Supervisor Eric Mar August Newsletter Special ribbon cutting ceremony revealing two new murals on the front of Green Apple Books with, left to right, co- owner Pete Mulvihill, Supervisor Mar, artist Bryana Fleming, and co-owner Kevin Ryan. Contents In this newsletter: Community Updates Outside Lands Returns "Reimagining Geary Street" Town Hall Community Voices - The Importance of Public Transportation Coyotes in Golden Gate Park Richmond District Jog in the Fog 5k Free Jazz Concert City Hall Updates Budget Wrap-Up 5 Fulton Limited Pilot Moves Forward Establishing a New Policy to Combat Bike Theft Healthy Food Retailer Legislation Moves Forward Storm Preparedness Parklet Hearing Contact My Office Community Updates Outside Lands Returns The three-day Outside Lands Music Festival returns to Golden Gate Park Friday-Sunday, August 9-11. This year's lineuppromises to be a great one, highlighted by the appearance of Sir Paul McCartney. Through the advocacy of PAR, numerous community residents, and myself, the management of Outside Lands, by Another Planet Entertainment (APE), has improved every year the Festival has been held. Impact mitigations include much improved monitoring of the sound impacts in the community, deploying Parking Control Officers and tow trucks near the Festival to quickly respond to blocked driveways and other parking violations; a robust annual outreach plan including a mailer to all homes and businesses within four blocks of the Park; deploying crews to clean up litter in the surrounding neighborhoods and a strengthened transportation plan that encourages Festival attendees to arrive by Muni, private shuttles, bicycles or walking. For those who must drive, several schools are holding parking fundraisers during the festival. These fundraisers are even more beneficial to schools after I passed an ordinance reliving the tax burden on such fundraisers. Schools hosting fundraisers this year include Argonne (PTO website) and Lafayette (PTO website) Elementary Schools and Presidio Middle School (PTSA website). In addition, the Festival must hire at least 25% of its beverage and security workers from within the Richmond and Sunset Districts, and it provides a $10,000 fee per year to the Richmond District to help with the maintenance and beautification of our parks, contributing a considerable amount to the Recreation and Parks Department, and in conjunction with SFMTA, APE will create a stronger transportation plan for Festival goers. A 2011 SF State Economic Impact Report estimated the economic benefit of the Festival at over $60,000,000, with the lodging and restaurant industries receiving the largest benefits. Due to its location in the western end of the Park, the benefits of the concert extend to numerous locally operated small businesses in the Richmond District. The Festival hires over 4,000 employees for the event and, according to the Economic Impact Report, is responsible for creating the equivalent of 683 full-time positions in San Francisco. Under the terms of its new 8-year lease there are several clauses that will benefit San Francisco, Golden Gate Park, and the Richmond District: An increased rent that will result in an average increase in rent per year of 1.3 million dollars; Requiring APE to host an annual Recreation and Parks Department Fundraiser; Requiring APE to contribute funds annually, in addition to the rent payments due under the lease, to endow a gardener to assist in maintaining the Festival premises throughout the year; Requiring APE to contribute $15,000 annually, in addition to rent payments due under the lease, to provide for materials and supplies to assist with regenerating the Polo Fields after the Festival each year; Requiring APE to employ sound monitoring professionals to measure sound levels in the neighborhoods surrounding Golden Gate Park throughout the Festival each year and to utilize one set of delay speakers in the Polo Fields when attendance exceeds 40,000 and two sets of delay speakers when attendance exceeds 55,000. The Recreation and Parks Department has printed signs alerting attendees to not block driveways, which may be obtained at the front desk of McLaren Lodge at 501 Stanyan St. For towing of cars parked in driveways please directly call MTA at (415) 553-1237. APE provides a Community Hotline to respond to any issues that may affect you during the Festival. The Festival Hotline will be available from 10:00AM - 11:00PM on the Festival days. The Hotline number is (415) 750-3842. For sound monitoring please call (415) 242-6390. There will also be various closures throughout the Festival days. Polo Field, Hellman Hollow, Marx Meadow, Lindley Meadow, Lloyd Lake, Metson Lake, Spreckles Lake, and the Dog Run will be fenced off for the Festival and closed to non-Festival attendees. Certain roads