Park Road Closure Plan Announced

In January, SF Supervisor Matt Gonzalez will try again to introduce controversial legislation to close a portion of Golden Gate Park to motor vehicles - something San Francisco voters have already rejected twice at the ballot box.

In the November 2000 election, voters were faced with two competing propositions, F and G, that called for banning motor vehicles from parts of the park and rejected both measures. Voters in the Sunset rejected both measures by nearly 2-to-1 ratios, while the Richmond rejected F by a 3-to-2 margin and G by an even wider margin. Citywide, the measures fared better, with Proposition G attracting 38 percent of the votes, while Proposition F received more than 46 percent of the vote.

Proposition F called for the immediate closure of a number of main roads in the park to cars on Saturdays, while Proposition G, the milder version of the two, postponed the closure until an underground parking garage, approved by voters in 1998 for the Music Concourse, was completed. Those measures would have closed John F. Kennedy Drive near Crossover Drive.

The Gonzalez legislation, if passed by the Board of Supervisors and signed into law by Mayor Willie Brown, would close several main arteries of the park to motor vehicle traffic on Saturdays, between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The eastern portion of John F. Kennedy Drive was closed to cars on Sundays and certain holidays years ago by the SF Recreation and Park Commission.

The streets in the park designated for closure under the proposed legislation are: John F. Kennedy Drive, between Kezar Drive and Eighth Avenue; Arguello Boulevard; Conservatory Drive East and Conservatory Drive West; Bowling Green Drive between John F. Kennedy Drive and Middle Drive East.

When the measure comes up for consideration on Jan. 24, it will be the second airing it has received before the Housing, Land Use and Transportation Committee. Last August the legislation stalled in committee after a fierce debate erupted between proponents and opponents of the measure.

Opponents describe the measure as a blatant attempt by Gonzalez to curry favor from his own constituents, who voted in favor of the measures in November, at the expense of all San Franciscans.

When asked what his reasons were for sponsoring the legislation, Gonzalez referred the question to legislative aide Larry Roberts, who said that although the measures had been voted down in the past they attracted a lot of positive support from the voters. Roberts also pointed out that the measures passed in Gonzalez's district.

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition described the new legislation as a "compromise" and a "nod to the Academy of Sciences and park neighbors," in its November publication Tube Times.

But opponents of the Gonzalez legislation say that voters have already spoken on the matter and call his measure unworkable.

"Closing JFK Drive all weekend would place an unreasonable restriction on many other San Franciscans who would like to access cultural and recreational resources in the east end of the park," wrote Michael Leo, project manager for the Friends of Recreation and Parks, in a letter published in the San Francisco Chronicle last month.

"Promoting alternatives to the automobile is good, but don't do it at the expense of other citizens who have a right to enjoy their park, especially when the voters have already spoken," Leo said.

But the January hearing may provide surprises for both sides if Tom Ammiano, president of the Board of Supervisors, is successful in working out a compromise.

Ammiano, who supported Proposition F but says he is undecided on the Gonzalez legislation, is on a mission to work out a compromise before the measure comes up for a vote in committee in January.

"I am facilitating meetings to see what we might come up with," Ammiano said.

- Carol Dimmick