Word is spreading like wildfire among residents and merchants about a Richmond District Farmer’s Market.
In a recent email to market supporters, aide Peter Lauterborn from Supervisor Eric Mar’s office wrote, “We are at the point of nearing approval for a significant market entering the neighborhood!”
The proposed farmer’s market would take place on Sunday mornings from 9am to 1 or 2pm, and would require closing the blocks of Clement Street between 2nd and 4th Avenues. The market would be run by the Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM), which currently runs other markets at Stonestown, Civic Center, and in other Bay Area locations.
According to Lauterborn, the Clement Street farmer’s market will feature a wide range of local products, including eggs, milk, cheeses, meats, plus children activities, live music, and bouncy houses. The market will also provide matching dollars for “food stamp” users, and additional bike parking.
Lauterborn states that “the parking loss should be a non-issue” on Sunday mornings, and that they are “planning outreach to all of the existing produce merchants along Clement” with the help of AIM, who has hired a Cantonese speaker to assist. He says “so far, the merchant support has been excellent”.
To ensure that the market gets off the ground, Lauterborn is asking the community to show their support by either writing a letter of support to the SFMTA (who will need to approve the street closures on Clement), or attending a public meeting on May 20.
If you’d like to write a letter of support, send it to Peter.Lauterborn@sfgov.org and be sure to explicitly mention your support for the street closure on Sunday mornings on Clement between 2nd and 4th Avenues.
A community meeting will also be held on May 20 from 5:30pm-6:30pm at the Richmond District Police Station, which is located on 6th Avenue between Geary and Anza.
Lauterborn says they’re targeting Sunday, June 9 for the opening, pending approval by the SFMTA for the street closure during their May 23 meeting. The approval would be for an initial 6 week trial run of the Sunday market.
UPDATE 5/22/13: Lauterborn commented that “The MTA had an internal hiccup, so the hearing will be on June 13 rather than May 23, pushing back the opening to (likely) June 23.”
Are you all excited by this news? Leave a comment to let us know.
Sarah B.
Nice. I will email my support.
I am all for a nearby Farmer’s Market.
I know it says “Sunday mornings,” but from which hours will the streets be closed?
I have not been to this organization’s other farmer’s markets; do vendors at the other markets typically take credit/debit cards?
Just sent a support letter.
I am really looking forward to a good farmer’s market in the neighborhood on Sundays, although I suspect it is going to wreak havoc on my budget — but I have a hard time resisting all that produce, especially in peak summer! I hope that this works out!
Sarah, thank you kindly for the blog on the Farmers Market. I posted the information last night on Nextdoor and so happy it was sent out on the Richmond blog! Looking forward to a successful Richmond District Farmers Market soon:) How exciting!
In case anyone has more interest in Nextdoor – https://nextdoor.com/invite/ak9d3y5wnhuv4rlfs8cq
We are really excited to see this coming along; for me, my very first task as Supervisor Mar’s new aide was on a market! And right now my inbox is getting overrun with positive emails of support, which is wonderful to see.
Assuming all goes well, we are looking at a start date of Sunday June 9 from the hours of 9AM to 1 or 2PM, plus set up and clean up time. This permit is a 6 week trial and we can see how it goes.
I am not sure about the debit/credit cards, so I can find out. But their program of doubling food stamps is really fantastic and will make these wonderful products available to more people.
I want to note that door-to-door outreach is being conducted by the Agricultural Institute of Marin, including with a Cantonese speaker. So far, the merchant support has been excellent as well.
And if anyone has any other comments of support or concern, please reach out to me at Peter.Lauterborn@sfgov.org
Peter, thank you for answering my questions and for providing more info.
There must be a dozen fruit stores and vegetable markets on Clement between 3rd and 9th. Why do we need a farmers market and close off a really busy street?
@Peter – Thanks, I updated the article with some additional info from your comment.
Sarah B.
I am 100% in favor of this, but I have a question – how will this affect the 2 Clement bus? It will need to be re-routed once a week, how will they do the re-route and will it mess with the schedule?
