Proposal to Ban Traffic from Music Concourse Bowl Comes Under Fire

By Carol Dimmick

A proposal currently under consideration to ban cars from the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park would create significant problems, according to a traffic study commissioned by the City.

"If you removed all through traffic from the Music Concourse bowl you would create significant problems," said Tim Erney, principal transportation planner for Wilbur Smith Associates.

While the idea to ban cars from the bowl is not new, it is currently finding favor with an advisory committee set up last month at the request of SF Supervisor Aaron Peskin to settle the issue of how to turn the bowl in the Music Concourse into a pedestrian oasis.

The Music Concourse is undergoing a series of improvements approved by the voters in 1998 when they passed Proposition J. Included in the mandate was turning the concourse bowl into a "pedestrian oasis" and building a parking garage underneath the Music Concourse.

Erney, who analyzed the impact of banning cars from the bowl as part of a larger environmental study triggered by a proposal to build a $50 million parking garage underneath the Music Concourse, said the worst problem would occur at Middle Drive.

"You would have an unacceptable intersection operation at Middle East Drive," he said.

If enacted, the study says that from 300 to 600 cars that currently cross the bowl each hour using Tea Garden and Concourse drives would have to find alternate routes, creating significant problems for other streets in and near the park.

According to the study, additional circulation issues on Stow Lake Drive and Crossover Drive, which connects 19th Avenue with Park Presidio Boulevard, would likely occur if the ban goes through. Erney said his firm did not study other streets that may be adversely impacted if drivers seek alternate routes.

The study also points out that the popular Muni 44 O'Shaughnessy bus line, which currently crosses the bowl, would have to be re-routed.

Peskin, who recently introduced legislation to approve a lease arrangement for the parking garage underneath the Music Concourse, made it clear that he wants consensus on a plan for a pedestrian oasis.

Peskin said he convened a committee of stakeholders to study the issue only after it became apparent it was being put on the back burner because of a lack of funds.

Peskin said he currently supports putting some restrictions on cars traveling through the Concourse bowl.

Mike Ellzey, executive director of the Golden Gate Park Concourse Authority, the public body responsible for overseeing the construction of the underground garage and renovations to the Music Concourse, confirmed that the advisory group he chairs has discussed alternatives for circulation in the bowl. According to Ellzey, four scenarios under consideration range from full vehicle access to no access.

Ellzey also confirmed that none of the data or the analysis contained in the EIR about eliminating cross traffic from the bowl has been a part of discussions to this point. He said this will be reserved for a later meeting at which a traffic engineer will be brought into "quantify the data from the EIR."

Sunset and Richmond Residents Vow to Fight

As word reaches the public, the proposal to ban cars from the bowl is drawing fire from residents living in the Richmond and Sunset districts, who say it will have a negative impact on their neighborhoods.

Rolf Mueller, owner of RJM Systems and president of the Inner Sunset Merchants Association, said he will launch a petition drive against any proposal that would ban cars from the bowl. Mueller said he is concerned that banning cars from the bowl will mean a loss of income for small business owners.

"I think it is completely idiotic. If this goes through it will mean the loss of clients," he said.

The popular cross-park route carries traffic in the Sunset District on Ninth Avenue, the heart of the Inner Sunset business district.

Michelle Straton, a member of the North Park Neighbors Association and a member of Ellzey's advisory committee, is against a proposal to ban cars from the bowl because of the problems it will create on other roads and the impact it will have on the Richmond neighborhood.

Straton said the NPNA supports "traffic calming measures in the bowl, but not anything that would cut off access through the bowl."

Supervisor Jake McGoldrick, who represents the Richmond District, says he is against banning cars from the bowl.

He questioned that a mandate by voters to create a pedestrian oasis translates into eliminating cars from the bowl.

"It depends on how you define pedestrian oasis. It is unacceptable to close the bowl off to traffic or do anything that would create levels of congestion without mitigation measures or alternate routes," he said.

Editor's note: A community meeting to discuss the proposals will be held on Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. at the Hall of Flowers in Golden Gate Park.