[UPDATE: The images you can see below are no longer current, apparently. The ones displayed yesterday and purportedly printed Friday, have the parking spaces restored, for whatever reason.]
Here’s the official word:
“We hope you can join us onsite at the Panhandle to discuss safety improvements to the pathways, lighting and signage issues. Please tell your neighbors and friends, we will be onsite to answer questions about the upcoming improvements.
SATURDAY AUGUST 1ST, 2015
ON THE PANHANDLE AT ASHBURY INTERSECTION
10-12:00 AM”
I’ll tell you, there are some safety elements to this so-called PANHANDLE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT, but most of the big decisions have already been made, mostly by politically-connected, nearby millionaire homeowners who are obsessed, just obsessed with property values and the aesthetic “identity” of where they live, so your input will certainly be noted, but You, The People are not in the driver’s seat. Your primary role is to pay for most (or just some?) of the changes and, later on, to cheer for our wealthy white wizened Panhandle Overseers.
Notes:
Is widening the Panhandle bike path on the agenda? NOPE. Over the years, i t’s gone from four foot lanes to the current six. What’s wrong with 8 foot wide lanes? (Hilariously, the stencils depicted barely even fit onto the lane.)
How about a speed limit for the Panhandle Bike Path, particularly heading downhill to the east?
How about signs telling people the speed limit?
How about taking down the existing signs that hamper peds’ sightlines of the bike path? (Oh, RPD just put them in and they don’t care? OK fine.) For ex, the new sign near Fell and Ashbury…
So what’s this, you realtors can’t get a giant metal fence (srsly – the mock-up looked hilarious) around the McKinley statue, so the next best thing is lighting it up, the better to chase away hippies? C’mon, be honest!
OTOH, moving the pedestrian path on the Oak side away from Oak near Shrader sounds like a great idea.
Speaking of which, who let the Oak Street path devolve into such a state of disrepair that people walking/jogging on it fall down on a daily basis? Oh, the same people pushing for this new project? Oh, that’s good to know!
OK, here it is – click to expand.
Stanyan to Cole:
Cole to Ashbury. Hey, look at Ashbury at Fell and at Oak – bye bye parking spaces, right? One looks like a crosswalk to nowhere and the other is a painted bulb-out. That’s four spaces right there, right? How many spaces total are in jeopardy?
Ashbury to Central
Central to Baker:
Once I saw two people tumble over this deceptive-looking crack within five minutes of each other.
Faller-downers tend to be women, women with small feet who brush themselves off and end up jogging or walking away after a minute or two of recovery and assessment.
People know that cracks are here, but they tumble anyway. IMO, this state of disrepair is shameful, but that’s just me.
Anyway, have at it, Gentle Reader, swim around in the large 2500-pixel-wide jpgs if you want.
All the deets, after the jump.
“Panhandle Path Improvement Project
A COF Grant Application to SF Rec + Park
To increase the identity of The Panhandle of Golden Gate Park and the safety of its users, while promoting increased usage.
II. PROJECT OVERVIEW:
1. Identity and Wayfind Improvements
3-4 park ID signs
7 wayfinding signs
5 bike sharrows
2. Path and Safety Improvements
65,700 square feet of path re-paved
3580 linear feet of shared path center line, re-striped
9 new ped crossing stripes at path intersections (12‛ x 16‛)
31 street crosswalks with continental striping
68 existing light fixtures, re-lamped
3 new light fixtures
26 existing benches with new concrete underneath
3 new benches
30 new bicycle racks
12 existing trash locations with new double bins
4 new trash locations with double bins
3. Landscape Improvements
7000 square feet planted buffer at paths near street curbs
III. PROBLEM STATEMENT:
The Panhandle of Golden Gate Park is increasingly being used by more people. Users are residents from the neighborhood and across the city, as well as visitors from out of town. The number of families using the park is increasing. The park is used for recreation and commuting. There is no signage identifying the park as part of Golden Gate Park. There is no way-finding signage directing unfamiliar users.