Farmer’s markets are wonderful and this will be an exciting addition to our community.
In response to TinPigeon, I am thinking that the farmer’s market might offer an alternative to the items available at the existing merchants. It can provide consumers with the opportunity to buy directly from farmers (I’m assuming organic). I like knowing where my produce comes from, so I welcome this chance to have a weekly farmer’s market in our neighborhood.
I’m a CSA subscriber and am curious if some of the participating farms will be offering information (flyers) about the benefits of subscribing to a box of reasonably priced fresh organic produce picked up at a convenient location each week. Translating this information onto flyers could be an excellent project for local high schoolers from different backgrounds as would having bilingual students volunteer to help out in transactions at the market. I’ve also wondered whether an enterprising farm could do this with fruits and vegetables popular with Asian consumers (am not Asian but I cook a lot of non-western meals).
Am a bit disappointed that the street will be closed as there are plenty of elementary school playgrounds which are unused on weekends. If Argonne can make money selling parking for Outside Lands, other public schools should have an opportunity to serve their neighborhood and make some money for art and science programs. Oops, forgot that neighborhood schools ceased to exist after I graduated from SFUSD. I don’t know the size of St. John’s Presbyterian Church’s congregation but think their parking may be affected.
Live music and bouncy houses are associated with fairs and carnivals. This may dissuade some of the older potential customers from taking a look and could interfere with the lifestyles of those who live in apartments above the lower Clement Street stores. Is this Marin organization using these attractions at their other SF markets or is lower Clement a trial balloon?
Will there be a need to increase SFPD patrols during the festivities to keep an eye out for petty theft and phone grabs in addition to the expected security of merchants and their cash take? What about injuries in the bouncy houses? An occasional visit by the mounted patrol always thrills kids.
That’s what rolled off the top of my head in the form of questions. I hope this farmers market is successful and that we will see the outer Richmond served soon.
Rachel- The 2 Clement, which has quite low ridership on Sunday mornings, would be rerouted along California to 6th Ave. The goal was to keep it on streets that already use transit. From what we have heard so far from the MTA, this isn’t expected to slow down the bus. Furthermore, the Agricultural Institute of Marin will be posting signage of the stop relocations.
4thGenRichmond-
Re schools: we looked at some school site locations but those weren’t quite ripe. We are open to talking to schools regarding parking lots but that’s not nailed down on this point.
Re police: we will of course work with the merchants and the Richmond Police on ensuring a safe event for the exact reasons you pointed out.
Re “live music and bouncy houses”: Many other markets throughout the city have music. And these are features at all Agricultural Institute markets. The goal is to have a family-friendly environment. The input is well taken.
On some of the other points, the Agricultural Institute is better suited to respond and I understand they will be posting shortly.
TinPigeon – I think a farmer’s market is a lot more than just a collection of produce vendors. It’s a community event that brings people out. They often include (prepared) food and other types of goods like honey or jam as well as produce. They also provide consumers with an opportunity to actually get to know local growers.
What’s a farmer’s market without veggies? Why not have the MTA meeting AT the 5/20 community meeting?
I really like the idea of a local farmers market. I hope we will get something like that too in 20-30-40 avenues, so all get a chance to easily walk to and back .
Thanks for addressing my question, Peter!
I love the idea of a neighborhood farmers market. It would be great to have one in the Outer Richmond. 🙂
Yes, finally! This thrills me to no end! I love that it will have activities for children as well.
Fantastic.
And TinPigeon: I had the same thought last time this was proposed, but I’ve come around. I wouldn’t be surprised if the local veggie markets actually benefited from this market– first, because the competition might get them to up their game; and second, because the farmer’s market might bring in a new and different demographic, and further establish Inner Clement as the place to go for your groceries (people need them every day, after all, not just Sunday).
There is a distinct lack of local, organic produce at the Richmond’s produce markets. I wholeheartedly welcome this development.
