San Francisco is considering shutting down Golden Gate Park between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. to curb a rise in vandalism and violence.
The mayor’s office is drafting legislation aimed at shutting the park down overnight to stiffen penalties for troublemakers who camp or hang out during late-night hours, according to the San Francisco Examiner.
The plan is a response to a rash of vandalism and violence in recent months, including a fatal stabbing of a transient, the mauling of a visitor by a camper’s dog and the destruction of 32 rose bushes and three holes at a golf course.
The plan is gaining support, but isn’t within the homeless community, according to CBS San Francisco.
“There’s not adequate resources in the city for the homeless population, and if the park is the only place for people to go, that’s where they ” said Shucks, a homeless man. “They wake you up, sometimes nicely, sometimes not so nicely.”
Currently, visitors can be in the park at any hour, but it is illegal to sleep there.
Mayor Gavin Newsom has been working with the city attorney, the district attorney, police and the Recreation and Park Department on the legislation, according to Tony Winnicker, the mayor’s spokesman.
A neighborhood group, the Cole Valley Improvement Association, has expressed support for the legislation, and the Buena Vista Neighborhood Association is interested in seeing the legislation.
CORRECTION 10/22: A previous version of this story mistook the anticipated process for adoption of this proposal. It is being drafted by the mayor’s office, not the Board of Supervisors.
