Jan 27, 2015 — The Mayor, Supervisor Weiner and Rec & Park and DPW have definitely responded to our concerns about Buena Vista Park sent out exactly a year ago in a Change.org petition. The Mayor provided $100k in his budget to prune the most hazardous trees (work begins this fall), Sup. Weiner obtained funds for a chipper to help with mulching/erosion (on order), and RPD & DPW have really improved garbage pick-up in the park as well as initiating a pilot erosion-control landscape improvement on the west side.
We now have a chance to develop the first-ever Capital Plan (i.e. physical structures, irrigation, paths, forest) for the park beginning on February 10th at the Randall Museum, 6-8 PM. The plan is essential to understanding what funds are really needed for more 'permanent' fixes to erosion, deteriorating paths, lack of sufficient irrigation, and a declining forest canopy. The process (3 meetings in total) will identify approx 3 small (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Membership Meetings: 2nd Thursdays ~ 7-9pm
Park Branch Library, 1833 Page St, SF, CA 94117 (except August)
HANC Membership Meeting - January 2023
By Michelle Welch, HANC Board
On October 6, word was received that the Community Opportunity Fund (COF) grant requested for Panhandle improvements was denied.
Not to be deterred, residents will work to seek additional funds for other improvements outlined in extensive plans by Dera-Jill Pozner of NOPNA, including another application for COF money and private donations. This is independent of funds a HANC initiated coalition got successfully allocated in this years budget that will total $500,000 over the next two city budget cycles to rebuild the southern pedestrian pathway along Oak Street.
Efforts will be made to get Supervisor Breed to continue with her support of this project, by getting the Rec & Park Department (RPD) to designate a project director for the Panhandle. Funds specifically earmarked for the southern pedestrian pathway rebuild need to be monitored to be sure that the funds remain committed to this project.
For more detailed information about the project, check out http://www.panhandleparkimprovements.com/ where you can view the plans that went through three community meetings earlier this year.
The Urban School's proposed Academics and Athletics facility, to be built over the two St. Agnes parish-owned parking lots along Oak Street, is currently slated to begin construction in the Spring of 2015. An environmental review "categorical exemption" from the SF Planning Department has been granted and a final presentation before the Planning Commission will occur in early 2015. Meanwhile, a community meeting has been Scheduled Tuesday, December 9, 6 pm, St. Agnes Church Sanctuary, 1025 Masonic Avenue (enter main door of church on Masonic).
By Michelle Welch, HANC Board
Recent meetings called by the Planning Department have included representatives of the Haight Ashbury Merchants Association (HAMA), the Haight Ashbury Improvement Association (HAIA), the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council (HANC) and the Cole Valley Improvement Association (CVIA). These meetings were to go over all the ideas compiled from 150 Surveys completed by community members, some of whom attended the initial meetings at the Urban School over the last two years.
(As defined by DCP: “The goal of the Working Group is to develop preliminary recommendations for what should happen on the sidewalk at specific locations along Haight Street. Building on the input that we received from the larger community this summer, the group will think about where to provide elements such as art, special paving, plantings, etc., and will discuss the character of those elements that would be appropriate for Haight Street. Two to three working group sessions will take place throughout the fall. The group will consist of 6-8 neighborhood representatives.”)
The biggest changes for Haight Street from Stanyan to Masonic include “bulb outs” at pedestrian crosswalks (a pedestrian safety method touted by the SFMTA to decrease the distance a person has to walk to cross the street and thus their time in the street), and mid-block “bulb outs” to relieve the human congestion often occurring on Haight Street sidewalks (these could be “greened” or include art installations). In general, parking for cars will be diminished. Better lighting is also on the agenda.
The Haight Ashbury Street Fair is presenting the 9th annual Children’s Halloween Hootenanny on Saturday, October 25, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Waller Street cul-de-sac, just west of Stanyan.
There will be games, activities, a Jumpy house, art, raffles, music, performances, and more. There will be a costume contest. This year’s theme is alien / sci fi.
HANC has been a regular supporter of this event, and has once again made a donation this year.
The event is free and is recommended for ages 3 and up. Bring your kids (or grandchildren, or friends or neighbor’s kids), and have fun!
As folks may remember from the great Transit Effectiveness Program (TEP) debate , which defeated MUNI recommendations to end the Upper Ashbury Hill stops of the 6 Parnassus, changes were also proposed for the 71 Haight-Noriega line. These changes have been adopted and are now being carried out.
Called “Travel Time Reduction Proposals” (how much does MUNI pay to devise these clever program names?) the changes consist mainly of replacing stop signs with street lights, reducing or relocating stops and creating new “pedestrian bulbs” illustrated below.
The problem is that MUNI is not really increasing services by adding busses or replacing cuts in service (like restoring the 7 Haight line) from previous years but literally moving the “deck chairs” ( actually, bus stops) around, “tweaking” travel time. Indeed, MUNI seems actually disinterested in devising programs and solutions to increasing and restoring services to “transit dependent” neighborhoods such as the Haight-Ashbury which has fewer than one car per household.
By Colleen Rivecca, HANC President
On June 19, 2014, the Neighborhood Services and Safety Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors held a hearing, called by Supervisor Eric Mar, on the closure of recycling centers in San Francisco. Supervisor Mar characterized the wave of recycling center closures in San Francisco as an economic justice issue, a facet of the City’s current eviction and displacement crisis, and as a threat to San Francisco’s stated goal to reach “zero waste” by 2020.
The hearing featured speakers from San Francisco’s Department of the Environment, Department of Public Works, and Office of Small Business, as well as speakers from CalRecycle, Recology, and the office of Assembly Member Tom Ammiano.
HANC and Allies Win City Funding for Panhandle and Buena Vista Park
For the past few months, HANC helped organize a multi-neighborhood organizational push to get Rec and Park funding for long-neglected neighborhood parks. The effort was successful, getting $600,000 in funding over the next two years for rebuilding the pedestrian path along the southern boundary of the Panhandle ($500,000) and a tree maintenance program for Buena Vista Park ($100,000).
HANC, along with Friends of Buena Vista Park, North Panhandle Neighborhood Association and the Haight-Ashbury Merchants Association engaged in a joint effort to secure funding for the neighborhood’s two main parks. Supervisor London Breed's support for the effort was early and enthusiastic.