The surprise decision by Caltrans, the state Department of Transportation, to eliminate parking on one block of Cesar Chavez has neighbors involved in the Cesar Chavez Streetscape Improvement Project outraged over the loss of three parking spaces and Caltrans’ arrogance.
Mike Sallaberry of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) told the 10 or so neighbors at a meeting on Wednesday night that Caltrans told the SFMTA to “tell [neighbors] what’s going to happen.”
What’s going to happen is a design change that eliminates parking on east-bound lane of Cesar Chavez between Bryant and Hampshire streets.
“So you are just here to hear us complain?” asked a neighbor who only identified herself as Cecilia before storming out of the room.
Fran Taylor of CC Puede, an organization that worked closely on the Cesar Chavez project, penned an article on SF Streetsblog that breaks down why she thinks people should care about the changes.
“The change is a bait and switch. Neighbors saw one design and were now being subjected to another, with no chance for input,” she wrote.
The Cesar Chavez Streetscape Improvement Project, a major makeover of the street that would add a center median, plant dozens of trees and add bicycle lanes, has been in the works since at least 2006.
Neighbors and members of a neighborhood organization said the changes undermined the entire process, which involved dozens of community meetings. Some noted that the city points to the approved plan as a community-supported design and project.
There were grumblings about certain aspects of the original design, but the project was approved in February 2011, and the Phase 1 sewer improvements began in August.
Caltrans looked at the finished design in 2010 and at that point requested a traffic report, according to staff from the Department of Public Works. After seeing the report, Caltrans mandated the changes that eliminate the parking, arguing that it needs to maintain three lanes in the westbound direction so cars won’t pile up near Highway 101. Caltrans did not respond to a request for comment.
Caltrans has the authority to request the changes because it holds the purse strings to $5 million in grant money for the project, and because it has authority over streets near highways.
In her Streetsblog post, Taylor said that neighbors should have been brought to the table.
“It discredits the whole project’s planning process. Our organization, CC Puede, always took care to involve affected neighbors in the discussion and work toward some consensus, even in the face of often pretty heated disagreement. No one who initiated the process or who lives in the affected block was consulted.”
The block in question has a narrow sidewalk, and parked cars would act as a buffer for pedestrians and residents. Several homes on that block have been hit by cars.
“Public transportation for that block is not good and may get worse,” Taylor wrote. “Now, the nearest bus is the #27-Bryant, and that may move two more blocks to Folsom Street under a proposal in the Transit Effectiveness Project.”