Yipeeeeee! I hope this market is so successful that we get one in the Outer Richmond too…umm I am thinking the parking lot of a recently closed grocery store would be a good spot. The live music could be fun, but I am not too keen on the idea of the gimmick of a bouncy house. The bouncy house seems like it would generate unnecessary noise and air pollution. Also “…the December print issue of the journal Pediatrics, researchers studied emergency department records and estimated that almost 65,000 children were injured in inflatable bouncers from 1990 to 2010.
Patients were 7.5 years old on average, and the most common injuries were fractures (28 percent) and strains or sprains (27 percent)…3 percent of the injured children required hospitalization or observation.”
The kids can groove to the music.
The Inner Sunset market is a success without a bouncy house.
I can’t help but feel this has been a long time coming. Walking on Clement St on even a weekday around lunch feels constrained and cramped, let alone on the weekends; it’ll be great to open up even a portion of the street!
Thanks Peter & Supervisor Mar!
P.S. If residents and merchants in the Outer Richmond expressed interest in this, could we see one there as well?
“A community meeting will also be held on May 20 from 5:30pm-6:30pm at the Richmond District Police Station, which is located on 6th Avenue between Geary and Clement.”
I think the police station is between Geary and Anza at 461 – 6th Avenue.
Wouldn’t this negatively impact the produce merchants on that stretch of clement and immediately surrounding areas? Can’t imagine they are too thrilled with this proposal. Is there a list of farms that will be setting up for these fairs? Are they local / organic? And is the city reaping and financial benefits from this fair. Seems the street would need cleanup after each event and should be worth something. I have 2 kids and I actually agree the bouncy houses are a detraction. How about a petting zoo or something fun / educational
Sounds like a neat idea but the overwhelming positive reaction here has me skeptical. Looking forward to checking it out. What happens after the 6 week trial. Is there a long term plan or a forum to give feedback?
How local will the merchants at this ‘farmer’s market’ really be? I bet the produce at some of the local stores are just as ‘local’ as the ones that will be at the market. I get a good chuckle out of seeing venders at other ‘farmer’s markets’ from Tracy, Stockton and elsewhere in the Central Valley or Central Coast. Come on. Local? Yeah, within 75 miles. I would rather support the local stores selling vegetables all the time on Clement than somebody popping in to make a buck once a week.
This is fantastic news. We live in the Richmond and normally drive to the Ft. Mason farmer’s market on Sunday to buy our produce. It will be such a pleasure to be able to bike down to Clement instead. Way to go Richmond!
I don’t mean to sound Puritanical, (h/t to my people) but a great children’s activity at a farmer’s market is kids paying full attention to fruits, vegetables and people of all ages. Also learning to do the rounds with Mom and Dad, look at what’s fresh, what costs what, why this produce is better than that at the stand we just saw, etc.. And samples.
Somehow the Alemany Farmers Market has survived 70-odd years without a bouncy house. Same for Civic Center market (now 20 years young). Surely we can do the same. Failing that, any bouncy house should be certified organic.
Re 26. sflonglegs, local is definitely relative with Farmer’s markets. In my 35 years of shopping at Alemany and Civic Center (starting by following Mom and Dad around in circles) there are a fair number of vendors within 75 miles, but there are indeed some who come from 200+ miles away. To be fair, some of them drop off sellers at a number of markets, then pick them up on the way home (sorta like carpooling). More power to them – there are more opportunities to sell directly here than if they restricted themselves to the Central Valley, especially if their heart is in their produce and it isn’t quite what distributors or aggregators are looking for (and if it’s super ripe and tasty and can’t sit in a truck for 2 weeks). I will say the best mandarin and Navel oranges I’ve ever had came from an old fellow who drove up to Alemany Market from Visalia, 200 or 300 miles; he’d sell out by noon and make his way home. Oranges from closer farms were never so sweet.
How is this possibly near final approval? As someone who lives just off Clement there have been no official notices regarding this significant street closure. I too like farmer’s markets. However, Sunday morning is one of the few quiet days on Clement street, with garbage and delivery trucks generally making major noise starting between 5am and 6am from Monday – Saturday.
