Some of the wires that will be effected and need moved to accomplish Castro St. Redesign Project.
The Biscuit has been following and posting about the highly anticipated, 4 million dollar, Castro St. redesign/sidewalk widening project story since it first broke in 2012.
Despite exhaustive research by City Planners, impassioned residents input at Town Hall meetings and a recently completed online survey of ideas for the Castro facelift one small glitch got over looked by planners and citizens alike-where the poles and high voltage power lines need to be positioned for MUNI's electric bus trams to work in context to the redesign.
Unfortunately these MUNI poles carrying the juice supplying the #24 and #33 MUNI lines serving Castro and 18th Street respectively will need to be moved if the highly desired expansion is to take place.
Translation: extra added bucks out of the plans original budget earmarked for rehab of sidewalks and amenities like parklettes will be redirected at the costly effort of pole movement, line adjustments and unanticipated upgrades-if needed-of MUNI lines at the heart of the Castro corner.
City Planners say this little 'uh-oh' won't push the redesign plan back from its original start date of January 2014 nor it's completion projection of October 2014.
For long-term citizens of the City and neighborhood you might find that statement a bit of a surprise.
To my memory not one City project springs to mind that has ever been completed either on time or on budget. Example: Bay Bridge retro fit and redesign project begun in 1989 and still in process 24 years later, Dolores Park redesign currently a year behind schedule and the Valencia Corridor redesign which came in over budget.
The Castro Street redesign hasn't the scope of the Bay Bridge so fingers crossed that under the watchful eye of the ever fiscally aware Sup. Scott Wiener, champion of street project from the get go, this concrete baby will be birthed on it's due date in time for the 2014 Castro Street Fair.
The next Town Hall meeting to discuss all the information and suggestions gleaned from the City Planner's redesign survey, new redesign issues based on MUNI pole repositioning, and other design particulars will be sometime in April. We will keep our ears to the ground and give you a heads up as to when and where as soon as we know.
The Castro Street redesign hasn't the scope of the Bay Bridge so fingers crossed that under the watchful eye of the ever fiscally aware Sup. Scott Wiener, champion of street project from the get go, this concrete baby will be birthed on it's due date in time for the 2014 Castro Street Fair.
The next Town Hall meeting to discuss all the information and suggestions gleaned from the City Planner's redesign survey, new redesign issues based on MUNI pole repositioning, and other design particulars will be sometime in April. We will keep our ears to the ground and give you a heads up as to when and where as soon as we know.