The North shared path supports all modes of non-motorized vehicles and pedestrians. It is a unique park with the shared path being a major cycling connector route for the city. Therefore, the park is a pass-thru experience east-west, with 11 intersections of north-south paths crossing from pedestrian sidewalks. With that consideration, it needs to operate more safely and efficiently for all users. Crowding on the path sometimes leads to conflicts and injuries.
The South pedestrian path is in disrepair along much of its length. Disrepairs includes cracks, tree roots pushing up, eroded edges and surfaces, pot holes, and flooding. The disrepair makes it hazardous and undesirable to use by some, which adds to crowding of the shared path.
Lighting quality along the paths at night needs to be more effective and efficient. The yellow light is dim and doesn’t cover enough of the path. Additionally, illegal behavior (graffiti and camping) is an ongoing problem around the McKinley Monument. The absence of lighting and visibility is a contributor to the problem.
Existing amenities like Waste Cans, Benches, and Bike Racks are insufficient for the increasing needs of users. The Waste Cans often are too full. They are the old standard of 1 can with a recycling top (usually in disrepair causing recyclables to go into garbage) vs 2 separate bins. There could be more benches. There are no bicycle racks except for at the playground to lock up a bicycle, and this rack is somewhat hidden behind plantings and structures. There are many gathering spots that people cycle to in the park. Currently cyclists drop their bikes on the grass dirt while recreating.
IV. PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The identity and safety objectives may be notably addressed by a number of path improvements, including:
1. Signage:
Add 3 standard Rec + Park green park Identity posted signs at Baker, Ashbury and Stanyan intersections
Add 7 way-finding posted signs at Baker, Masonic, Ashbury and Stanyan intersections
Replace “shared path” posted signs w/ symbols at Stanyan and Baker
2. North Path improvements:
Re-stripe the center yellow dashed line
Paint pedestrian and bike symbols on path to signify shared users
Paint diagonal crosswalk striping at path intersections
Add green-boxed bike arrows (sharrows) on street at each end of path for bike wayfinding to/from path
Remove curb at Baker entrance for easier bike entry
Expand paved waiting area at Fell and Shrader to ease congestion
Expand paved waiting area at Stanyan end to ease congestion
Expand paved area at corner of Fell + Baker to ease congestion while waiting for lights and to give space for people to orient to signs off the path.
3. South Path improvements:
Re-pave the entire path + cross paths with “Natural Pave”
Re-graded for proper drainage
10’ wide for vehicles, proper intersection turning radius for vehicles to reduce muddy pools in tire ruts
Natural Pave is an impervious asphalt substitute with no petroleum
ADA compliant and has a high solar reflectance to reduce heat island effects
Move the path farther away from the curb at Oak and Shrader and add a landscapedbuffer from vehicles.
Remove the west crosswalk at Oak and Shrader, nearest the dangerous merger of lanes carrying fast-moving vehicles.
Move Masonic crossover paths away from street and add a landscape buffer for visualand acoustical distance from cars
View corridors East-West to be maintained
Very low planting used near intersections, in order to maintain visibility
Plants to be drought-tolerant.
Provide a “Natural Pave” path to the McKinley monument, which is ADA compliant and activates the space.
Expand sidewalk width along Baker with “Natural Pave” to ease congestion, and allowfor more seating, bike racks. The goal is to provide space which invites people, engages the space, and more strongly identifies this gateway to the park.
4. General safety improvements:
Stripe all street crosswalks with continental striping and advance stop lines
Stripe Oak and Masonic in Yellow for the nearby Urban School expansion on Oak
Lighting
Replace bulbs with LED for brighter visibility
Explore adding a shield to focus the light down
Add 3 lamp posts around McKinley for night-time visibility
The lights are expected to reduce the incidence of graffiti, encampments and give this GGP gateway a presence/identity at night, and perhaps eliminate the need for fencing around the statue
5. Amenity upgrades:
Replace trash cans with 2-bin standard (waste+recycle) as in GGP; requires a concrete pad to bolt down containers
Relocate or add some trash locations
Add bicycle racks in visible locations near areas of high use/ congregating
Pave concrete under each bench, wide enough for mower to reach edge of adjacent grass; This makes cleaning under benches easier also
