Close JFK?

Photo: Jessica Christian

Letter to the editor in the Westside Observer:

JFK Drive

I was deeply gratified to read Paul Kozakiewicz's article about what the real maneuverings behind the closures of the eastern part of JFK Drive and the Upper Great Highway have been. 

I've been fighting the JFK Drive closure for nearly the past two years on behalf of the seniors, people with vision and mobility disabilities, and families residing in Hunter's Point, Visitacion Valley, and the Bayview, Portola, Excelsior and Mission Districts, who have endured great hardships trying to reach the most beloved and most popular attractions in Golden Gate Park while the JFK Drive closure remains in effect.

All of San Francisco needs to know what a distasteful, deeply biased effort RPD, CTA and MTA's planning process has been. In addition to the circumstances reported by Mr. Kozakiewicz, it should be noted that MTA's presentations at its touted public meetings are extremely one-sided, make use of deeply flawed data, and present those in attendance with three forced choices to select from, with no room for discussion of other alternatives, some of which might be far more practical and enjoyable for all SF residents.

For example, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that lowering speed limits on JFK Drive, and furnishing it with traffic lights, and/or crosswalks equipped with flashing lights and audible signals, while improving Middle Drive to make it a safe, car-free, fully recreational route through the Park, would satisfy the needs of everyone.

The only problem with this alternative is that it will cost some money, and will be less career promoting and nationally and internationally glamorous than the current plan, which has been raved over by reporters from The New York Times, who came here to cover the story, but only talked to representatives from the Fine Arts Museums and RPD and MTA, while avoiding talking to several affected SF residents who asked to be interviewed.

As for the money, effective SF politicians would request federal funds from the recent infrastructure bill and State of California surplus funds to do the job. 

We need only look at the amazing and wonderful job of improvements that were carried out in the Strybing Botanical Gardens, using Obama era stimulus funds, to see a terrific example of how to do this.

Kudos to Paul Kozakiewicz and The Westside Observer for excellent investigative reporting! As a subscriber to The New York Times, I can only hope they will learn a valuable lesson from your efforts.

Victoria Bruckner

Rob's comment:

Still waiting for evidence that JFK Drive is unsafe for anyone. The city needs to make public the details of every accident that happens on the roads in Golden Gate Park showing what happened and why. 

We can't base public policy on information provided by anti-car special interest groups like the Bicycle Coalition and Walk San Francisco.