Dear Mayor Ed Lee,
As I muse over the absurdity of the non-profit status National Football League, I have but one New Year’s resolution for San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee: repave some of these streets that are south of Cesar Chavez Boulevard. Good grief! The streets look like some war-torn country in the Third World! With the booming economy now in San Francisco, it seems like a good time to spend some money on this sort of infrastructure. In a few years, when the third tech bubble bursts, there will no longer be all that money in coffers.
Here is my list in order of importance. I am not talking about just filling in the holes. We are talking repaving the entire street. You will get a lot of cyclists on your side. Just do the right thing Ed. This is really a matter of public safety.
STREETS IN SF THAT NEED REPAVING
1. Mission Street at the corner of Valencia and Mission. We all know this gets a lot of bus traffic but just look at this patchwork of repairs. One would think that a city with a billion dollar budget could pave one of the major thoroughfares of the city in need of repair. The irony is that Mission Street’s real name is El Camino Real – the “Royal Highway” Nothing “royal” about the highway here. Imagine if a street was in this shape in say the Marina Neighborhood. Fat chance!
(click to see detailed versions)
2. San Jose avenue behind the Safeway. Anyone who has biked along here has discovered a challenging obstacle course. Mountain bikes strongly encouraged. The photos do not do this justice. Pretty nasty section.
3. Under Highway 280 by the Glen Park Bart. This year I witnessed a middle-aged gentleman wipe out here… he basically did a face plant after hitting a series of pot holes. He looked like an experienced cyclist on a road bike and in full spandex garb. Blood on the cement. Minor concussion probably. Hope he is OK. Fortunately he was not run over by a Google Bus or car.
4. Moscow Street at Excelsior Granted, this may be a little self-serving as this is my street but this street has not been paved for decades. This photo is of the good section. Go up about 20 yards and the street looks like you could turn it into a kiddies swimming pool. You will have to get the kids out every twenty minutes though as the 54 Felton Bus comes flying over the hill.
Those are the roads that seem in dire need. I do know many others in other parts of San Francisco as well. The “Wiggle” in the lower Haight is particularly treacherous. Get on a bike and check it out.
Indeed, the Super Bowl will come and go and this benevolent non-profit, the NFL, will pay many employees the meager $92,000 for their day’s work. I bet in a year many of the roads mentioned above will be worse for the wear. Prove me wrong.
Sincerely,
Paul Lyons
San Francisco resident