As businesses on the 100 block of Eddy Street petition for the community's support to remove public parking from the north side of the street, the SFMTA has drafted proposed legislation to remove public parking from the north side of the 200 block of Eddy Street in front of Boeddeker Park.

Mark Lee, assistant engineer at the SFMTA, said that the legislation is being sponsored by the SF Rec and Park department and will be reviewed by the SFMTA's Transportation Advisory Staff Committee on May 14th. The public hearing could potentially take place on June 5th.

Based on conversations with SFPD and Rec & Park, Lee said that “the tow-away zone that we’re thinking about having is 132-feet on the north side of Eddy from Jones. We would still have about four parking spaces for part-time passenger loading for the actual park itself." The tow-away zone would restrict parking 24/7 and the passenger loading spaces would be available during park hours (9am-7pm) only.

In an email to Hoodline, Rec and Park spokesperson Connie Chan said, “Captain Cherniss from the Tenderloin Police Station is working closely [with] SF Rec and Park and SFMTA for the process of removing parking alongside Boeddeker Park with the goal to increase visibility of the Park and its surrounding which helps to ensure public safety as well as possible prevention of vandalism to the Park after its recent $9.3 million renovation.”

Lee added that the proposed legislation also stems from the success of the parking removal on the first block of Turk. “We helped SFPD remove parking on both sides of the street there to kind of help them enforce the area. That was one of the notorious blocks in the Tenderloin. And so, this kind of idea kind of caught on with the neighborhood.”

Boeddeker Park reopened last December after the year-long renovation — funded by The Trust for Public Land and a variety of state grants — completely overhauled its aging infrastructure. It now offers the surrounding community a new clubhouse, play and fitness equipment, a large lawn, basketball courts and an ADA-compliant walking path. The San Francisco Chronicle also reported that the St. Francis Foundation and Tenderloin Health Improvement Partnership donated $400,000 in grants to fund community programs at the park and clubhouse, as well as increased security.

While both the SFMTA and Rec and Park note the SFPD's support on the proposed legislation, Captain Cherniss told Hoodline in an email, "The Department is not pursuing the removal of parking in front of Boeddeker. This effort will come from Rec and Park." He also confirmed that a lieutenant from the Tenderloin Police Station will attend a community meeting with Tenderloin Futures Collaborative this morning "to discuss the issues relating to the parking removal on the 100 block of Eddy" but clarified that "this too is not our campaign."

If you'd like to weigh in, the meeting will take place at 11am today at the Tenderloin Police Station (301 Eddy St.). We'll keep you updated as efforts to remove parking on the 100 and 200 blocks of Eddy Street continue to progress.