Eyes on Newsom and Dufty as Healthy Saturdays Reintroduced

“This study shows me that the Mayor should have no reason to veto legislation that I plan to introduce at the next Board of Supervisors meeting that will close JFK Drive from Kezar Drive to Transverse Drive, on a six month trial basis,” said McGoldrick. “The parking and traffic impacts are virtually the same on Saturdays and Sundays. The visitors to the park more than doubles on Sundays when the park is closed to traffic, and more people visited the de Young Museum and local merchants on Sundays.”

Both sides are gearing up for a major election-year political battle. Will the six-month trial of car free space on JFK Dr. fall prey to Newsom's eighth veto? Or will Supervisor Bevan Dufty save the day by proving he supports the pro-environment, pro-family measure over politics?

Almost a year ago, Mayor Newsom vetoed a trial of Saturday car-free space in Golden Gate Park. The proposal, called Healthy Saturdays, would have replicated the current, popular 1 ½ mile Sunday stretch of car-free space on Saturdays for six months. Ironically, Newsom's veto came the same week that NYC's Republican Mayor Bloomberg unveiled a similar 6-month trial of car-free space in New York's Central Park. One year later, the NYC trial was a success and is now permanent, while SF falls behind. Indeed car-free recreational space is on the rise. From NYC to Paris to Mexico City to Chicago, urban families and tourists, alike, enjoy increasing popular urban oases.

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