Supervisor Eric Mar: 'Gung Hay Fat Choy'

Happy New Year - the Chinese Year of the Tiger! I hope you all had a great holiday season with your friends and families.

Sutro Dunes
Over the past few months I have had the great opportunity to work with some knowledgeable and effective neighborhood and open space activists in the Outer Richmond on a 3.3 acre plot of land called "Parcel 4."Ê

These neighbors, members of two neighborhood organizations, Friends of Sutro Park and the Coalition to Save Ocean Beach, have dedicated more than 1,000 volunteer hours for general maintenance, plantings, brush removal and trail improvements to Parcel 4, which is located at the junction of the Great Highway and Balboa Street, just below Sutro Heights Park.

They have organized for years to save this parcel of land, which Playland at the Beach previously inhabited, from dense, multi-story housing.Ê Residents of the Outer Richmond take special pride in the area, and under National Park Service supervision, have enthusiastically participated in workdays to ensure a quality experience for visitors.

Working with these activists and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, I have introduced an ordinance to change the name of Parcel 4 to "Sutro Dunes" to commemorate and recognize the great work and stewardship of the neighbors of the Outer Richmond. The name Sutro commemorates a prominent San Francisco leader, Adolph Sutro, who purchased and developed the land overlooking Ocean Beach and then opened it to the public before eventually becoming the 24th mayor of San Francisco in 1895.

The residents of the Outer Richmond see the continuation of the Sutro name for the dunes as an affirmation of a part of the history of San Francisco.Ê The legislation to rename this parcel of land will be scheduled in a committee at the SF Board of Supervisors at the beginning of the year. Please call my office for more information.

Golden Gate Park Events
ÊLast month, I convened a hearing to improve interdepartmental coordination for large events in Golden Gate Park. The hearing focused on public safety, transportation, car and bicycle parking, neighborhood notification, and public outreach and what city departments can do to improve these efforts for large public and private events in Golden Gate Park. Staff from the Recreation and Park Department (RPD), Municipal Transportation Agency, Department of Public Works, Richmond Police Station and the Mayor's Office of Economic Development were all present.

The RPD gave a detailed report on what they have learned over the past year and the steps they intend to take to improve event planning and mitigate impacts on the surrounding areas as a result of these large events.Ê The RPD has improved its special event application process, which will help the community and other city departments know the details about upcoming events.

Using the Web site at www.parksportal.com, you will be able to access a listing of citywide RPD events. The RPD has also implemented a limit on the number of large events they permit in Golden Gate Park to ensure the park has adequate time to recuperate from high usage.Ê

I was also very pleased to learn that the RPD plans to improve its public notification procedures for large events and street closures and will continue with sound monitoring and efforts to mitigate the negative effects of sound traveling into surrounding neighborhoods.Ê My office will continue to monitor this issue and we always welcome any feedback you have.

Mid-Richmond Traffic Calming Project
After several public meetings last year, the Municipal Transportation Agency has designed, and is implementing, a traffic calming plan to increase safety on local streets throughout the mid-Richmond area. You may have already seen and experienced some of these improvements, especially if you live on Funston Avenue. We are glad that many of the improvements will make areas around schools safer as well.

The project will reduce the impact of traffic on our neighborhoods by making it easier for cars, bicycles and pedestrians to share the road. It will decrease cut-through traffic, speeding, reckless driving and excessive traffic levels.

Traffic calming is not simply about closing streets or adding speed bumps and stop signs. Instead, the plan includes more subtle and more effective changes to the street layout, which include sidewalk extensions, landscaped medians and street narrowing. These changes will increase the safety and livability of the neighborhood while benefiting motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians and residents alike.

You can find more information about traffic calming and this important project in particular at www.sfmta.com.ÊAlso, if you have feedback about the project, please contact my office or the SFMTA directly.

San Francisco Supervisor Eric Mar represents District 1.