Why do we need a farmer’s market when we can already buy any fruit/vegetable on the face of the planet from the existing shops (and organic from Village Market in Cali and 7th and other organic grocery on 6th and Clement, or go to Cal-Mart or Bryan’s in Laurel Village)?
What time will the trucks start coming in to set up the farmer’s market? Where will the trucks park?
Will 2nd, 3rd and 4th streets be closed to traffic? If so, how far?
Why this busy location on Clement? Where will the traffic be re-routed? What time will the streets re-open?
Despite public transit options, many people will likely drive. Where will they park? Many spots on Clement will not longer be available. Will there be a police or transit presence to make sure they do not constantly block neighbor’s driveways and park illegally?
There are already rodents on the Clement St regularly. Who will clean happen in order to prevent more food for the rats?
Music and bouncy houses every Sunday will create more noise and distrub neighbors in their apartments and homes.
It seems this “near-approved” farmer’s market idea did not solicit input or give notice to the neighbors in the area where it will be located. For us it looks like it will create more noise, pollution, traffic, parking and safety issues.
Has this really gone through all of the required permitting processes?
Seems like it would be better located in a more commericial area or in a park, the parking lot near smart and final, the presidio, mountain lake park, golden gate park, or in an area in greater need of fruit and vegetable.
Yayayayayayayay!!!!!!!!!! What’s with the poopooing? This is so damn cool no matter how you look at it!
For the May 20 meeting – http://www.meetup.com/Outer-Richmond-Hangout-Meetup/events/119289572/
It is always important to support local businesses. Whatever the product. Most of the fruit and vegetables will come from the central valley. Some meat and eggs will come from Marin. I believe the good produce from Marin and Petaluma will not come to AIM to sell. So think about why you really need another farmers market in San Francisco? Of course the organization makes money, the city makes money. Since it is a Sunday market this will be the one where vendors dump produce they cannot keep for their next market. Noise and traffic will increase. Businesses on Clement street will be affected. Now the grocery stores sell mainly produce from down south. How do you think the grocery stores will feel? Another location in a parking lot would be better. I cannot imagine how the residents will get in and out of their homes with their vehicles.
This is great news! I can’t wait to stroll down to the Clement Street Farmers Market. I had previously been going to the Fillmore market. It will be so nice to have something in our own neighborhood!
Super excited – this is great news!
Am I the only person reding these happy support comments with a leary eye. The seem fake and astroturffy. Makes me suspicious of the whole thing.
Here’s one happy comment that isn’t astroturf — I live in the Richmond, I have no connection with any farmer’s market except that I shop at one, and I’m very pleased about this. I work near the Civic Center and always enjoy the farmer’s market there and I’m very happy about something similar in the Richmond.
Clement is flooded with produce markets, but for many of us they have never been an option – because they are filled with produce imported primarily from China. Some people only care that their produce is cheap, without regard for the conditions or environment in which it’s farmed, or the distance it travels to arrive at market.
I care about local (pan-California), sustainable farms, I care about organic, natural, responsibly grown and sold produce. I FULLY support the effort for a Richmond District Farmer’s Market, and wish some of the horrible produce stores on Clement would shutter. They are wasted energy and resources.
This is a pleasant addition to the neighborhood and the tradeoffs will be more than worth it.
Other farmer’s markets in SF attract different types of vendors that will bring out customers that do not already frequent the markets and shops in the neighborhood. Regulars to those markets may spend less money at neighborhood shops, but it is much more likely that the folks who left the neighborhood to shop will now stay and visit stores they don’t go to often.
If it goes well, the farmer’s market in the Richmond could even bring people from other parts of town which all merchants would love.
I’m all for farmer’s markets but I vote no for the stupid bouncy house and music. People usually sleep in on Sundays so are you expecting the residents near that area to be happy about this (full disclosure, I do not live on Clement but shop there frequently)?
My kids go to the markets to look at the merchandise and line up for kettle corn. They DO NOT go there to jump in a stupid bouncy house (which are dirty and unhygenic by the way). There is no need for that. Why are people thinking this is good?
I like to shop in peace. This isn’t JC Penny or those obnoxious teen stores where music is blaring away. I can do without the music as well.
