Our work to expand car-free space continues. Next up for Golden Gate Park: data collection. Just how many people drive and park in our city’s largest park on the weekends? We need your help to find out.
Since 1967, thousands have enjoyed car-free space in Golden Gate Park on Sundays. Those walking, biking, skating or scooting know what a beautiful, calm open space JFK Drive becomes. We set our sights on a similar transformation for Saturdays and won in 2007, albeit only half the year, from April to September.
Ten years later, we restarted our car-free Saturdays campaign to win back the space year-round. To ensure Golden Gate Park’s weekend streets are safe and accessible for all ages and abilities and to make year-round car-free weekends possible, we’ve been working with key stakeholders including the Mayor’s Office on Disability, Recreation and Parks Department (RPD) and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
RPD needs your help in March and April to better understand how visitors travel to and from the park and its museums and buildings. Counting the number of cars parked will bring us a step closer to our vision of expanded car-free weekends. Will you help us expand open space in the City’s most iconic park?
Volunteers will collect parking counts in Golden Gate Park on multiple dates, including weekdays and weekend days before and after car-free Saturdays starts in April. Each shift is four hours long, and you can expect to walk between 1.5 to 2 miles during that time. If you have any questions, you can reach out directly to Lamonté Bishop from RPD at lamonte.bishop@sfgov.org and Kristen at kristen@sfbike.org.
