Hundreds Attend Town Hall Forum Hosted by Mayor

By Paul Kozakiewicz

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom ran back and forth at the Presidio Middle School's auditorium July 29 playing "Donahue" to a sold-out crowd.

The Town Hall Forum the mayor was overseeing was staffed with many of the city's department heads, which were on-hand to answer questions from the public.

"There's nothing worse that a politician who can't answer questions," Newsom said.

About one half of the 200-plus people at the forum raised their hands when the mayor asked if they were at the event to make their feelings known about a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) program that is being studied by the SF Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The plan would dedicate a lane of traffic (in each direction) on Geary Boulevard for the exclusive use of Muni and other buses.

Many merchants are opposed to the plan because of the potential negative impacts it could have, both during construction and after, on their livelihoods. Many others attended the meeting to push for the BRT program, saying it would decrease travel time on the busy mass-transit corridor and tempt people out of their cars for downtown trips.

According to TA Project Manager Julie Kirschbaum, computer modeling shows slightly less that a third of the cars now using Geary would use other roads if the number of traffic lanes was to be reduced on Geary, as has been proposed with the BRT program. The result, Kirschbaum said, would be an increase in traffic by two vehicles per minute during peak times on Fulton and California streets; one vehicle per minute on Balboa Street; and one vehicle every two minutes on Clement Street.

But the mayor, with the assistance of his self-proclaimed sidekick "Oprah," SF Supervisor Jake McGoldrick, scanned the dozens of questions submitted so almost all of the city's representatives assembled on stage could give a brief update on their department and answers a specific question. That meant most of the questions asked by the crowd about BRT went unanswered.

"A lot of the merchants who took time off from work to speak at the meeting were unable to," said David Heller, president of the Greater Geary Boulevard Merchants and Property Owners Association. The merchants want an economic study to determine what negative impacts can be foreseen.

Among the highlights of the forum were:

• Safety concerns over sighting of two coyotes in Golden Gate Park. According to SF Recreation and Park Department General Manager Yomi Agunbiade, the City is working with the state to try to find a solution. He ruled out tranquilizing the animals, but did not offer any other options;

• The head of the SF Department of Public Works told members of the community concerned about large items being dumped on the streets, often in the middle of the night. Every household in San Francisco is allowed two free pickups of large residential items. Call 28-CLEAN to report an illegally dumped item;

• SF Police Chief Heather Fong reported that there would be increased traffic enforcement in the Richmond because the department has just gotten new motorcycles, equipped with front and rear radar detectors;

• Agunbiade also reported that the stables in Golden Gate Park, which have been closed since 20001, are still not open, but an Environmental Impact Report prepared for the project is nearing completion. Some $3.1 million is being sought from the Parks Trust for the project;

• Agunbiade said the department is looking into the legal ramifications of the closing of the Albertsons at Clement Street and 32nd Avenue. When the store opened, it agreed to pay $500,000 to renovate the Lincoln Playground. But, after an initial payment of $200,000 the balance was never paid;

• City Traffic Engineer Bond Yee reported that the following five intersections along Geary Boulevard would be getting new traffic signals: Spruce and Blake streets, 11th and 15th avenues and the Great Highway.