Parking

Mark Farrell and Malia Cohen emerged as the most vocal proponents of free car parking on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors at a hearing on parking meters last week. Farrell called the hearing in February based on an admittedly "unfounded" suspicion that the SF Municipal Transportation Agency was planning to install parking meters in District 2, which he represents.

It's clear that the parking-obsessed, anti-bike lane merchants behind the "Save Polk Street" group have no interest in vetting information before making their case. Concrete facts certainly had no place in the fearmongering rhetoric spouted by street safety opponents at the March meeting they staged, encapsulated by Flipp store owner Dan Kowalski's dishonest comparison of the Polk Street project to bike lanes on non-commercial streets in other cities.

An important reminder: The SFMTA is presenting its latest proposals for a safer Polk Street tomorrow morning and Tuesday evening.

A plan to convert parking lots under the Central Freeway near Duboce and Valencia Streets into a skate park and dog run is moving forward, but it won't include basketball courts or a children's playground as originally envisioned by residents.

Opponents who packed a neighborhood meeting last month and booed down those who supported removing car parking to improve safety on Polk Street may have boosted their numbers by inviting misinformed friends and family from out of town to attend the meeting.

The plaza behind the Ferry Building, known largely as a farmer's market venue and a place for ferry commuters to pass through, could be temporarily turned into a 64-space part-time parking lot during weekdays under a plan being considered by the Port Commission. Equity Office, which leases the Ferry terminal, is pushing the 18-month proposal as a way to generate revenue to underwrite pilot public space improvements around the plaza's edges during that time.

I was recently rolling down the 14th Street bike lane when a man standing on the far side of the Guerrero Street intersection flagged down a taxi that had just passed by me. I saw where this was going: The taxi driver stopped next to the bike lane, and the man stepped quickly into it to open the door, without a glance to check for bicycle traffic.

After the SFMTA last week announced another delay for safety improvements on three blocks of Fell and Oak Streets, work began today on another aspect of the project: a reconfiguration of Baker Street between Oak and Fell, which is used by eastbound bicycle riders to connect from the Panhandle to Oak and the Wiggle. As of this afternoon, the previous striping had been removed and temporary markings put in place.

City planners presented detailed options for pedestrian upgrades on Castro Street at a community meeting last night. The improvements, set for construction next year, will include sidewalks as wide as 22 feet, new trees, and pedestrian-scaled lighting.