Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Polk Street Design Charrette


I went to this SFMTA design charrette regarding Polk Street last weekend.  It was really interesting to see the community involvement process in this project.  As an urban planner and a resident of the Polk Street community, I am very interested in both the process and the end result (i.e. how the street will be improved).  

I never would have known about this project, however, if I had not been so interested in this topic.  I never heard a word about this project from the SFMTA (even though I live in an apartment building on the corner of Geary and Polk), but rather through a Facebook post by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.  It seems to me that if the city has a community meeting, that everyone within 300 feet of the street which is undergoing changes, should have been notified.  That's just my little grumble about the lack of information on such an interesting project.  I'm sure that more people in the neighborhood would have attended the community meeting, had they known about it (it was a very poorly attended community meeting).  We live here, and safety with regard to pedestrian and bicycle transportation is important to us.  Furthermore, given the fact that we already have 2 parklets along Polk Street, and it is already a destination place for evening outings, and a great bicycle route, it is absolutely necessary for us to be involved in planning for a better pedestrian and bicycle environment.

Below are some photos I took at the event:


SFMTA folks in discussion with a community member








examples of playing around with street design:














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