tomorrow BIKE NOPA will focus on neighbors' questions for the SFgo reps to address when they discuss the program at the North of the Panhandle Neighborhood Association (NOPNA) meeting*. We will also take a look at SFgo's record of community outreach.

*Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009, Poleng Lounge, 1751 Fulton between Central and Masonic; 7 pm meet and greet; 7:30 pm meeting starts.