The SFMTA just released their report on Masonic (which I encourage you to read). This report is the result of 3 community meetings that happened last year. In their report, they detailed the process they went through to derive two options for Masonic: The Boulevard and the Gateway. These two options were then voted on by the neighbors who attended the 3rd Masonic meeting. As most of you know, NOPNA has not taken an official position on either option. Rather, we have encouraged SFMTA to seek the maximum amount of money available to make Masonic safe for all who use it. To some, this position is less than desirable.
What I would like to share with all of you is the thought process and issues that were raised when the NOPNA board discussed this issue. I will also detail what we will be doing moving forward.
Key Discussion Points
Several factors went into our decision to hold off on supporting a specific proposal but to encourage the SFMTA to apply for the maximum amount of funds available. All of these factors are described below but the primary one was that we really didn’t know where NOPA neighbors stood on this issue. It’s true that many NOPA neighbors were at the SFMTA meetings but we did not directly ask neighbors where they stand on this. That is why we have created a Masonic Survey to do just that.
Additional Factors
In addition to not understanding our neighbors views on Masonic, there were several other items that guided our discussion and decision. These include:
University Terrace’s settlement with USF: UTNA settled a lawsuit related to USF and it’s growing student body. One of the concerns of UTNA is that USF students circle to find parking. Part of the lawsuit settlement was to do a traffic study and that the primary reason UNTA has not taken a formal position, even though their members were at the meetings.
Anza Vista’s concerns over Target: A Target may go into the corner of Geary and Masonic. This was a major concern for our Anza Vista neighbors because any overflow traffic would spill into their area. In addition, parking for the Blood Bank is concerning since some of the employees now park on Masonic.
The proposed cycle track down Oak/Fell: A cycle track on Oak and/or Fell would be a tremendous benefit for both bicyclists and other users of the panhandle. Not only would it move bicyclists onto Oak/Fell, thus making it safer for everyone, but how it integrates with Masonic is vital. A well integrated, streamlined transition is desirable for the safety of all users.
The “donut” parking permits in NOPA: Parking permits are only implemented in part of NOPA. This creates a “donut” hole where non-neighbors can park for extended periods of time. To date, NOPNA has been unsuccessful in gathering enough signatures to make this happen. We need to revisit that moving forward.
Funding: It was unclear where the funding for Masonic would come from and it seemed like a high price tag. Upon additional research, it was discovered that much of the expense will go to underground improvements from sewer upgrades to roadway base reconstruction. This was a little different than our Divisadero experience where the community was given a certain amount of dollars and asked to give input.
Moving Forward
We understand that what happens on Masonic will forever change our western border. That is why we are doing some specific things to gage how NOPA neighbors feel about Masonic. These include:
Reached out to Fix Masonic: We are appreciative of the great work that Fix Masonic has done. We will continue to support their efforts and plan to engage more actively with them.
Contact the SFBC: The SFBC has been a steadfast advocate for making Masonic safer. Their volunteers have spent countless hours making NOPA safer as well. We acknowledged their contributions to date and reached out to try and work better together.
Formulate and distribute a Masonic survey: One of our main concerns is our lack of knowledge on what everyone in the neighborhood fells about changes to Masonic. That’s why we created our own Masonic Survey to hear what everyone things.
Communicate with our Western and Northern Neighbors: Four other neighborhoods share a border with Masonic: Anza Vista to our North, University, Ewing Terrace and PRO-SF to our West. Most of these neighborhoods were part of the SFMTA’s Masonic meetings but we felt that we needed to specifically reach out to them.
Survey Logistics
If you live in NOPA, no matter if you belong to NOPNA or not, we ask that you take the time to fill out the survey. We plan on using the survey results to gage what NOPA neighbors feel about the options for Masonic so NOPNA can intelligently take a position. We will also share the raw data and results with everyone as we have done with our other surveys. The survey will be open from February 6th till February 15th. Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions or want to share your feelings on Masonic.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Big mistake. Leave Masonic alone. It works fine for more than 44,000 people every day—32,000 vehicles and 12,000 people who ride the #43 buse. The city’s proposal will only screw up traffic for everyone but a small minority of cyclists.
If you want the survey to reflect neighborhood sentiment, you need to do more outreach than a blog post.
Rob – you’ve become irrelevant. I live on Masonic and only use the thoroughfare for driving, and I’m a big proponent of the Boulevard plan. I applaud the efforts to date and will continue to support them.