S.F. transportation agency apologizes, reassesses parking meter plan

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Municipal Transportation Agency staff listen as neighbors ask questions about a proposal to install about 5,000 new parking meters throughout several eastern neighborhoods. Photo by Mission Local.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency agreed to assess people’s parking needs block by block in the Mission and other southeastern neighborhoods before installing any new parking meters.

That marked a change in the agency’s attitude since a Jan. 13 meeting in which a hearing officer approved the installation of about 5,000 parking meters in several eastern neighborhoods, despite the objections of hundreds of people who spoke unanimously in opposition to the proposal.

“First an apology for the Jan. 13 meeting,” Jay Primus, project manager for the agency’s SFpark program, said. “It was not how it was supposed to go; it was a deeply unsatisfying and upsetting process for everyone.”

Since Jan. 13, hearing officer John Newlin has rescinded his approval, effectively rewinding the process to the community outreach stage, which could take an additional two or three months, according to agency Executive Director Ed Reiskin.

The turnaround came after a group of residents from the Mission, Potrero Hill and other neighborhoods organized to oppose the project. They sent emails to the Municipal Transportation Agency and called their supervisors — Jane Kim, David Campos and Malia Cohen — who were also in attendance at the meeting.

Read the complete story at Mission Local.

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