By Richard Ivanhoe, HANC Vice President
HANC's September General meeting consisted of presentations on three separate topics: AT&T broadband boxes, MUNI's Transit Effectiveness Project, and the proposed park closure legislation.
Tedi Vriheas from AT&T discussed AT&T's plans to install refrigerator-size boxes to upgrade its broadband from DSL to fiber optics. A list of approximately 40 locations in or near the Haight Ashbury where these boxes are planned to be installed was printed in the September issue of the Voice. AT&T has already obtained approval for these boxes from the Planning Commission. There is a CEQA appeal making its way through the court system, but there has been no stay issued, and AT&T is proceeding with the installations. The boxes cannot be placed underground because 1) the boxes contain air conditioning fans, which need above-ground vents, and 2) the underground space is already used by other utlilities (water, sewer, electricity).
The fans will produce some noise, which will be masked by traffic noise during the day, but an electric hum might be audible during quieter times. The new boxes will not replace the older boxes, but will be placed near them. There is some slight flexibility as to where the new boxes can be placed, but the flexibility is at most within 300 feet. Installation is planned to be completed in mid-2014.
Calvin Welch, HANC Land Use Chair, discussed the Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP). The two most important aspects of the TEP will be how the proposed changes will be funded and what the changes will do. Proposed funding sources include an increased vehicle license fee, and an increase to the sales tax. There may be an additional fee imposed on new development, but there is concern that this fee could be imposed on affordable housing development and non-profit facility development. These activities do not currently pay a transit fee, and they generally serve people who already ride MUNI and thus will not add to MUNI's costs. Proposals for a commuter tax, or a downtown tax, which would have those who most benefit from the project share its costs, are off the table. A Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Project was issued in July and provides some detail about the planned changes. Generally, the plan speeds travel from the western neighborhoods and for commuters to downtown and back, at the cost of local neighborhood travel. Among the changes that affect the Haight-Ashbury will be changes to the 71, 6, and 5 bus lines. The 71 will be replaced by the 71L (all day, not just at peak hours), which will make only limited stops between 8th Avenue and Market Street. Similarly, there will be a 5L bus which will make only limited stops between 8th Avenue and Market Street. There will be a 5 which will travel only between 8th Avenue and Market Street and make local stops, but getting to or from the local stops could require a transfer between the 5 and the 5L. The 6 will no longer go up Masonic, but will travel down Haight Street between Masonic and Stanyan, making local stops that the 71 will no longer make, but eliminating uphill service in this part of the Haight-Ashbury. There will be a hearing at the Planning Commission to approve the final EIR (we expect the Planning Commission to approve the EIR no matter what the public thinks) and a later hearing at the Board of Supervisors. We will report future developments in the Voice and on our website. The General membership voted unanimoulsy to oppose the TEP recommendations for the 5,6, and 71L lines and urged Supervisor Breed to do so as well.
Richard Ivanhoe, HANC Vice-President, read the proposed Park Closure Ordinance. The ordinance proposes to close all City parks between midnight and 5 a.m., making it illegal to be in a park during these hours. There are exceptions for McLaren Park, Balboa Park, Lincoln Park, and Golden Gate Park: “persons may use a vehicle . . . on the roadway(s) in those parks or walk on paved sidewalks immediately adjacent to such roadways at any time for purposes of traversing the park only.” It is not clear whether this means that the Panhandle can only be crossed at Stanyan or Masonic, or whether the bicycle path in the Panhandle is considered a roadway. The proposed ordinance was introduced by Supervisor Scott Wiener, purportedly to prevent theft and vandalism in the parks. But closing parks has not prevented theft and vandalism—both have occurred during hours when parks were closed. The proposed ordinance seems to be another attack on San Francisco's homeless population, who are often in the parks late at night because they have nowhere else to go. The proposed legislation should be heard at the Board of Supervisor's Land Use and Economic Development Committee, with a hearing likely on Monday, October 7.