Carly, I agree. Not a huge fan of the current produce options on Clement. Farmer’s market with local, organic produce would be great.
richmondreader and others – it seems like people are getting hung up on the bouncy house. I think it’s unnecessary too – but in the big picture, having a farmer’s market here is awesome and either way I’m excited
I think acoustic-only music would be great. Amplified music might be too much.
great news can’t wait i love this idea thanks
Update: The MTA had an internal hiccup, so the hearing will be on June 13 rather than May 23, pushing back the opening to (likely) June 23.
And it doesn’t have to be a bouncy house 🙂
Peter Lauterborn
Legislative Aide
Supervisor Eric Mar, District 1
Peter.Lauterborn@sfgov.org
I support the farmers market on Sundays on Clement, but delete the bouncy house. Have something educational for kids about farm-to-table.
Awesome. I cant wait – this will be a great addition to our community!
And to those who seem to be worried about this… Well it must be exhausting, if this is the sort of thing that keeps you up worrying at night!
We have the only parking lot on Clement Street and its entrance is located on one of the blocks planned for closure. Sunday is one of largest sales days of the week, second only to Saturday. Our parking lot is required for our customers who have new babies, are pregnant, or need instruction on how to properly install child safety seats (90% which are installed incorrectly).
I support the Farmers’ Market, but not if it involves disrupting business as usual on a busy street that already struggles to provide enough parking for visitors to the area. 50 vendors, with their vehicles and loss of the 100 plus parking spaces for the two blocks closed spells more traffic driving around looking for parking would discourage people from visiting our area a second time! Let’s look at holding it at a school yard, like the large one at Roosevelt Middle School.
There were about 30 of us at the mtg tonight, including Supervisor Eric Mar and PeterL from SEM’s office (as well as an aide from one of our other elected officials, name is escaping me at the moment). Tanya Small of the Ag Institute of Marin gave a presentation on her group and farming in general that was very informative. Then they (all) took questions from the audience mainly regarding logistics and concerns. Next step the MTA meeting on June 13.
I live on 2nd Ave. I was always happy that neighborhoods that need fresh produce could get it using farmer’s markets. I had a flat in what is now called NoPa ten years ago and it was a pain in the patoot to get produce on a whim. Frankly, Clement St.is already a farmer’s market seven days a week. That is why I moved here. Clogging traffic in a neighborhood that already embodies what a farmer’s market seeks to provide just seems like a few people trying to cut in on the business already being done on Clement.
WILL the produce be “organic”? that’s what would truly interest me
Another nod here to Roosevelt Jr. High as a suitable site. As a non-driver it never occurred to me that CitiKids uses the space in front for car seat installation. I grew up before seatbelts were mandatory and fell out of a station wagon when the door spontaneously opened while turning onto Taylor Street from California up on Nob Hill. Safety is important.
Roosevelt is where Hardly Strictly Bluegrass got its start before moving to Marx Meadow/Hellman Hollow. It has also been used by a Scots bagpipe organization, having no affiliation with SFUSD, for rehearsal for many decades. Further, it is more convenient to the Geary line and is directly accessible via the 33 for the SFHA residents nearby.
For the record, there are 53 public parking spaces on those two blocks.
Personally, I really like the idea of the farmer’s market being right in the center of local business. Roosevelt’s yard may be big enough, but you lose the benefit of people going to Clement St. encountering the farmer’s market, and of people going to the farmer’s market encountering the other businesses on Clement St. If there’s a lot of demand for parking, why not use the Roosevelt yard for parking?
As far as “disrupting business” and parking concerns go, I think the market will bring in significantly more new business than it will displace, parking or no parking. But the nice thing is that it doesn’t matter what I think! Let’s try it and see what happens. Sunday Streets was notable for having merchants going from opposition to support, once they realized that it actually brought in lots of new customers.
