Round 3 (June 2008)

Round 3 of Better Streets Plan outreach coincided with the release of the Better Streets Plan Draft for Public Review. On June 5, 2008, Mayor Gavin Newsom officially released the Draft Better Streets Plan at a press event at the newly renovated Mint Plaza public space, with approximately 50 members of the public, press officials, City officials and City staff in attendance. Following the presentation, City staff were on hand to answer questions and receive comment from the public.

The plan release event was followed by a series of four community meetings and one walking tour, co-hosted by neighborhood groups engaged in streetscape improvement efforts, with over 100 people attending in total. City staff presented an overview of the Draft Plan, and responded to public questions and comments. City staff also met with key stakeholder organizations to receive targeted input into the Draft Better Streets Plan.

A summary of community feedback from Round 3 meetings is available here:

Round 2 (Summer 2007)

Round 2 outreach for the Better Streets Plan consisted of a number of public meetings, targeted meetings with affected user groups, stakeholder interviews, tabling events at key pedestrian locations, and a walking tour with Bayview youth - 40 public meetings in total. The purpose of the Round 2 outreach was to receive public input into initial Better Streets Plan concepts. Neighborhood meetings and stakeholder interviews gave public participants the opportunity to provide targeted input into initial concepts, while tabling events introduced the Better Streets Plan to those who might not have attended a public meeting.

In the second round of community meetings, participant priorities included:

• Designs that slow traffic (such as curb extensions or more visible crosswalks)
• Safe and accessible sidewalks and intersections
• More trees and greenery
• Better maintenance of streetscape elements
• Better enforcement of car parking on sidewalks, bicycle riding on sidewalks, and car parking near corners

In addition, in partnership with BAYCAT, Literacy for Environmental Justice, and Youth Leadership Institute, the Better Streets Team held a youth-based walking tour as part of the Round 2 Better Streets outreach. The walking tour took 10 high school and college aged youth from the Bayview neighborhood on a tour of local streets. BAYCAT, a Bayview arts education organization, filmed the entire walking tour and prepared a video of the event.

To view the Better Streets youth walking tour video, click here!

A full summary of community feedback from outreach rounds 1 and 2 is located here.

Round 1 (Spring 2007)

The Better Streets Plan got off to a highly successful start, with more than 200 San Franciscans attending the Plan’s kick-off event on April 5th, 2007 at City Hall. Mayor Gavin Newsom opened the evening by speaking to the need to improve the City’s streets for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders, and his goal to create a higher quality, more vital streetscape for all users. Supervisor Jake McGoldrick, a co-sponsor of the related Better Streets Ordinance, spoke to the unprecedented interagency cooperation associated with the Plan. Supervisors Ed Jew and Ross Mirkarimi also were in attendance.

Eight department heads attended the event, representing the Planning Department, the Municipal Transportation Agency, the Department of Public Works, the Public Utilities Commission Wastewater Enterprise, the Department of Public Health, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, the Mayor’s Office on Disability, and the Mayor’s Office of City Greening, emphasizing their respective department’s commitment to the Better Streets Plan. Numerous members of the Better Streets Plan’s Community Advisory Committee also were present.

Dr. Richard Jackson, adjunct professor with UC Berkeley’s Department of Public Health, delivered the evening’s keynote address, emphasizing the connection between walkable, well-designed streets and public health.

Staff from the departments identified above were on hand to personally discuss the Better Streets Plan with the public and to answer questions. Members of the public also were encouraged to fill out comment cards and surveys, which were used to guide the Better Streets Plan.

Program Materials
April 5, 2007 Kick-Off Event (boards) 13.3 MB
Introduction to the Better Streets Plan (presentation) 3.1 MB

During Round 1 of Better Streets Plan outreach, the Better Streets City team also held four neighborhood meetings, three meetings for targeted populations especially affected by pedestrian quality, four focus groups, and made presentations to 25 neighborhood groups. After brief presentations, community members were able to give their feedback in a variety of ways, including:

• Questions and answers for a panel of City staff from multiple departments
• Facilitated small group exercises
• Comment boards that ask participants to say which streets they like, which they don’t and why
• Surveys; and
• Comment sheets

At the first round of community meetings, participants rated the five most important street improvements as:

• Street trees
• Greenery (landscaping other than trees)
• Sidewalk maintenance
• Clear sidewalks (free from obstructions)
• Slower traffic

A full summary of community feedback from outreach rounds 1 and 2 is located here.