Our next meeting is planned for Wednesday, July 9, 2014.

President’s Report
April 2014

Approximately 50 people were interested enough in our agenda to come to our quarterly meeting, many of whom we have not seen before.

The first discussion was with two representatives of the Livable Streets department of the SFMTA on the pilot project slated for San Jose Avenue between the 280 freeway and Randall Street. This six-month project which will begin in May will narrow San Jose Ave. northbound from three lanes to two in hopes of slowing things down a bit without creating traffic backups. Neighbors from the College Hill area and Glen Park have worked hard to make this street safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers for a long time. Although many of us view this part of SJA as somewhat of a freeway extension (and its very design seems to go along with that), nearby neighbors are well aware of the accidents and general dangers associated with that street. At the conclusion of the pilot project, the data gathered by SFMTA will be released to the public and comments taken. Nothing will be made permanent until there’s been outreach and discussion with the public. If the pilot seems to work well, the next step will be to change the San Jose Ave. offramp from 280 from two lanes to one…the way it was before the Loma Prieta earthquake.

The San Francisco Coalition to Underground Utilities did not have to convince many of our neighbors about the benefits of moving our ugly wires underground. We’ve been hoping for this for many years, but only certain neighborhoods have seen the benefits (Pacific Heights, Forest Hills, St. Francis Woods, Presidio Heights…no surprises there!). The reasons we’ve been given for not undergrounding is that the City can’t afford it. But other cities have done it (example: San Diego) with minimal taxation devoted specifically to under grounding. Most people are willing to pay if it will actually happen. The SFCUU has a petition for those who support this effort and are encouraging folks to contact their supervisor to demand the City take this seriously by figuring out an assessment scheme that will work for us and get this done. For more information contact SFCUU at www.sfundergrounding.org

See you in July.