I live right on Clement between 2nd and 3rd. I do welcome this development but I don’t think that this street location is ideal at all considering what residents in that area deal with already. I drive around sometimes up to 30 minutes on weekends looking for a parking spot only to find a ticket on my car for this or that or for whatever reason. I’m not thrilled with the estimates on lost parking spots. What about noise? Area residents are already kept awake by the drunks pouring from the Plough (not to mention the glass recyclers who visit every night at around 11 that the police refuse to deal with). I love kids but they tend to scream when they’re well-rested and in a bouncy house situation. And then, as one resident mentioned, the dump trucks. Sundays, it turns out, is the only day of the week quiet enough to sleep past 7. I haven’t rec’d one piece of literature on this, so I’m glad I found this site by accident. No business I’ve been to is promoting this. Finally, there are loads of organic markets on California, Whole Foods isn’t far from Arguello. Why not move it down to Outer Richmond where its more quiet, better parking, more residential? Where organic is sparse? Again, I welcome the development but think more needs to be considered before launching in a month.
I will be letting everyone in my apt building know about this meeting on the 23. This is a great conversation. I love the IR!
I am definitely in support a farmer’s market in the Richmond. However, I agree with Penne that the proposed location may not be the most ideal. On any given that area (for that matter from about 10th to Arguello) is very congested with not only autos, but also bicycles and foot traffic. Adding a farmer’s market to this area is going to make it super squishy. I am curious why they did not scope out Balboa in the mid 20s blocks, Clement between 27th and 30th, or California after 25th Ave.
Great news, sorry to hear that sfmta is messing up plans, as usual.
Yes to a weekly farmer’s market specializing in organic produce, no to the bouncy house and yes to investigating the less-congested, outer Richmond (where organic is scarce and the small businesses could really use a boost) as an option should the inner Richmond not work out. It sounds like the residents on those blocks could really use a break. Too bad we weren’t asked/this wasn’t discussed more within the greater community before the deal was made…And to those still questioning why we need a farmer’s market: Most of the Richmond vendors sell poisonous, nearly spoiled, terrible tasting produce. Local, organic and farm fresh for everyone would be a big improvement (plus not everyone can afford California Street produce prices).
Very well stated, Denise, on every front. To follow up to my post last week, I’ve paid closer attention to the noise sources on Clement. I can’t really be annoyed by the sounds of someone coming to pick up my garbage and wine bottles. Street sweepers, same deal. (By the way, why doesn’t the city plan for garbage pick up AND sweeping on the same day? The noises that can and should be abated, but aren’t for whatever reason, are the noise that come from delivery trucks. Example, at 6:20 a.m. the other morning I was bounced out of bed by sounds of the Budweiser delivery stud dropping off the mother load at Plough. Totally unnecessary dropping of kegs, one after other, onto the street as if to say “if I’M UP, you’re up!” But I love my Plough and kegs and looking at the Bud stud and they were there way before I was. If a farmer’s market is to start at 9, I’m pretty sure those trucks will start coming down Clement at 7. And yes, I do realize kale is lighter than a keg.
Can someone post the date, time and location of this next meeting?
I live on 2nd Avenue, and I am really excited about the Farmers Market. I think it will encourage a sense of community in the Inner Richmond, as well as offering an alternative shopping experience with organic produce. It will encourage people to come to the Richmond, and will benefit the existing merchants on the street. There is no down side, so let’s get out there and have some fun, and support this wonderful contribution to the Inner Richmond.
This morning I noticed a freshly posted MTA Public Hearing notice regarding proposed traffic changes (for the market). The hearing is June 13 at 9:00 a.m. I’m hopeful that this isn’t the meeting Mar’s office has been talking about b/c an early weekday morning meeting on S. Van Ness is hardly an effort to solicit input from the Inner Richmond community.
