Date: 06/27/2007

Category: · Writing  » News Coverage  » SFist · Writing  » Op-Ed  » Urban Planning · Writing  » Topic  » misc

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Say hello to your new next door neighbor: a parking garage. Petitioners are currently collecting signatures for a "build more parking" petition, but the terms are insane: it wouldn't just allow developers to install big garages, it would require that all new homes build on extra parking, at the expense of living space. Require! As in, the government says that you don't have a choice!

More room for cars means less room to house people -- and less room for housing means rent's going to get even higher. Not to mention: more cars means more traffic; slower Muni; longer commutes; wider roads; freeways; stripmalls; air pollution; neighborhoods replaced by parking lots.

It would turn San Francisco into Los Angeles.

And guess who one of the main backers is? Andy Ball, the owner of a construction company that builds parking garages. Life sure will be good for Andy if he can convince the city to require that we all build extra parking spots.

Obviously, Muni is so broken that many of us have to drive. So let's fix that problem: make Muni a viable option, instead of encouraging more car trips, raising your rent, ruining your view, and making your commute even slower.

So when someone asks, "would you sign this petition to add more parking," remember that "adding parking" means "subtracting everything else." So unless your favorite thing to do in SF is sitting in a parking lot: no, no, a thousand times no, you do not want to sign that petition.