Comments on: Chipping Away at the Garage Problem

By: mikesonn

mikesonn — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:56:18 +0000

I see what you are saying and I know that it isn’t about an anti-car agenda. But it does make one pause and look at what we have done to an amazing neighborhood. And to be honest, if you peak into most of these garages you’ll see them full of junk. A lot of the people don’t even use them for parking their vehicle, but pretty much have secured an on street spot in front of their garage. The city should include a major surcharge for any and all curb cuts as it reduces the overall number of parking available.

By: Pedestrianist

Pedestrianist — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:25:38 +0000

Beyond the livability benefits of a neighborhood with fewer garage doors, this legislation isn’t about advancing an anti-car agenda.

The apartments that would be replaced with garages without this legislation are already occupied by people who live in the neighborhood, in many cases car-free. Mike, your neighbors and your fellow board members’ neighbors live in apartments right now that could have been turned into garages had Chiu not passed this.

Those garages wouldn’t really have been adding parking to the neighborhood, since the accompanying curb cuts take away on-street parking. There was rarely a net gain of parking, only the privatization of parking.

As Eric mentions above, this legislation still allows for garages to be added, but mandates that they minimize the on-street parking that the neighborhood loses.

By: mikesonn

mikesonn — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:49:46 +0000

A major reason MUNI doesn’t work is because there are so many private autos on the road.

And it is possible to live car-free. My wife and I do just fine.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:39:25 +0000

Maybe if North Beach (and other dense neighborhoods) had an effective mass transit system in place then people would not be so gung ho on owning a car. My point goes beyond just taking commuters off the road during the week. A real transportation system would enable people to give up their cars permanently. Because SF does not have such a system, the car reigns supreme and you really can’t blame people for wanting it.

By: mikesonn

mikesonn — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:30:16 +0000

Thank you for writing this. I’m on the board of North Beach Neighbors, which voted to oppose the legislation. It’s like talking to a wall (or a garage door) with them sometimes. There are SO MANY garage doors littering our neighborhood it is rediculus. I try to tell them that they have a very very unique opportunity in that they can live car-free. 99% of America does not enjoy that chance, but the push for more cars and more off-street parking is very strong (also stopping any attempts to widen sidewalks at the expense of parking or traffic lanes).

And this doesn’t even begin to touch the fact that many argue that with no car storage space you’ll drive out the working class family. BUT think of all the extra cost on the residential units from adding off-street parking that is in turn making already expensive housing that much more expensive.

And yes, I can’t wait for the sky not to fall.

By: Streetsblog San Francisco » Today’s Headlines

Streetsblog San Francisco » Today’s Headlines — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:59:20 +0000

[...] Transbay Blog Examines Supervisor David Chiu's Garage Legislation; Vote Tomorrow [...]

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:49:20 +0000

Funny how the sky usually ends up being quite a bit more resilient than politicians and stakeholders give it credit for :)

By: Pedestrianist

Pedestrianist — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:46:09 +0000

I couldn’t agree more, and I hope that decision makers are paying close attention to the effects of this, so that it can quickly be expanded after the sky fails to fall.