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 Planning Department intends to hold another community meeting once all of the current feedback has been processed and incorporated (or not) into the plan. The details of this plan should be of interest to everyone who lives in the vicinity of Haight Street and if you want more information, contact Alexis Smith of the Planning Department, (415) 575-9131 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In addition to and independent of these plans/ ideas, the SFMTA is moving ahead with transit “bulb outs” at Haight and Masonic (the current bus stop will extend into the street and buses will not have to pull in; buses will also not have to wait to pull back into a lane of cars; cars will wait behind them). Muni stops at Stanyan and Haight will move and become “bulb outs” in front of Amoeba and Whole Foods. Stop lights will be coming to other intersections on Haight Street. For more information, contact
Felipe Robles
Transit Planner
Sustainable Streets Division
Phone: 415.701.2457
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