The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department recently completed a $3 million makeover on one of the busiest entrances to Golden Gate Park in the Inner Sunset neighborhood.
City officials, including Mayor London Breed and District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar, joined community members in a ribbon-cutting ceremony last Friday for the completion of the “gateway” entrance to the park, located at Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way. The project is funded through the city’s general fund and open space fund, according to Rec and Park.
“This park has gone through transformational change, and some changes are really big and profound, and some are small but very equally important,” Rec and Park General Manager Phil Ginsburg said. “This feels to me to be one that is maybe small but equally important and mighty.”
San Francisco recently completed a project at the Inner Sunset entrance of Golden Gate Park, which includes new plazas, stairs, and native plants.
The project saw the installation of two new plazas on the west and east sides of the entrance, 5,500 square feet of new concrete paving, 6,000 square feet of native plants and a new water irrigation system.
Crews also installed a new engraved boulder that reads “Golden Gate Park” and new granite steps with brass rails on both sides of the entrance. The westbound 7-Haight/Noreiga transit shelter was moved farther away from the crosswalk and new curb ramps were installed.
“This is a beautiful entrance to the park, but it’s also the gateway to the Inner Sunset,” Melgar said. “It is this gateway to the Irving Street [and] Ninth Avenue corridor, which is vibrant and wonderful.”
Andrea Jadwin, former cochair of the Inner Sunset Park Neighbors, celebrates the completion of the Golden Gate Park gateway project.
Andrea Jadwin, former cochair of the Inner Sunset Neighbors Park Neighbors, said residents and merchants in 2008 wanted a safer and “attractive” entrance to Golden Gate Park. She described the previous conditions of the entrance to the park as having “narrow pathways, poor signage and unimpressive landscaping.”
“We thought it could be safer, more beautiful, and more welcoming, as befits the world-class institutions and the garden inside the park,” Jadwin said. She added that the completion of the entrance is only half of the dream that neighbors envisioned at the intersection as they continue to push the city to improve the traffic conditions for people walking to the park.
The San Francisco County Transportation Authority will host a community meeting with Supervisor Melgar on Nov. 18, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the San Francisco County Fair Building to explore ideas to improve traffic safety and access to the neighborhood for all modes of transportation.