On Tuesday, SFMTA's Board of Directors will hold what may be the final hearing on a proposal to implement a Residential Parking Permit (RPP) program in northwest Bernal Heights.

The hearing, scheduled for 1pm in Room 400 at City Hall, will include a public comment period. If the agency's Board then votes to approve the plan, RPP will likely go into effect on the specified blocks within a few months.

The plan under consideration would impact the following blocks:

• Coleridge (1- 199)
• Coso (1 – 199)
• Fair (1-99)
• Lundy’s Lane (1-29)
• Mirabel, Montezuma, Powers, Precita (1 – 299)
• Prospect (00-199)
• Shotwell (1400 – 1599)
• Winfield (1 – 99)

Permits would be issued individually to drivers, with a limit of two permits for each address, but medical and child-care providers would not count towards the per-address limit.

Residents may request additional permits for additional licensed drivers in their household "if parking is available in the immediate area."

The proposal to introduce RPP in northwest Bernal has divided some residents over the question of whether or not permit parking is appropriate for the area.

Multiple changes to the proposed RPP rules and allegations of irregularities in SFMTA’s petition process prompted some Bernal neighbors to question the accountability and competence of the agency's permit parking program staff, as well as the integrity of its vehicle census data.

Advocates for the Bernal RPP say permits are needed to prevent daytime workers, commuters, and air travelers heading to SFO from occupying scarce parking spaces.

Critics point to SFMTA surveys which show that 73 percent of the vehicles currently parked on proposed RPP streets belong to people who live within a half-mile of the zone, an indication that many vehicles likely belong to other Bernal residents.

According to SFMTA’s survey, 19 percent of the vehicles parked in the RPP zone today belong to people who live more than 2 miles away.

If the parking plan is implemented, Bernal residents who do not live at a designated address within the RPP zone will no longer be able to park on streets in the RPP zone for more than 2 hours between 8 am and 6 pm, Monday to Friday.

If approved, the annual permit fee will be $128 per auto and $96 for each motorcycle.

For more information on the plan, or to offer feedback, visit SFMTA's NW Bernal Heights RPP plan, or email [email protected].