Passionate pleas on parking policy
By: Will Reisman
Examiner Staff Writer
October 21, 2009
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| Contentious: A proposal to extend parking meter hours — until midnight in some areas — is under consideration. (Examiner file photo) |
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SAN FRANCISCO — The contentious debate over whether to extend the hours of enforcement for parking meters is far from complete.
After hours of passionate pleas from citizens both for and against the controversial proposal at the department’s Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday, Muni executive director Nathaniel Ford said the agency would hold public outreach meetings over the “next couple of months” before deciding whether to move forward with the plan.
Ford said his department will reach out to business groups, neighborhood associations, and transit advocates to gather more feedback on the proposal, which would extend the running time on all 24,000 of The City’s parking meters, with motorists being charged in some neighborhoods until midnight.
The department would net about $8.8 million annually if the plan is approved, with the funding going toward Muni operations.
“We’re going to develop our outreach strategy and come back with either a revised, modified, or same version of our plan,” said Ford. “We’ll know in a few months whether to move forward with this plan or to pull it back.”
The department’s board of directors is ultimately responsible for the approval of the plan.
wreisman@sfexaminer.com
