By Christin Evans, HANC Merchant Liasaon / HAMA
At HANC’s February meeting, the preview of the final draft of the Haight Ashbury Public Realm plan was presented by SF Planning Department representatives Lily Langlois and Patrick Race. First, handouts summarizing the results of the community survey conducted in the summer of 2014 were distributed and discussed. The data reflected input from more than 150 survey respondents. The community priorities identified in rank order were: 1) Lighting, 2) Greening, 3) Identity, 4) Signage and 5) Seating. (Note: The survey results and handout are available as a PDF on the SF Planning website.)
The final plan includes a proposal for numerous sidewalk extensions at corners, also referred to as “pedestrian bulbouts.” With a primary goal of the Transit Effectiveness Project being the speeding up of the buses down the corridor, the SFMTA has included the pedestrian safety measure which shortens the distance one must walk to cross the street. A preliminary design of the intersection of Haight & Ashbury includes 3 such pedestrian bulbs.