Community involvement is alive and well in the Richmond. I attended Saturday’s Town Hall Meeting at the Richmond Recreation Center. The topic was traffic calming and pedestrian safety in the Richmond District and the meeting was organized by Supervisor Eric Mar’s office.
About 30 people were in attendance, including representatives from the city’s Planning Department, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (SFMTA), Dept. Public Works and the Police Dept. The first part of the meeting included talks and presentations from these attendess, showing us what is already being done and what opportunities are available to us for better controlling traffic or beautifying our neighborhood. We saw interesting examples where neigborhoods across the city were making simple changes to busy areas to help slow traffic down and make it safer for pedestrians (and in the process, adding some needed greenery to their urban landscapes).
The last part of the meeting was brainstorming with other neighbors on trouble areas in the Richmond and potential solutions. Maps of the district which were laid out on each table and group members made notes on them, pointing out problem intersections and potential solutions.
Two areas were consistently mentioned by groups in the wrap-up at the end: the Fulton Street corridor and 25th Avenue. Several residents that live on the Fulton corridor mentioned taking their lives into their own hands to cross over and catch the bus or enter into the park, and some residents on or near 25th Avenue said that traffic was still going too fast despite some recent changes to the route.
Thanks to Eric Mar and his staff for organizing the meeting. While no definitive plans were made for changes, the representatives from the SFMTA, Planning Dept, Police Dept. and DPW had long lists of issues that they will investigate.
Sarah B.