Supervisor Jake McGoldrick: IOA, Balboa Street Projects

Last month, I attended a wonderful event organized by the Institute on Aging and Bridge Housing celebrating the anticipated Geary Boulevard Senior Living and Health Center (the Center). Also present at the event were supporters of the Center, such as baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays and dozens of the community groups that have worked very hard to get this project to where it is now.

The Center, located on Geary and Arguello boulevards, will bring the Richmond District 150 units of much-needed affordable housing for seniors.

When Bridge Housing first came to me with the proposal for the housing project, I had some concerns. I heard from neighborhood groups such as the Francisco Heights Civic Association and the Jordan Park Neighborhood Association which said that the project was too tall and too dense for the neighborhood. I worked with the Planning Department, local stakeholders, the Institute on Aging and Bridge Housing to scale it down to a size that is much more appropriate for that location.

I am very happy with the modified project and look forward to the ground-breaking very soon. This project is supported by a plethora of community organizations, including; Senior Action Network, Planning Association for the Richmond (PAR), the Richmond District YMCA, San Francisco Organizing Project (Star of the Sea Church), San Francisco Tomorrow, SPUR's Urban Design Review Committee and the Project Review Committee, Meals on Wheels, and Self Help for the Elderly.

Great Streets-Improvements to Outer Balboa
The Richmond District will soon benefit from a program called "The Great Streets Program."

The Great Streets Program was created in September 2005 to design and implement one-time capital investments on a series of streets across the City, demonstrating best practices in street design and the value of landscaping, lighting and pedestrian safety to improving life in our neighborhoods. The projects are funded primarily through a multi-year federal transportation bill called "SAFETEA," which together will local funds, enabled the Richmond District to enjoy $1 million of improvements.

The improvements will be focused on Balboa Street between 34th and 39th avenues and include sidewalk bulbouts with new curb ramps, raised sidewalk planters with cobblestone where applicable, street trees, upgraded street lights that will be more energy efficient and that emit a better quality of light, and raised sidewalk planters.

Congestion Pricing Wins Support in US
Traffic congestion threatens our city's quality of life and economic vitality in many different ways, whether it is long, unpredictable commutes that rob us of time spent with our families or at the office or delays that increase the time and costs of delivering good and services or the degradation of our environment, health and safety.

Congestion pricing is a way to manage our transportation network by charging drivers a fee to drive cars in congested areas during the most congested times, and reinvest those revenues into alternatives that make more efficient use of the system and enhance our quality of life.

Drivers could decide if the convenience of arriving at their destination faster and on-time is worth a modest fee or they could use alternatives, like taking transit, carpooling or biking or decide to travel at less congested times of day.

Congestion pricing has already been implemented in other world-class cities like Singapore, London, Stockholm and Rome. It has helped these cities reduce delays by as much as 26 percent, increase transit ridership by between 5 percent and 18 percent and reduce emissions from cars and trucks by 15 percent.

The London system has been so successful it was expanded to a larger area, and Stockholm voters approved a referendum to implement congestion pricing permanently last year.

Here in the U.S., New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is pursuing congestion pricing, with the support of the business community. Citing the strategic question of "growth or gridlock," the mayor's proposal looks to congestion pricing as a way to boost productivity and quality of life, as well as sustainable growth.

The Transportation Authority's Mobility, Access and Pricing Study will look at whether this type of program could work in San Francisco in the context of our local and regional transportation system, with the goal of improving mobility and enhancing access to a full range of employment, business and recreational activities in San Francisco.

The public is participating through several advisory committees and public workshops to be scheduled this summer and fall. San Francisco is a cutting-edge city in many ways, and our transportation policy should be no different. To learn more about how to get involved with the public workshops or to get more information on congestion pricing, visit www.sfmobility.org.

Jake McGoldrick is the District 1 supervisor.