San Francisco Group briefs

City College plan

San Francisco City College has agreed to rewrite its sustainability plan. The San Francisco Group has supported the efforts of college Trustee Milton Marks III to achieve this. The previous draft of the plan did not even mention transit. We will be working with the college to help it to do better.

Muni under/over Market

Muni has started work to upgrade the overhead wire on its Metro line under Market Street, without holding any hearing about how to provide alternate service while the work is being done. The first phase of the project will take about a year, and there will be no subway service from 10 pm to 6 am on weekdays.

The San Francisco Group has made suggestions on making it easier for riders to use the alternate service:

signs should be clear and weatherproof;
to minimize pollution, the service should use trolleys and electric buses rather than diesels;
for speedy service, surface stops should be located only near Metro subway entrances;
when possible the stops should use ramps compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

When baseball games end after 10 pm, Muni should run Metro cars on the Embarcadero from Caltrain to the Ferry Building to enable people to get to BART, with a few cars to Fisherman's Wharf.

Trees

The Sierra Club is pleased that the Supervisors passed Landmark Tree legislation written by Supervisor McGoldrick. Now regulations for tree removal should be extended to include all open space owned by city agencies or under city control, including street medians, parks, and land around reservoirs.

When the city considers removal of trees or of brush, it should give paramount consideration to the effects on wildlife. It should also consider public perceptions and preserve large stands of trees. These considerations should apply even to brush removal for the elimination of illegal campsites.

Open-space funds

Proposition J of 1974 and Prop E of 1988, both approved by voters by overwhelming margins, allocated open-space funds to be used for acquisition of areas with high natural values. The Recreation and Parks Department, however, has proposed to remove many parcels from its list of planned acquisitions, including some of the original landscape on the west side of Twin Peaks known as the Aquavista lots. This area has high natural values, and should be kept on the list and purchased expeditiously.

Traffic calming in Golden Gate Park

The Concourse Authority has prepared a good plan for traffic calming on John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park, and the Club will work to have that plan funded. The plan includes narrowing the roadway to allow it to be flanked by bicycle lanes, and installing sidewalk bulbs at many points to make it easier for pedestrians to cross.

Dirty your hands for nature

For those who prefer working with the dirt in natural areas rather than at City Hall, the San Francisco Group is revitalizing an old Group aim of combining activities with activism. We will be sponsoring regular natural-area work parties. See the calendar listings in each Yodeler or on the web for details.

Howard Strassner