Here are two quick update stories of interest to the safe and livable streets community.
Coastal Commission approves Ocean Beach Park
Converting the Upper portion of the Great Highway into a full-time park was approved by San Francisco voters last month. But there was a last hurdle to clear, and that was getting approval from the California Coastal Commission for the change. That happened late last week. From a release from the 'Yes on K' Campaign:
After voters passed Proposition K in November by a 10-point margin, the City worked quickly to initiate the permitting process required by the measure. Coastal Commission staff wrote that the project is “an exciting opportunity to reimagine a prominent shoreline area” by improving “public recreation and visitor access to the popular Ocean Beach area.” Staff concluded that “the proposed project represents a substantial multimodal improvement and a significant public access enhancement that helps to maximize public recreational access as directed by the Coastal Act.”
Indeed it does. Also from the release:
The Commission wrote that the project will “protect and enhance dune habitat resources.” This decision follows the release of an October report by scientists at the San Francisco Estuary Institute—“Future Opportunities for the Great Highway: What are the Benefits for People and Nature?”—which concluded that the creation of the “promenade presents the greatest opportunity for ecological improvement.” “Restoration and revegetation of the dunes present an opportunity to bring back a native ecosystem while simultaneously enhancing visitor experiences,” according to the Estuary Institute's report.
“Like our City's other great parks, the design and creation of the park will be an inclusive and participatory community process,” said Friends of Great Highway Park Board President Lucas Lux. “When the park opens, temporary amenities and artwork will offer a glimpse of possible improvements to the coastal park experience, with opportunities to give feedback on what they want to see from their coastal park over time.”
All in all, a good way to end the year for advocates.
Meet Sara Barz, super-qualified candidate for the SFMTA Board
Word came down that Sara Barz was nominated by outgoing Mayor London Breed earlier this month to fill the SFMTA board seat vacated by Amanda Eaken. Monday evening, advocates from the San Francisco Transit Riders, Walk San Francisco, and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition held a virtual meet-and-greet with the Fulbright Scholar and co-founder of Seamless Bay Area.
First, some background on Barz from her supporters:
Sara's professional experience in transportation and urban planning across the public and private sectors will bring a fresh, innovative perspective to SFMTA as the agency faces the coming fiscal challenges.
Sara has also spent years developing deep community relationships and transportation policy solutions for pedestrian and bicycle safety and transit access as a member of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority's Citizens' Advisory Committee, leader of Slow Hearst in Sunnyside, member of the Ocean Avenue Mobility Taskforce—and as a volunteer on many of KidSafe SF's campaigns.
During the talk, the Transit Riders Dylan Fabris (in image above) asked her about her vision for San Francisco. Barz talked about how she'd like to see transit, bikes, and all mobility integrated across the Bay Area. She recalled a revelation from her time in Paris studying that city's land-use policies, when she completed a trip on transit using a Vélib, that city's bike share system. Instead of having to dig out another pass or app, she did it all via a single payment system. "I was like: this is amazing! I didn't even need to think about this. This led me down this rabbit hole," she said, explaining how Paris has multiple transit operators but it's all invisible to the user, thanks to a network manager and unified, rational fare system, bike-share included. That lead her to get involved in co-creating Seamless Bay Area to bring that kind of user-friendly system to the Bay Area.
As of this writing, however, Supervisors Shamann Walton, Ahsha Safai, and Aaron Peskin of the San Francisco Rules Committee have already moved to block Barz's nomination. Perhaps she is too qualified? The vote goes to the full SFMTA board Tuesday (today, Dec. 17) afternoon.
