Golden Gate Park Road Closures OK'd

By Paul Kozakiewicz

The SF Board of Supervisors has approved, by a 9-2 vote, a plan to close a portion of John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park on Saturdays.

The agreement calls for JFK Drive to be closed between Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive and Transverse Drive, from the first Saturday in April until the last Saturday in September, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

As well, Middle Drive, which is already closed to vehicular traffic on Saturdays, will be repaved and a concession stand will be open for those who want a car-free space. The agreement between the parties will last for five years.

The original proposal would have closed JFK Drive between Kezar Drive and Transverse Drive. The street closure agreement was hammered out in April between forces that wanted to close the park to traffic Saturdays and those who did not want it closed. Negotiations were carried out under the auspices of Mayor Gavin Newsom's office over the course of several days.

According to Ron Miguel, the president of the Planning Association for the Richmond (PAR), the two variables the negotiating teams had to work with were time and space. The two sides ended up splitting the two variables down the middle.

The supervisors had voted to close the main street in the eastern end of the park last year, but the mayor vetoed the measure. With the votes of four supervisors, the veto was upheld.

But the sponsor of the plan, District 1 Supervisor Jake McGoldrick, reintroduced the plan in March. One of the supervisors who originally voted to uphold the veto, Supervisor Bevan Dufty, said he was wavering on his original opposition to the plan and signaled his intent to revisit the issue. Without the possibility of four votes necessary to uphold a mayoral veto, the mayor's office scrambled to reach a compromise.

Negotiating for the pro-closure forces were Rick Galbreath (Sierra Club), Jean Fraser, David Miles (California Outdoor Rollersports Association), Leah Shahum (SF Bicycle Coalition), and Michael Smith (SF Walk).

Negotiating for those who wanted to keep JFK Drive open to traffic on Saturdays were: John Buchanan (M.H. de Young Memorial Museum), Mary Harris (District 11 Council), Pat Kilduff (California Academy of Sciences), Tomasita Medal (Park Access for All), Miguel (PAR), and Michele Stratton (North Park Neighbors).

Others who participated in a part of the proceedings included Judy Berkowitz (Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods) and Tim Hornbecker (ARC).

Voters rejected two measures citywide in 2000 that would have closed the park roads on Saturdays. But with Dufty's wavering, several participants said they felt a negotiated settlement was better than risking losing the battle; which would have left the roads in the park closed year-round.

"Everyone went into the negotiations trying to avoid a ballot fight," Miguel said. "Rather than risk losing everything it was better to see what is going to happen when the Academy reopens."

The California Academy of Sciences is expected to reopen in the park in about a year. The Academy draws two to three times the number of visitors as the de Young Museum.

"The coalition reluctantly agreed to the compromise plan as a least-worse result," said Stratton, who said she was in contact with other members of the North Park Neighbors via e-mail during the negotiations. "Most of us wanted to avoid a lengthy battle at the Board of Supervisors and the ballot box."

At a press conference on the steps of City Hall Feb. 27, Supervisor Tom Ammiano intimated that the supervisors would take the issue back to the ballot if it did not pass at the board the second time around. Any four supervisors can pen their signatures to a ballot proposition and put it on the ballot.

The SF Bicycle Coalition touted the compromise measure as a win for city residents.

"The compromise is not everything that the park users deserve, but it is an important step toward creating safe, accessible car-free space in a popular section of the park," said Leah Shahum, a member of the coalition.

The first Saturday of the park closure will be held on May 26, during the Memorial Day weekend.