Resolution urging The Board of Supervisors to fund the Phelan Avenue to Mission Street and the Geneva Avenue portions of the Ocean Avenue Corridor Design Project.
WHEREAS, the Ocean Avenue Corridor Design Project has been completed between Phelan Avenue and Manor Drive and has brought many safety improvements and amenities that have transformed the pedestrian realm for the better; and
WHEREAS, the portion of the Ocean Avenue Corridor Design Project between Phelan Avenue and Mission Street has not yet been funded; and
WHEREAS, The future Balboa Reservoir Housing Development will provide one parking space for every two units, attracting car free households that will need pedestrian and bicycle access to the Balboa Park BART Station; and
WHEREAS, The City College Facilities Master Plan calls for the campus to reorient itself such that it will face Ocean Avenue; and
WHEREAS, A transit oriented development is soon to be under construction at the Upper Yard, on Geneva Ave; and
WHEREAS, Many new housing developments with first floor retail have opened on Ocean Avenue and many more are in the pipeline; and
WHEREAS, In a 2016 survey conducted by The San Francisco Facilities Master Plan forty nine percent of those surveyed used transit, walking and bicycling to get to school; and
WHEREAS, More students and faculty of San Francisco City College will depend on transit, walking, and bicycling to get to school, as a result of the Balboa Reservoir Housing Project and the proposed Performing Arts Education Center taking the place of an existing surface parking lot; and
WHEREAS, San Francisco City College’s Facilities Master plan calls for “Safe pathways and access between Campus and the surrounding community”; and
WHEREAS, The Balboa Area Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plan will recommend measures to better manage the current and future transportation needs of commuters, families, seniors, employees, visitors, and students of all ages, means, and schedules in the neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, Ocean and Geneva Avenues are a part of the Vision Zero High Injury Network and has therefore been identified as a priority for safety improvements under the City’s Vision Zero Policy; and
WHEREAS, The current pedestrian crossings on Ocean are difficult and dangerous; and
WHEREAS, Between 2012 and 2014 there were twelve pedestrian injuries, four of them severe and ten bicycle injuries, four of them severe; and
WHEREAS, There are three high schools a middle school in the area. Lick-Wilmerding is on Ocean Avenue, between Phelan and San Jose; and
WHEREAS, BART’s Balboa Park Station Modernization Plan aims to “strengthen multi-modal and universal access to the station and promote a safe and comfortable customer experience,”; and
WHEREAS, The coming Geneva-Harney Bus Rapid Transit line will connect Balboa Park with the neighborhoods along the way to Bayshore Boulevard and the Bayshore Caltrain Station, bringing many more pedestrians to the area; and
WHEREAS, The completed portion of the Ocean Avenue Corridor Design Project has resulted in an improved street life and has benefited the zone with less crime, more “eyes on the street,” and economic benefits for area merchants; and
WHEREAS, The Ocean Avenue Association has recommended that City College actively pursue making its Ocean Avenue frontage a walkable, landscaped, and properly lighted pedestrian area now, therefore, be it
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, That the Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee urge the san Francisco Board of Supervisors to fully fund the completion of the Ocean Avenue Corridor Design Project.
