Opponents of Healthy Saturdays Wage Dishonest Battle

Now we are headed for an epic showdown over what should be a “no-brainer” – a six-month pilot project to ban cars from 1.7 miles of road in Golden Gate Park on Saturdays, in order to create more recreational space. Opponents of Healthy Saturdays are waging a dishonest campaign – as they grandstand the plight of the disabled, the working-class, and the “will of the voters” – just to keep cars roaring through the park. And some even want Jake McGoldrick’s head on a plate because he dares to support it.

Yesterday, over 100 speakers attended a 3-hour public hearing at the Board’s Land Use Committee to debate the proposal, as McGoldrick hopes to broker a reasonable compromise among the parties today. Last year, the Board passed Healthy Saturdays by 7-4 but failed to override the Mayor’s veto. Now that the City has studied the effects of a Saturday closure, McGoldrick has re-introduced the legislation.

From the sound of opponents at the hearing, you would have thought that the Supervisors were planning to cut off all vehicle traffic from Golden Gate Park. Representatives from the DeYoung Museum and the Academy of Sciences were in full force, trumpeting the cultural riches that their institutions bring – along with dire warnings of decreased attendance if visitors could not bring their cars.

But it’s important to keep things in perspective. There are 17 miles of road in Golden Gate Park, and we’re only talking about a stretch of 1.7 miles – specifically, the section of JFK Drive from the Panhandle to Crossover Drive (or roughly the northeast quadrant of the park.) Vehicle access to the DeYoung Museum will not be affected, and the museum’s parking garage is only at 60% capacity during peak hours.

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