Angry San Francisco drivers let city and county agencies have it with both barrels again Monday, as hundreds of Marina and Cow Hollow residents descended on an open house held by the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to seek input on removing free parking from their neighborhoods.
The open house, held in a tiny conference room in the back of the clubhouse at Moscone Recreation Center in the Marina Dec. 2, was packed for over two hours as residents responded to SFMTA staffers presenting options for bringing “pay or permit parking” to the Union Street corridor and surrounding areas, as well as a large area adjacent to the Marina Green and Chestnut Street corridor.
As with the Nov. 18 meeting held by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) seeking public input on traffic pattern changes in the Lower Sunset neighborhood, attendance was unexpectedly high. Discussions overflowed onto the clubhouse’s veranda, especially after what one attendee called “an organic odor incident” inside the room. One SFMTA representative later brought in an air purifier.
The “Pay or Permit” parking scheme, which replaces the current two hours of free parking for neighborhood visitors with metered parking, was approved by the SFMTA board of directors in 2018. Its objectives are to reduce congestion, increase overall parking availability, and generate badly needed revenue for Muni, San Francisco’s public transit service. The program has been implemented in the Hayes Valley neighborhood since late 2022, and now SFMTA wants to expand it to the Marina, Cow Hollow, and Lower Haight neighborhoods. Holders of neighborhood permits would continue to enjoy free parking. SFMTA is hoping to implement the changes by the fall of 2025.
Fortunately, at least one SFMTA staffer present has significant experience dealing with angry crowds in a public policy setting. Raynell Cooper, SFMTA’s residential parking policy manager, was a member of the city’s Redistricting Task Force in 2022 and found himself under fire, mostly by association, over the task force’s decisions. These decisions inflamed progressive and labor advocates, who jammed meetings, extending them into the twilight hours.
While Cooper received a lot of assertive feedback on Monday, it was far from what he got in 2022.
“I know a lot of people are frustrated because it feels like everything’s fully baked; we hear that all the time, that’s not the case,” Cooper told The Voice at Monday’s meeting. “We want to put forward a strong case for people to react to, and we’ll take action based on that input.”
Nevertheless, many attendees angered by announcements of multiple initiatives from multiple corners aimed at hobbling car use, ranging from the recent passing of a ballot measure to close the Great Highway to cars to the implementation of a state “daylighting” law to increase pedestrian visibility at intersections by removing parking, were not impressed.
SFMTA’s Pay or Permit Parking Project aims to reduce congestion, increase overall parking availability, and generate badly needed revenue for Muni.
Cow Hollow Association President Lori Brooke, who attended the meeting, texted The Voice on Wednesday, “SFMTA’s plans aren’t going to encourage more biking or Muni use, free up parking spaces, or reduce congestion. Instead, they’ll prioritize the interests of companies like Uber, Lyft, and Waymo while contributing to gentrification of the neighborhood. These changes will impact workers who depend on cars, businesses struggling to attract customers, and residents whose guests will be unfairly penalized. So, I ask: Who requested the re-engineering of parking in the Marina and Cow Hollow, and why?”
Jason Pellegrini, a past president of the Marina Community Association, was also present and frustrated by the process.
“They’re having a decentralized open house with no information unless you go around to these so-called booths and ask questions,” Pellegrini told The Voice. “The same questions could be asked once, and they could respond to the entire room if they held an actual meeting. They’re also holding it on a Monday after a long holiday week when most neighbors are on vacation and out of school. Property taxes are also being written this week, which upsets a lot of people.”
“It’s government overreach to the max,” longtime resident Mike Najjar told The Voice at the Dec. 2 meeting. “It’s another attempt to make up their budget, they never look internally to see what they can cut … it’s unfair, and if you couple this with the recent daylighting law, where are we to park? They shouldn’t be looking for more revenue streams from residents already paying taxes.”
“Everybody is already pissed about the daylighting taking 20,000 spots off the street, and they come with these on top of that. They want us to die,” May Chow, another resident, told The Voice. “They are punishing the poor. The rich have ten-car garages; we don’t have space for our friends. This is an insult. Why don’t they put it up for a vote?”
Popular reaction to street changes is also getting attention at City Hall. District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio, a primary sponsor of Proposition K, the measure to close the Great Highway to car traffic, now faces a recall campaign.
At least three people up for consideration for appointment to replace the current District 2 supervisor, Catherine Stefani, who was elevated to the State Assembly last election, were present at Monday’s meeting. Recreation and Park Commission President Kat Anderson, Mayor’s Office of Innovation Director Stephen Sherrill, and Mayor London Breed’s State and Federal Affairs Manager Eileen Mariano, circulated among other attendees Monday to gather feedback but wouldn’t comment to media on the record.
KTVU television, the Chronicle, and the Standard were among the media outlets present at what had been expected to be a small affair attracting a handful of residents.
Some attendees were supportive of SFMTA’s pitch.
“It’s true that we also need better enforcement; people park their car and just leave it all day,” Armand Domalewski, a local activist, Pacific Heights resident and founder of YIMBYs for Harris, told The Voice. “But we’ve also seen places that introduce paid parking, and people overstay less often. You don’t have to waste your time driving around the block looking for a spot.”
SFMTA Board of Directors member Mike Chen, also a District 2 resident, attended the Dec. 2 event to gauge public reaction.
“This hasn’t come to the board of directors yet; I’m curious to see the community response,” Chen told The Voice. “I understand that the rate at which staff are trying to do things has not necessarily changed, but they want to take extra care that things are doing well.”
Planning and outreach for the expansion will continue through February 2025, and the SFMTA board will review the legislation by next May.