Paul Kozakiewicz: Give 'Em An Inch and They'll Take A Mile

Give them an inch and they will take a mile - and a mile more - and a mile more ....

The anti-freeway forces that gave us the destruction of a crucial stretch of the Central Freeway are at it again. Now they want the whole enchilada.

In 1999 voters were asked if they wanted the Central Freeway rebuilt to Oak and Fell streets or if they wanted the freeway to end at Market Street, with a six-lane Octavia Boulevard to connect the freeway to Fell and Oak streets. They chose to knock the freeway back to Market Street and build the boulevard.

Caltrans has been working for four years on the project and is about to break ground.

But San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty has asked the SF Transportation Authority, which is comprised of the full board of supervisors, to investigate the possibility of knocking the whole elevated freeway back to Bryant Street and routing vehicles from there via surface streets.

For westside residents and those living south of Market Street, this makes a bad situation even worse. More vehicles clogging city streets, more road rage, more pollution in an area of town with bad air quality and longer commute times for westside residents trying to get to the 101 Freeway and the east side of the City.

It would also mean dismantling the plan about to be implemented, resulting in years of additional planning and construction. And with funding for any future plan uncertain, it could put any new plan in limbo. If we don't use the state and federal funds currently available for the project, we would lose the money and have to get back in line for new funding. This scenario is unlikely given the deficits the state and federal governments are running.

The old Central Freeway, which was damaged during the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, had enough room for traffic during rush hour or when an accident occurred. Cutting the freeway back to Bryant Street would back traffic onto the 101 Freeway, clogging that traffic artery and creating a dangerous situation. Perhaps that is what the anti-vehicle crowd wants - then all of the freeways can be dismantled and people can start getting to work in non-polluting rickshaws.

The Octavia Boulevard plan was narrowly approved by the voters in 1999, despite the fact that 60 percent of Richmond District residents and 65 percent of Sunset District residents voted against the plan. Energized by Tom Ammiano write-in voters, the campaign to build a boulevard passed.

Ammiano and three other supervisors sponsored the plan just minutes before the filing deadline, putting it in competition with the proposition to save the freeway. Now, as a candidate for mayor, Ammiano has put forth a plan to relieve traffic congestion and make city transportation fast, reliable and efficient.

"Getting to work on time every morning has become an uphill battle for many in and around San Francisco - something must be done," Ammiano said.

I hope any future foray into transportation issues is more fruitful than Ammiano's Octavia Boulevard plan - the one his allies for the 1999 ballot proposition now reject.

The main arguments put forward by the anti-freeway crowd is that the freeway's removal will open up public space and result in a reduction of traffic. But where do they think the traffic will go? It will clog the streets of the South of Market, just as it did in the mid-'90s when the freeway was temporarily closed for demolition work. Additionally, there is little open space that could be opened up in the corridor where the freeway is currently located.

One of the main proponents for destroying a part of the city's transportation infrastructure is BART Director Tom Radulovich. He has been trying to convince anyone he can that the City should break its contract with the state and knock down more freeway.

Radulovich argued that the Octavia Boulevard plan was the way to go in 1999 and now argues that that plan is bad and should be subverted. He is another politician who should not be involved in important transportation issues.

The SF Bicycle Coalition, which fought hard for the passage of the Octavia Boulevard plan and touted its virtues, now has second thoughts about the project because of safety issues. It is obvious that the coalition would like to knock down all of the freeways and issue everyone a bicycle to ride.

San Francisco supervisors should accept the will of the voters and rebuild the portion of the freeway that was called for in the ballot proposition. The proponents for rebuilding the Central Freeway accepted the will of the voters and have been working in good faith to complete the project and minimize the serious effects the plan would have on westside commuters and eastside residents. Now Dufty wants to reverse course just as an end to this traffic nightmare is in sight.

It is ironic that the plan I fought for four years ago is the one I now have to fight to keep. But it is the only course of action to make a bad situation from getting exponentially worse.

Everyone who is opposed to scrapping the Octavia Boulevard plan should contact members of the board of supervisors and notify them that the position is unacceptable. If not, we can continue to watch the city's traffic infrastructure diminish - one mile at a time.