The fight to prevent 5,000 parking meters from coming to residential neighborhoods received a boost when the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency announced the plan will be delayed for further review.
The SFMTA, which oversees parking in The City, announced the extension after the proposal met heavy opposition at a meeting earlier this month. An estimated 300 people testified against the proposal, according to the Coalition for Residents and Businesses in San Francisco’s Eastern Neighborhoods.
That opposition led the SFMTA to say it will reconsider the plan early next month, but it will not be completely quashed.
“The SFMTA will conduct additional outreach and engage in further discussions,” read a memo sent out last week, which also defined meter expansion areas as Dogpatch, Potrero Hill, 12th and Folsom streets and 17th and Folsom streets.
The northern most section of the Mission Bay proposal, however, is still moving forward.
A community meeting to discuss the meters is scheduled for 6:30 tonight at Project Artaud, 450 Florida St.
The neighborhood coalition, which will host tonight’s meeting, has said the meters would be placed on many residential blocks and near nonretail businesses.
“If you go to a commercial district, you expect to pay for meters because you’ll be there for business,” said Bill Schwartz, a Dogpatch resident and member of the neighborhood coalition. “What you don’t expect is paying for meters in a primarily residential area. It’s wrong.”
The meter idea was first introduced last summer. After initial research, the SFMTA revealed the 5,000 meters, at 25 cents an hour, would be placed in the Potrero Hill, Dogpatch, Mission Bay and northeast Mission neighborhoods. Many of the meters would not have time limits, according to the plan.
Schwartz questioned whether the plan will create more revenue for the SFMTA or simply be burdensome on lower-income residents.
“They’re solving a problem that doesn’t exist,” he said. “The cost of parking at a meter adds up over time. It’s hard-hitting on someone who makes $10 to $12 an hour.”
akoskey@sfexaminer.com