will also be closed. On the north side of the Park, Transverse Dr at Crossover Dr, JFK Dr at Transverse Dr, 30th Ave, 36th Ave, 43rd Ave, 47th Ave, and JFK Dr at the Great Highway will be closed. On the south side of the Park Martin Luther King Jr Dr at Crossover Dr, 25th Ave, 41st Ave, Martin Luther King Jr Dr at Lincoln Ave, Sunset Blvd at Irving St, and La Playa will also be closed. These roads will be closed from Thursday August 8 at 8:00PM through Sunday August 11 at 11:00PM. Feel free to also contact my office. My Legislative Aide, Nick Pagoulatos, will be monitoring calls and emails throughout the event. He can be reached at (415) 554-7412 or via email at [email protected]. "Reimagining Geary Street" Town Hall Discuss what a better Geary Street could look like, including: Improve safety and walkability for pedestrians. 33% faster travel times on the 38 Geary with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Beautify the streetscape to attract & support merchants. Call or email Peter Lauterborn at (415) 554-410 and [email protected], or visit www.sfcta.org/geary for more information or to share comments and questions. Wednesday, July 31 6:00-8:00PM Richmond YMCA 360 18th Avenue (Light refreshments offered) Community Voices - The Importance of Public Transportation I love being a Richmond District resident. It's a wonderful neighborhood filled with cultural diversity, growing small businesses, and we have access to some of the City's most treasured outdoor spaces, right here in our own backyard. But as a Richmond District resident, it's also very easy to feel disconnected from the rest of the City. I blame that partially on the transportation options we have. Driving is expensive, parking is a hassle, our buses are overcrowded, and traffic on Geary Boulevard can be terrible. As a self-employed worker, I spend most of my day on the move, making time management the utmost importance. Even more so, I want other San Franciscans and visitors to be able to see what makes the Richmond so Wendolyn Aragon, great. I want them to have the opportunity to take in Richmond District Resident the view from Land's End, see fine art at the Legion of Honor, have some of the best dim sum in San Francisco, a piroshki from the Russian Bakery, brunch at Cassava, see a film at the historic Balboa Theatre, and explore the shelves at Green Apple Books. But one of the biggest complaints that I hear from outsiders is that the Richmond is just too far away from the rest of the City. In a metropolis that is only 7 miles both wide and long, yet has equal density to other cities, that's just not true, but slow public transit makes it feel that way. Residents, particularly the working class, rely on public transit to get to work, shop, and attend school, while merchants depend on it to bring them customers from around the neighborhood and the City. Ideas like Geary Bus Rapid Transit, a 5 Fulton Limited, and the Transit Effectiveness Project have the potential to bring the Richmond closer to the rest of San Francisco. The answer is simple: if San Francisco wants to be a truly transportation firstt ciy, then it needs to be one for ALL of its residents. -Wendolyn Aragon, Richmond District Resident Richmond District Jog in the Fog 5k The Richmond District Jog in the Fog 5k is a fun race for the whole family! Come out for a great run through the beautiful neighborhood of San Francisco's Richmond District, enjoying our beautiful parks and coastal scenery along the way. The race is organized by The Richmond District Blog, and proceeds benefit the Richmond District Neighborhood Center, a non-profit founded in 1980 that provides free and low-cost resources, support, and activities to children, teens, adults and seniors in the neighborhood. Sunday, September 8, 8:00AM Start at Mountain Lake Park, End at Lands End Register online at www.joginthefog.com Kids 12 & under are free! Coyotes in Golden Gate Park Coyote pupping season started recently and our Golden Gate Park is a prime location for pup sightings. As cute as these critters are, I would like to take this time to educate our Richmond residents and pet owners about how to safely co-exist with these animals. Coyotes are territorial and their emotions are unpredictable. A mother coyote could become dangerous because she feels that our interaction with her pup is a threat. Another coyote could be angered simply because he is hungry. If and when these creatures become agitated, they become a safety risk to the entire Richmond District. Young children and our pets are especially vulnerable. This is not to say that these animals should be eradicated from the area. Rather, coexistence should be the goal. View these beautiful animals from a safe distance rather than risk the chance of these coyotes becoming violent and dangerous.