Newsflash

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. 

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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.  

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!

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.

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