For nearly a year, a stretch of road in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park has served as a gym, meeting place and outdoor respite.
The eastern stretch of JFK Drive was closed to car traffic in April of 2020 to give runners, bicyclists, families and walkers more room to enjoy the park while distancing from one another.
But two San Francisco Supervisors are now calling for the road to reopen to traffic.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Board of Supervisors President Shamann Walton said during a meeting Tuesday that while he supports the Slow Streets program – which has shut down roads like JFK Drive to cars across the city during the pandemic – the lack of vehicle access has actually made the park less accessible to San Franciscans who live further away and rely on cars.
Most of San Francisco’s Black residents live in neighborhoods that are far away from the park.
“So when we look at segregationist policies like closing JFK to Bayview, Mission, Lakeview, Excelsior communities, that shouldn’t even be considered,” Walton said, according to the paper. “We need to allow Black and brown and all communities of color complete access again now that we’re in the orange tier.”
Supervisor Ahsha Safai, who represents the Excelsior, Ocean View, Ingleside and Visitacion Valley neighborhoods also supports reopening the road.
Safai argues that while cars can drive and park on other roads in the park, they are too far away from the most popular attractions and a private parking garage in the park is too expensive, creating barriers to access.
But the issue is likely to create stiff debate, as the Slow Streets program has proven very popular during the pandemic.
The SF Bicycle Coalition said on twitter that there are other ways to increase accessibility to the park while keeping the road closed.
And pedestrian advocates say closing the road to cars has resulted in fewer fatal accidents.
Supervisor Matt Haney and State Senator Scott Wiener have also been vocal supporters of the program.
City transportation officials plan to conduct a thorough review with input from residents of all neighborhoods and issue a report on the impact of keeping the road closed, before the Board of Supervisors vote on the issue.
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