octavia boulevard plan
below is my letter to the planning commission about the market/octavia plan
http://livablecity.org/campaigns/market%26octavia.html
Hisashi Sugaya
San Francisco Planning Department
Hello.
I'm resident of the Market/Octavia neighborhood, and I'm writing to express my support of the Market and Octavia plan. Specifically, I'm very excited about eliminating minimum parking requirements from new developments. Our neighborhood already has first rate access to transit, City CarShare, and taxis, and our central location means most of the city is a quick trip by bike or foot. This prompted me to sell my car back in 2004 and I've never been happier (no more parking tickets, break-ins, orbiting 45 minutes for parking...) And I used the proceeds from the car to put solar panels on our 1905 Victorian!
While I understand the knee-jerk reaction of some of my neighbors ("Parking is bad enough already!"), I have to politely disagree with how they're looking at the problem. A huge factor in me going car-free was that owning a car in this neighborhood stinks. If my car had not been an expensive hassle, I'd probably still have it and the snowball of positive effects from going car free wouldn't be happening:
-- One less car taking up space on the streets
-- One more bike coalition member
-- One more muni rider
-- One more City CarShare customer
-- Less pollution and dependence on fossil fuel
-- 3.5kW more solar panels fighting global warming
-- More money spent at awesome, walkable local businesses (Golden Produce) than at drivable big boxes (Trader Joes)
-- Better health because I'm walking and biking more
-- a zillion others but you get the drift
This plan is a chance to start a thousand more of those positive snowballs down the proverbial hill. We cannot build a dense, urban, pedestrian-centered neighborhood that still manages to make car ownership a breeze. Nor should we try. This country's car-centric culture is a big part of the predicament we find ourselves in today. With San Francisco's history of urban and environmental leadership, I have to ask: If we can't build a shining, functional example of post-automobile urban living, who will?
Sincerely,
Brian Kusler
San Francisco, CA
p.s. Unfortunately I'm out of town the rest of the week, so I'm unable to attend the hearings in person.
http://livablecity.org/campaigns/market%26octavia.html
Hisashi Sugaya
San Francisco Planning Department
Hello.
I'm resident of the Market/Octavia neighborhood, and I'm writing to express my support of the Market and Octavia plan. Specifically, I'm very excited about eliminating minimum parking requirements from new developments. Our neighborhood already has first rate access to transit, City CarShare, and taxis, and our central location means most of the city is a quick trip by bike or foot. This prompted me to sell my car back in 2004 and I've never been happier (no more parking tickets, break-ins, orbiting 45 minutes for parking...) And I used the proceeds from the car to put solar panels on our 1905 Victorian!
While I understand the knee-jerk reaction of some of my neighbors ("Parking is bad enough already!"), I have to politely disagree with how they're looking at the problem. A huge factor in me going car-free was that owning a car in this neighborhood stinks. If my car had not been an expensive hassle, I'd probably still have it and the snowball of positive effects from going car free wouldn't be happening:
-- One less car taking up space on the streets
-- One more bike coalition member
-- One more muni rider
-- One more City CarShare customer
-- Less pollution and dependence on fossil fuel
-- 3.5kW more solar panels fighting global warming
-- More money spent at awesome, walkable local businesses (Golden Produce) than at drivable big boxes (Trader Joes)
-- Better health because I'm walking and biking more
-- a zillion others but you get the drift
This plan is a chance to start a thousand more of those positive snowballs down the proverbial hill. We cannot build a dense, urban, pedestrian-centered neighborhood that still manages to make car ownership a breeze. Nor should we try. This country's car-centric culture is a big part of the predicament we find ourselves in today. With San Francisco's history of urban and environmental leadership, I have to ask: If we can't build a shining, functional example of post-automobile urban living, who will?
Sincerely,
Brian Kusler
San Francisco, CA
p.s. Unfortunately I'm out of town the rest of the week, so I'm unable to attend the hearings in person.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete