Leah Shahum: Input Needed to Improve Golden Gate Park

Do you love riding your bicycle in Golden Gate Park, but wish you could ride without feeling threatened by fast-moving cars? Do you walk in the park after work, but feel frustrated by the amount of traffic rushing down JFK Drive during rush hour? Do you want to feel more secure about letting your kids safely play in the park?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, your input is needed to help improve conditions in Golden Gate Park.

A major planning effort is beginning this month to make the park safer for all users, with special emphasis on those of us walking, biking and skating in the park.

Thanks to funding from the Golden Gate Park Concourse Authority, plans will be developed by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition to enhance both recreational and commute bicycling throughout the park.

At the same time, another plan underway for traffic-calming improvements specifically on JFK Drive will be developed by BMS Design Group.

Suggestions could range from more bike paths to better lighting to slower vehicle traffic speeds.

The first of several public workshops to give input on both of these plans - bicycling throughout the park and traffic calming on JFK Drive - is scheduled for Tuesday, August 27. Your input will be essential to determine how the park could be made safer and more enjoyable for walking, biking, skating and simply spending time. We value your input. So, please get involved. Here's how:

1) Join park lovers at our first public workshop Tuesday, August 27, between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., at the Park Branch Library, located at 1833 Page St. This will be an open house format, so feel free to come anytime.

2) Check out our website at www.sfbike.org/ggp to give your input online. Especially if you can't make the workshop, please take time to fill out our quick online questionnaire.

3) Help get the word out about this planning process. We need volunteers to hang up signs about the meeting and pass out fliers. Call Michael at the S.F. Bicycle Coalition at 431-2453, ext. 1 for more information.

4) Join a leisurely-paced bike tour to experience the park on two wheels and to share ideas and suggestions for troubled areas. The tour begins Saturday, Sept. 21, at 11a.m., at McLaren Lodge and it is expected to last no more than two hours.

The planning process will extend through the end of this year and includes another public workshop tentatively planned for October.

It's your park - get involved!

Leah Shahum is a member of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. She can be reached at www.sfbike.org.