How to make Public Comment on JFK at the 4/26 Board of Supervisors Meeting
On Tuesday, April 26, the Board of Supervisors will be hearing the Mayor’s legislation to keep JFK permanently closed to cars and officially establish the JFK Promenade in Golden Gate Park. We need everyone to call in and show the ❤️ for the JFK Promenade!
The board will be taking public comment. Here are instructions on how to comment, and talking points to pull from to guide your comments.
The hearing will begin at 9AM in the Legislative Chamber, Room 250 at City Hall. Public comment will likely start around 11AM, and go until the Board recesses for other Board business at 1:30PM. Public comment will begin again later in the afternoon, after the conclusion of the Board of Supervisors meeting on other business.
Public Comment Logistics
In person
Can you attend in person? In person public commenters will get first priority over those on the phone. Stop by on your lunch break, or your late afternoon commute. We'll be there in the morning, and we will have FREE red I JFK Promenade t-shirts for supporters who are able to join us! The meeting is in the Legislative Chamber, Room 250 at City Hall.
Virtual public comment
If you can't make it in person, you can watch the hearing on SFGOVTV and sign up for a text notification when it's time to call in.
How to call in:
Dial +1.415.655.0001 and enter meeting code: 2486 137 0759
Press *3 to enter the queue to speak for public comment
When it’s your turn to comment, your line will be unmuted. You will have 1 minute to speak. Keep your comments brief and personal, and use our talking points we'll send when you sign up for reminders to build on key themes!
Making your public comment
Comment Structure
Say your name, neighborhood, and Supervisor district
Be positive! Tell the Supervisors why you and your family love JFK Promenade (ignore Sup Chan’s counter proposal!)
(optional) Add one talking point from below
Say goodbye and ask them to vote in favor of the Mayor’s visionary ordinance to protect JFK Promenade
Here are some additional themes and facts about the JFK Promenade that you can work into your comments:
Safety
JFK was on San Francisco’s High Injury Network prior to the pandemic, which means that it was one of the top 13% most-dangerous streets — a deathtrap for children, seniors, people with disabilities, runners, walkers, and people on scooters and bikes.
The JFK Promenade is one of the few spaces in the city where kids can be safe and mobile at the same time. The freedom to move and explore is an essential part of kids’ development, and these spaces shouldn’t be rare, we need more of them.
Climate
San Francisco has a goal of 80% of trips by low-carbon modes by 2035. Right now we’re at less than 50%. If we want to reduce emissions and achieve our goals, we need to take bold action now. If we can’t do that in Golden Gate Park, what are we even doing?
Private vehicles are the top source of carbon emissions in San Francisco. If we want to meet our climate goals as a city, we need to give people good alternatives and make it much easier to safely bike, walk, and take the bus.
Fossil fuel infrastructure shouldn’t dominate our parks. Kid Safe JFK is a safe haven from traffic noise and emissions, one of the many things that makes it so unique.
Faster MUNI
The 44 bus deserves priority on 8th Avenue – if it has to share the right of way with private vehicles, it will become slower and more unreliable for people coming from far away neighborhoods, reducing equitable access to the park.
2 Years of Engagement
City agencies undertook an unprecedented engagement and outreach process: nearly 10,000 survey responses, 100 community groups engaged, 60 events, and over 300 hours of staff time. They did the hard work, the listening, the analysis. Plus they created a long list of solutions to make access for all San Franciscans even better than it was before the Pandemic, like more ADA parking at Bandshell, an improved park shuttle, and better low-income access through the Museums 4 All program. We’ve got what we need – let’s not kick this can down the road, it’s time to vote.
Popularity
The JFK Promenade is one of a kind – there are no other 24/7 car-free promenades in our city. The data from city agencies shows that people love it – over 70% of San Franciscans want a 24/7 Promenade. According to SFCTA’s intercept surveys, 90% of those surveyed use Eastern Golden Gate park as much or more than prior to the Pandemic.
The JFK Promenade isn’t just a route, it’s a destination. It might even be the most popular amenity in Golden Gate Park. We wouldn’t rip the Botanical Gardens in half to create more parking, so why would we compromise the JFK Promenade? When you create something special and people love it, you nurture it and work hard to make it even better for all San Franciscans.
Today let’s make the JFK Promenade permanent, and tomorrow let’s start working to create more Promenades across our city so that people in every neighborhood have close access to one of these special and unique spaces.
Equity
Free parking and prioritizing cars in a park is not an instrument of equity.
One-third of households in San Francisco do not own cars and among renters it’s closer to 50%. Households that own cars are likely to be wealthier homeowners, and wealthier households in wealthier areas of the city own more cars on average than those in lower-income areas.
Who doesn’t own cars? Seniors who can no longer safely operate a vehicle. People with disabilities, who cannot operate a vehicle on their own. People in low-income neighborhoods who cannot afford the high costs of car ownership. And teens who rely on public transportation, bikes, and walking to get around.
