Last fall, we announced the city's Public Realm Plan for the Haight, a push to clean up, improve and re-envision the neighborhood.
Now, we're back with a progress report. (Hint: things are moving along, and the city wants feedback from YOU.)
Some locals have expressed concern that the improvement plan seems to be at a standstill, since they haven't head a lot about it since last October's initial informative meeting. But the wheels of the city machine move slowly, and progress is being made. Alexis Smith, manager of the Haight Ashbury Public Realm Plan and city planner, spoke with us yesterday about what's coming down the pipeline. Here's the deal. First, the months since the last meeting have been spent working with a number of different city agencies and partners to make sure everyone's cooperating and on the same page: the MTA, DPW, OEWD (Office of Economic and Workforce Development), Rec and Parks, and so on. The next step is getting Supervisor Breed's office to jump onboard with the plan and help move it along. What's happening right now? Smith said the city is in the process of compiling input, identifying areas to focus on, and determining what does and doesn't need work. They're also working on staging the work out in incremental phases to be as unobtrusive as possible. Smith said the project aims to look at the neighborhood holistically, to look at all common use spaces and provide a safer, more pleasant, better-trafficked neighborhood with improved lighting and greening. She said one of the best things about the process so far has been the surplus of creative, positive input from residents and community members: "There are so many people with really, really great ideas," she said. And she wants to keep those ideas coming. Before the next community meeting in a month or two, the goal is to continue to compile as many ideas as possible and assess what will and won't be part of the public realm plan. For goals that won't fit on the public realm plan (the budget is limited), Smith will help residents direct their ideas towards the appropriate city agency. The upshot: your ideas wanted, still. Shoot all thoughts, ideas, concerns, anything you want included in the improvement plan over to Alexis ([email protected]), and you might see your ideas become a reality. All parts of the neighborhood are under consideration (side streets, street lights, parking, sidewalks, etc.), so the sky's the limit. Go!
Some locals have expressed concern that the improvement plan seems to be at a standstill, since they haven't head a lot about it since last October's initial informative meeting. But the wheels of the city machine move slowly, and progress is being made. Alexis Smith, manager of the Haight Ashbury Public Realm Plan and city planner, spoke with us yesterday about what's coming down the pipeline. Here's the deal. First, the months since the last meeting have been spent working with a number of different city agencies and partners to make sure everyone's cooperating and on the same page: the MTA, DPW, OEWD (Office of Economic and Workforce Development), Rec and Parks, and so on. The next step is getting Supervisor Breed's office to jump onboard with the plan and help move it along. What's happening right now? Smith said the city is in the process of compiling input, identifying areas to focus on, and determining what does and doesn't need work. They're also working on staging the work out in incremental phases to be as unobtrusive as possible. Smith said the project aims to look at the neighborhood holistically, to look at all common use spaces and provide a safer, more pleasant, better-trafficked neighborhood with improved lighting and greening. She said one of the best things about the process so far has been the surplus of creative, positive input from residents and community members: "There are so many people with really, really great ideas," she said. And she wants to keep those ideas coming. Before the next community meeting in a month or two, the goal is to continue to compile as many ideas as possible and assess what will and won't be part of the public realm plan. For goals that won't fit on the public realm plan (the budget is limited), Smith will help residents direct their ideas towards the appropriate city agency. The upshot: your ideas wanted, still. Shoot all thoughts, ideas, concerns, anything you want included in the improvement plan over to Alexis ([email protected]), and you might see your ideas become a reality. All parts of the neighborhood are under consideration (side streets, street lights, parking, sidewalks, etc.), so the sky's the limit. Go!
