Hayes Valley

A preferred design for Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit was approved unanimously today by the Board of Supervisors, acting as the SF County Transportation Authority Board. Supervisor Mark Farrell, who delayed approval of the proposal a month ago after complaining that he "hadn't been briefed" on it, said he now stands behind the project after SFCTA staff brought him up to speed.

A plan to restore two-way traffic on several blocks of Hayes and Fell Streets in Hayes Valley that were converted to one-way streets in the 1950s was approved at an SFMTA hearing today following a strong show of support from residents, merchants and neighborhood associations. It now goes to the SFMTA Board for approval.

The same neighborhood organizations and community advocates that routinely lobby to prevent the San Francisco Planning Department from granting parking exceptions in excess of progressive neighborhood plans were thrilled with a new project to build a 3-story building in the heart of Hayes Valley, the future home of SF Jazz, a non-profit arts organization. The primary reason the neighbors were so excited was because the project sponsors are building an 800-seat auditorium, with office and rehearsal space, but they aren't adding a single new parking space.

Famously, we live on a crack in the earth. The San Andreas Fault gets most of our attention, followed not too far behind these days by the equally ominous Hayward Fault. A major earthquake on either of these could alter local landscapes forever, and will certainly damage or destroy freeways, bridges, and the water system. That's one of our catastrophes waiting in the wings, and it's good think about preparing for such eventualities.