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TAKE BACK THE PARK
The DAILY DIRT TAKE BACK THE PARK
January 1, 2007

A daily report on the happening in Golden Gate Park(ing lot)

WHAT I’LL BE WORKING ON IN THE NEW YEAR:


Car free Saturdays on JFK. Someday, like Central Park, JFK will be auto free 24/7. Maybe not in my lifetime but it will happen as there won’t be any more cars to drive on it.

For now the new surface provides the best recreational asphalt anywhere and we need to keep the pressure up for Saturdays.

Firstly, we must insist that ALL the data collected in August be released. Recall that the Mayor insisted that data was needed to understand the impacts of Healthy Saturdays and many thousands of public funds were paid to a private firm to do surveys and write up a report -- due out in September. IT’S TIME TO SEE THE NUMBERS.


 

Stop cut-through traffic in the Concourse: We do have numbers showing that 90% of the cars in the Concourse are violating the law. We had a single hearing confirming this with a mandated additional hearing to come up with solutions. IT’S TIME!

 

 


Increasing east bound traffic lanes on Kezar Drive from one to two lanes over the Alvord Bridge.

visit the report: http://www.sfpix.com/alvord/alvord.html


Work to create the best skateboard park in San Francisco at the abandoned horseshoe pits in the northeast corner of Golden Gate Park.


A little history: The “Pits” were created by John McLaren in 1922 for the National Horseshoe Pitcher’s Ass. They was abandoned in the 1960’s when a new facility was built at Stern Grove. Since then it has become a permanent homeless encampment. This last year saw the destruction of the bias-relief horse. A particularly deranged soul was arrested for swing a big piece of chain at his fellow campers. Upon release he took out his hostility on the horse. I warn anyone visiting the pits today to use caution as the “residents” exist in their own realities.


Also consider that skateboards have no approved venue in Golden Gate Park. Combine this with a serious lack of enforcement and we have a Music Concourse that’s being ground down daily by outlaw ‘boarders’ who when confronted reply that the Concourse is the only place they don’t get hassled.


5 years ago Park staff and I brought a contractor in to estimate the cost of putting a good surface in The price was about $15,000. Understand that the skateboard park at Crocker Amazon cost $700,000 and there’s another $1.5 park in process under Hy 101. $15,000 would create a space that with a little support from the skateboard community could be transformed into the best skateboard park in the city. I’ve tried to interest every skateboarder I meet in the Park into picking up the ball on this. Sadly, organizational skills don’t seem to be a part of the skateboard ethic.

The size of the space inside the curbs is 47ft by 159ft. Thats 92% of the area of the 6th Ave. Skating Area.

E-mail me if you want to get involved. cdmd@sfpix.com

September 22, 06 Whose in charge of the Concourse anyway

July 12th The Daily Dirt awards the Red Herring Award to
Coalition for Park Access
(for wealthy folks in cars to attend private parties)

July 8 WHO'S IN CHARGE IN THE CONCOURSE ANYWAY?

June 26, Ticketing in the Concourse

June 16, Pavin' the Park

June 6th, The Polo - Field of Screams

June 1, Inner Sunset Community Meeting on Homeless

May 31, The Public/Private Partnership in Public Parks

May 28, Art coming to a meadow near you.


May 25 LOST IN THE FOG or Homeless in Golden Gate Park

May 23, Those That Ignore History...

May 22, Faces of the Bay to Breakers 2006

May 20, An Open Letter to the Mayor: How can we take back our Park?

May 19, NO MUSIC IN THE MUSIC CONCOURSE

May 18, DEDE to allow some of her Oscars to be viewed by visitors to her museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Remember it's not a Park it's a Parking Lot.