Extra revenue would go toward diminished department budget
The groundwork has been laid for installing parking meters in Golden Gate Park as a way to raise revenue for the cash-strapped Recreation and Park Department.
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to allow the departments that oversee recreation areas and enforce parking to work together to develop a plan to install parking meters in the 1,017-acre park.
The vote does not approve installation of any parking meters, but it authorizes the departments to study it and return to the board with a final plan.
A tentative proposal was part of a deal struck between Supervisor John Avalos, chair of the board’s Budget and Finance Committee, and Mayor Gavin Newsom regarding the mayor’s proposed $6.6 billion budget. Newsom had previously opposed the idea.
Assumed in the budget is $500,000 in revenue from installing 133 meters to charge for parking in 1,847 spaces. About $1.5 million is expected in the following fiscal year.
The metered spaces, which could be up and running by April, would be in the eastern portion of the park, near main attractions that include the de Young Museum, California Academy of Sciences, Japanese Tea Garden and Botanical Garden.
The meter proposal has gained support for the cash it could raise, which would go directly into Rec and Park’s budget.
“The Rec and Park Department was decimated in this year’s budget,” Avalos said.
Supervisor Sean Elsbernd noted that Tuesday’s vote does not mean the proposal will be rubber stamped.
“This is a vote to collect information,” he said, adding he was concerned about the parking and traffic impacts on neighborhoods adjacent to the park.
The proposal would about one-fifth, or 1,800, of the approximately 8,300 parking spots in Golden Gate Park into paid spaces.
IN OTHER ACTION:
— An 11-0 vote gave final approval to tacking on a fee of 20 cents per pack of cigarettes purchased, which will take effect in October. The fee, originally proposed to be 33 cents, is for the cleanup of trash from cigarettes.
— Mayor Gavin Newsom introduced legislation supported by supervisors John Avalos and Chris Daly to establish a citizen committee to provide oversight on how The City doles out federal grant money for community developments.
— In a 9-2 vote, a $368 million bond for street resurfacing and repairs was placed on the November ballot. Supervisors Sean Elsbernd and Michela Alioto-Pier opposed it.
— Mayor Gavin Newsom’s appointment of Anson Moran to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission was approved in an 8-3 vote. Supervisors Eric Mar, John Avalos and David Campos opposed it.
