Resolution in support of the District 7 Participatory Budget proposal to improve the
Havelock Pedestrian Bridge.
WHEREAS, the Havelock Street Pedestrian Bridge (HSPB) over I-280 provides a route between the Balboa Park area and the City College of San Francisco (CCSF).
WHEREAS, the HSPB is well-used while CCSF is in session. It is also used by Mission Terrace residents accessing CCSF, Ocean Avenue and Sunnyside businesses, and by Sunnyside residents headed to Balboa Park for its fields, pool, dog park, and children’s playground, and the Balboa Park BART station.
WHEREAS, there is no sidewalk at the HSPB’s west exit, and no crosswalk to get to the sidewalk on the other sid of the street. Bridge users cross Havelock in the middle of the block, around the blind corner of Circular and Havelock Avenues.
WHEREAS, HSPB traffic and Havelock Street car traffic (mainly drivers headed to the CCSF parking lots on the east side of campus) are heaviest at the same time -- when people are rushing to class. Lack of a crosswalk and the blind corner create a very dangerous situation for the pedestrians and cyclists as they exit the bridge.
WHEREAS, poor lighting makes this bridge unusable after dark.
WHEREAS, HSBP is in poor condition, and its neglect makes pedestrians feel unsafe.
WHEREAS, there will be a need for CCSF to be more accessible via alternate modes of transportation when parking is removed for the future Balboa Reservoir Development (BRD).
WHEREAS, the main route between BART and CCSF, Ocean Avenue, has been identified as a high-injury corridor.
WHEREAS, safety and beautification improvements would make the HSPB a more viable alternative transit route between Balboa Park BART and the CCSF / Sunnyside / BRD areas and allow cyclists and pedestrians to avoid the high-injury corridor of Ocean Avenue.
WHEREAS, these proposals have been endorsed by neighborhood groups on both sides of the bridge (New Mission Terrace Improvement Association, Sunnyside Neighborhood Association, and the Friends of Monterey Boulevard) as well as the Balboa Reservoir Developers Avalon + Bridge Housing, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Walk San Francisco, and St. Finn Barr School.
WHEREAS, the office of Supervisor Yee has informed us that the proposed crosswalk at the west end of the bridge should be implemented outside of the Participatory Budgeting process.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee endorses the planned crosswalk on the west end of the Havelock Street Pedestrian Bridge, LED bridge lighting, and the proposal for bridge Beautification that is on the 2019 District 7 Participatory Budgeting Ballot.
