UPDATE: Thank you to the over 300 members and neighbors who have sent in letters thus far. Your advocacy is important now more than ever in these last 48 hours. We need your help to send the message home by providing public comment over the phone during this Thursday’s meeting. Email kristen@sfbike.org to join the list as we put people first in Golden Gate Park.
If there’s one thing that the current shelter-in-place order has made clear, it’s that San Francisco needs more car-free spaces in Golden Gate Park and across our city. With a Parks Commission meeting coming up on April 16, it’s time to let our City’s leaders know how important car-free spaces are for you, and for San Franciscans.
For years, your San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has been working with key stakeholders including the Mayor’s Office on Disability, Recreation and Parks Department (RPD) and the SF Municipal Transportation Agency to dedicate more space in Golden Gate Park for people. We respect the determination of San Francisco’s public health experts that making John F. Kennedy Drive permanently car-free for the duration of the shelter in place order is inadvisable. We also feel that we must start planning for safe, sustainable and resilient streets now so that when the order is lifted, we as a city are better prepared.
As of now, residents across the city are left with few options of car-free spaces for exercise. If San Francisco had a network of permanent, car-free streets before this pandemic, it would make it easier to follow these orders, especially in our largest and most utilized park.
We’ve heard from our members loud and clear on the need for more car-free streets for families with children as well as individuals, and now is the time to come together and push for change. Let’s work together to expand car-free spaces for all ages and abilities in Golden Gate Park and parks across SF as soon as possible. Use the template above and write an email today!
Want to hear more about this project? Join us at one of our Q&A sessions on Golden Gate Park on April 9 and April 14.