Is there another community hearing on this? (By the way, this is what I heard this morning at 6:15 this morning. This is with the windows shut. It is the Budweiser delivery stud doing his job. Luckily I had to get up for work. Sunday mornings, I don’t. This audio is not edited or amplified. This was recorded from my bed http://soundcloud.com/pennejean/kegs. Music mixers, you can reuse if you’re into mixing beats!). Is Eric Mar’s office going to educate the community on what was (or wasn’t) done to make sure due diligence was practiced before they made “our” decision to allow a market to close our street? Loss of parking, buses being rerouting while school parking lots are left empty on Sundays, a lack of fresh produce in the area of 30’s and Clement, customers losing access to business services (i.e. Citikids), threats to quality of (quiet) life…all of these are issues that Supervisor Mar’s office has yet to address. There is no mention of this development on his website, either. The most recent neighborhood newsletter makes mention of him being really concerned about the three spots being lost to a parklet in front of Cumaica, but nothing about the hundred or so spots lost in what may be the busiest part of Clement.
Our new Sunday neighbor also organizes the Stonestown Farmer’s Market, which I frequent very regularly and enjoy. But its in a parking lot. The activities that make a Farmer’s Market that much greater, like folksy music, aren’t an issue in a parking lot b/c residents don’t live overhead. They even advertise “With excellent public transportation and an abundance of free parking, this market makes for a convenient and celebratory Sunday outing,” so they recognize the benefits of having the market in an open parking lot environment. Does Supervisor Mar?
Something I never thought about until now, very few markets close down our city streets:
Glen Park Farmer’s Market: Parking lot of the Glen Park BART Station
Inner Sunset Farmer’s Market: Parking Lot between 8th and 9th Avenue, South of Irving Street
Heart of the City (Love!) UN Plaza
Thank you all for your time and happy Friday! Go giants!
Castro, Divisadero, and North Beach farmers markets all take place on city streets. And, of course, the UN Plaza used to be Fulton St., before it was permanently closed to traffic.
Any updates on where / when the hearing will be? I can’t find any information on this.
Castro is Wed night 4 pm – 8 pm. If this venture here was Wednesday nights, I don’t think we’d have the issues we’re discussing here. North Beach’s is surrounded by a park on one side, a huge church on the other, and a major road (Columbus)…in other words, not very residential.
Michael, I’d like to think otherwise but I’m starting to fear that the (community) hearing is either a) not going to happen or b) kept on the DL for a reason. The MTA Hearing is at the MTA headquarters on Van Ness on the 13th at 9 a.m. if you can take the morning off from work to make your concerns or support heard.
This is a terrible idea. I live right near Clement street. Sunday morning is nice and peaceful. Trucks rolling in to set up the market early in the morning will disturb people who live near the proposed market. And shutting down the street is a nuisance. The Farmer’s market is not welcome.
This morning the MTA approved closing down Clement on Sundays to make way for the farmer’s market. I haven’t heard from my community’s elected supervisor since last week. He and his staff knew details of this MTA meeting but didn’t advertise it here or on Supervisor Mar’s website. I contacted MTA and received an immediate response. My thoughts are that Supervisor Mar and his staff knew if they laid low the conflict over this market would settle and those of us who want answers will just go away. I’ll go away until election day. His mailers about bringing business to IR is laughable. How many businesses have vacated Clement in the last few months? Its sad. A farmers market plopped in middle of the street isn’t going to pay their rent or bring in hoards of shoppers.
From MTA:
“Please note the change that the intersection of 3rd Avenue and Clement will no longer be closed.
The current plan is to schedule an extension of the Farmer’s Market for the ISCOTT hearing on Thursday, August 22nd at 9 AM. So after you have experienced the market or the impact of the closure for a few weeks, you are welcome to let me know as well.”
See you all next Sunday!
Having been doing business on the street for twenty years, I think I have a good handle on what street fairs, Pumpkin Festivals, Music Fairs, etc. that have been tried on Clement St. I think the Farmers’ Market will bring people to the street with a more heightened awareness of the businesses here, with a defered effect on improving business. It’s probably a good thing to try.
As with past street closures and the loss of parking spaces caused by the events (not to mention an increased number of vehicles for the exhibitors), in the future, SFMTA should plan provisions for school yard parking spaces on a one-to-one basis for each space lost to the event, and for each vendor’s vehicle. I hope the planners have porta-potty provisions as well, as past fairs have increased use of stores’ restrooms without business patronage.