Dear Merchants and Friends

I would like to tell you about a plan that was not well thought out and I think could do some real damage to the people who live and work in the Richmond District. The proposition of the Bus Rapid Transit is a shame and a bureaucratic nightmare.

The Bus Rapid Transit would dedicate one lane in each direction on Geary Boulevard solely for the use of Muni buses. They plan on making it light rail ready to 33rd Avenue. This may sound great on the surface but when you dig a little deeper you can see that this proposition has not been well thought out. As we all know, there are over 50 avenues which means over 20 avenues will not even benefit from such a proposition. This project will affect traffic all along Geary Boulevard and on the parallel streets.

With 55,000 cars driving on Geary Boulevard where will they all go when half of the capacity is eliminated? I’ll tell you where: into our neighborhoods, on Anza, Balboa, and Clement Streets. Those already busy streets will drown even more in automobile traffic that should have stayed on Geary Boulevard in the first place.

In addition to all that, hundreds of existing parking spaces will be lost and that alone will DEVASTATE our local economy, not to mention the years of construction and congestion.

How did it get this way? The entire project is rooted in deception by Proposition K supporters as well as by Supervisor Jake McGoldrick who has mislead the public from the very beginning. Just look at how Proposition K was passed…the Bus Rapid Transit Light Rail Ready was hidden from our view without public outreach or input. Instead of being upfront on the proposition ballot it was instead hidden.

The voters voted to increase the half-cent tax to improve maintenance of local streets. This half-cent tax was to create citywide networks of fast and reliable buses, improve safety for pedestrians, the elderly, disabled and bicyclists as well as continue the existing half-cent sales tax during this implementation and future projects. The one thing we did not vote for is to put hundreds of local merchants out of business, which is exactly what this project will do, make no mistake!

So, in closing, let me tell you – we’ve been duped. Proposition K is not a citywide transit measure in which we were all told during the campaign that led up to its passage. Instead it’s been hijacked by a handful of politically correct bureaucrats and transformed into the…

“Neighborhood Business Elimination Program”,
…and we’re in the cross-fire.

WE CAN NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN.

Here’s how you can stop it… GET INVOLVED!

Merchants and Friends we need to rally against Muni:

Now Muni wants to rip up Geary Boulevard with no regard to the effect a major construction project will have on our neighborhood businesses. Neighborhood serving businesses are an important component of a healthy neighborhood.

Muni is proposing a massive transportation project along Geary Boulevard. It would eliminate thousands of parking spaces and adversely effect business on Geary Boulevard for years to come.

Because of the study and proposed project businesses are choosing not to renew leases, closing down and moving, rather than lock themselves into long-term leases and then have the street torn-up and their customers unable to reach their businesses.

Muni and its Advisory Board have no concern for local businesses.

Please help us to Save and Protect Businesses on Geary Boulevard from going up for sale.

Please send Mayor Gavin Newsom: gavin.newsom@sfgov.org

Supervisor Jake McGoldrick: jake_mcgoldrick@sfgov.org

An email asking them to stop this project and protect our neighborhood and businesses...

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