RESOLUTION URGING THE EXPANSION OF HEALTHY SATURDAYS IN GOLDEN GATE PARK, A ROAD CLOSURE ON JFK DRIVE BETWEEN THE TEA GARDEN AND TRANSVERSE DRIVE TO BE A YEAR LONG EVENT.
WHEREAS, A car-free street in Golden Gate Park will expand the opportunities for health, recreation, and fitness in the safety of a traffic free environment; and
WHEREAS, Healthy Saturdays serve a vital role in providing a safe space for children to enjoy the outdoors on bikes, trikes, skateboards, and roller skates without close supervision from parents: and
WHEREAS, A car-free JFK Drive will enable seniors to access the Park by bicycle or on foot.
WHEREAS, The popularity of the car-free area in Golden Gate Park over the last fifty years shows the need to be expanded to every weekend; and
WHEREAS, Cities around the world are finding that car-free areas provide urban dwellers with a healthy respite from noisy, busy everyday life; and
WHEREAS, Healthy Saturdays is an opportunity to enhance the park at little or no cost to taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency are under a mandate to make Golden Gate Park safer for all travelers from the 1998 Golden Gate Park Master Plan, which prioritizes pedestrians first, bicycles second and motor vehicles third; and
WHEREAS, the area of the closure will stay the same, and will not directly impact access to park institutions like the Cal Academy or the museums; THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED, That the San Francisco Pedestrian Advisory Committee supports and endorses San Francisco Department and Recreation and Parks' proposal to expand Healthy Saturdays in Golden Gate Park into a year-long event.
