Supervisor Jake McGoldrick: Close GG Park on Saturdays

Golden Gate Park draws more people on Sundays than any other day of the week thanks to the popular car-free space on John F. Kennedy Drive, which has been in existence for more than 35 years.

"Sunday is my favorite day of the week," says Jacob Bindman, an 8-year-old Richmond resident. "That's when I get to ride my bike in the park, and I don't have to worry about the scary cars."

Working together, we have an opportunity to help make the park even more well-used and more-treasured by people like Jacob by expanding the safe play space for families, local residents and visitors to Saturdays as well. Golden Gate Park is an invaluable place for teaching our children how to ride bicycles, skate and enjoy the outdoors, all within the City.

"Parents in the Richmond District are desperate for car-free space for kids to learn to bike and skate," says Jean Fraser, a Richmond mother of two. "On Saturdays it's frightening to be on JFK Drive. We really need a whole weekend of safe play space for kids."

I am proud to be working with community members and my colleagues on the SF Board of Supervisors to craft a trial program for car-free Saturdays on JFK Drive. A six-month trial - possibly starting by summertime - would allow us to see what works, what does not, and how we can make sure that all of the neighborhoods, including the Richmond, are benefiting from the program.

This idea is not a brand new one, of course. But a great deal has changed since the community last considered car-free Saturdays in the park. Today, the underground Concourse garage and the new de Young Museum have been built and are flourishing, and through-traffic is not allowed across the Concourse. In addition, plans are underway to improve the signage to both the garage and the park's cultural institutions, and surface parking will soon be removed in the park. Any day now, the other half of the Concourse garage will open.

I believe that these are all important improvements that needed to happen before moving forward with a trial of the Saturday JFK Drive program. The biggest concerns of the past have changed dramatically: access to the cultural institutions has been addressed by the new garage, and neighbors' access across the park is no longer allowed through the Concourse area.

My proposal will certainly take into account access for disabled park visitors; consideration of reaching other park institutions, such as the Conservatory of Flowers; and, of course, improvements to circulation around the park, such as on Stanyan Street and Crossover Drive.

I am eager to hear residents' ideas about the proposal. I hope you will join me in launching a trial program to help make Golden Gate Park even more special and treasured by us all.

Biodiesel Access

Currently, the production and use of petroleum fuels causes a significant degradation in public health and in environmental quality due to the air and water pollution caused by emissions from vehicles running on gasoline and diesel.

This can be significantly mitigated through a reliable and clean transportation fuel, like biodiesel, which is produced from domestic renewable sources, like vegetable oil. According to a jointly sponsored study by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, biodiesel reduces net carbon dioxide emissions by 78 percent compared to petroleum. While biodiesel is a better alternative fuel, the challenge is in making it available and accessible to the public.

By and large, traditional gas stations are reluctant to sell high blends of biodiesel, like B100, because state regulation only allows B100 to be sold to centrally-fueled fleets.

In addition, selling B100 to the public requires that the biodiesel retailer apply for a variance from the California Department of Measurement Standards. And dispensing B100 for use by the public requires an alternative fueling structure which is currently provided by biodiesel user cooperatives that are not accessible to all consumers.

In San Francisco, there are currently no publicly accessible biodiesel filling stations. Accordingly, an alternative fueling infrastructure which includes both traditional gas stations and biodiesel filling stations, must be created to provide the necessary public access.

The challenge is that current San Francisco regulations were drafted prior to the emergence of biodiesel and do not contemplate a world with an alternative fueling structure. As a result, I recently passed a resolution to establish a Biodiesel Access Task Force that will facilitate the creation of a biodiesel fueling infrastructure for the City.

To that extent, this task force, comprised of city departments and the local biodiesel community, will develop recommendations to create incentives for biodiesel use, to streamline current city processes, to support biodiesel use among city fleets, and to implement a permitting process for biodiesel fueling stations.

If you would like to find out more information about the Biodiesel Access Task Force, please contact my office at 554-7410.

Jake McGoldrick is a San Francisco supervisor representing District 1.