Lee Heidhues 5.11.2023
Once again we have the mainstream media carrying the water for the entitled motorists under the guise of giving a sympathetic hearing to small business owners.
To the point of giving credence to the absurd comment the diminution of parking spaces “will put them out of business.” If business owners have a good product to offer, the customers will come.
The latest incarnation of supporting the whiny motorists is giving voice to their displeasure over the fact San Francisco is facilitating public transit. These motorists need to exit their climate killing cars. Walk. Cycle. Take public transit.
The motorists continue to fight the battle to drive and, yes, park anywhere anytime.
Last year the entitled motorists received a long over due smackdown when the voters overwhelmingly approved ballot measures to create a 1.5 mile car free space, now called JFK Promenade, in Golden Gate Park. In the same election the voters turned back an effort to permit cars full time on The Great Walkway at the city’s western edge along the Pacific Ocean.
The entitled motorists obviously haven’t, yet, gotten the message. Sadly, they probably never will.
The mainstream media needs to stop being the handkerchief holder for these whiners and report the story that autos no longer rule the roads in San Francisco.
Excerpted from The Standard 5.4.2023
“Parking loss is a trade-off for better bus service and safer streets for people walking,” SFMTA spokesperson Stephen Chun said.
A plan to remove parking spaces and add bus-only lanes to a major commercial corridor in San Francisco has enraged multiple mom-and-pop shop owners who worry it will put them out of business.
A total of 70 parking spaces would be removed from Geary Boulevard, while 22 new spaces would be created on nearby streets, resulting in a net loss of 48 spaces, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which is behind the plan.
Beyond adding bus-only lanes on Geary Boulevard from Stanyan Street to 34th Avenue, the Geary Bus Rapid Transit plan would also convert angled parking on Geary Boulevard between 15th and 26th avenues to parallel parking. New parallel parking areas would include commercial loading zones where parking is restricted for part of the day.
The plan would also add pedestrian safety improvements such as extending the curb out to the street for easier bus boarding, adding no-parking zones near intersections to improve visibility, and lengthening bus stops for the longer buses that are often used along the boulevard.
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