{"id":23439,"date":"2022-09-04T11:18:10","date_gmt":"2022-09-04T18:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=23439"},"modified":"2022-09-04T11:18:12","modified_gmt":"2022-09-04T18:18:12","slug":"forget-the-central-subway-whats-happening-with-the-central-freeway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2022\/09\/04\/forget-the-central-subway-whats-happening-with-the-central-freeway\/","title":{"rendered":"Forget the Central Subway\u2014What\u2019s Happening With the Central Freeway?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sfstandard.com\/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsfstandard.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F08%2FCentralFreewayFeature.jpg&amp;w=3840&amp;q=75\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"centralfreeway2.mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/745213835?h=4f5ecfbfb3&amp;dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Written by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sfstandard.com\/author\/alex-mullaney\/\">Alex Mullaney<\/a> Published\u00a0Sep. 01, 2022 \u2022 10:00am (SFStandard.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a compact city that prides itself on progressive urban design and desperately needs more housing, public officials have inexplicably ignored one especially promising area for innovative development: the land now occupied by the remainder of the Central Freeway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A deep dive into San Francisco\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/generalplan.sfplanning.org\/\">General Plan<\/a>, the city\u2019s blueprint for development, reveals a 2005 provision requiring that the city examine the community impact of removing the elevated highway connecting the 101 to Market Street. But the study was never done, despite the obvious benefits that have come from the demolition of the northern part of the Central Freeway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sfstandard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/CentralFreeway_083022.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-72189\"\/><figcaption>An illustration of the Central Freeway in San Francisco, Calif. | Lu Chen\/TheStandard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, a group of local residents is leading an effort to bring down the remainder of the roadway. Major cities from Seattle to Boston are reclaiming land occupied by freeways to knit together neighborhoods, and SF\u2019s housing crisis makes it especially important to do the same here, these community activists say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Daniel Owens is the leader of a campaign to remove the remainder of the 1959-built Central Freeway. The high school teacher, a 15-year North Mission resident who lives beside the freeway, has sought guidance and support from city nonprofits, neighborhood associations and even a political action committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe neighborhood would be a million times better if we just got rid of it,\u201d Owens said. \u201cWe have the opportunity to create a really beautiful boulevard at the street level, create more housing, [and] possibly add a public transit option.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Owens is far from alone in that belief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sfstandard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/CentralFreewayFuture_-10-2500x1667.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-72233\"\/><figcaption>Daniel Owens poses for a portrait next to the Central Freeway in San Francisco Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. Owens, a resident that lives two blocks away from the Central Freeway is advocating for its removal to make the area more pedestrian and neighborhood friendly. | Benjamin Fanjoy for The Standard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Lynn Valente was among a group of neighborhood activists who called for removing the freeway completely after it sustained damage in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. \u201cMy understanding is they kept it to mollify the west side of the city,\u201d Valente said. \u201cBut if my understanding is correct, it wasn\u2019t that big of a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recent streetscape improvements being made beneath the freeways on 13th Street have re-energized her opposition to the freeway. She\u2019s tried to mobilize neighbors, saying they can put in bike lanes and make better crosswalks all they want, but it won\u2019t improve the area until the freeway is removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The existing skate park, dog park and McCoppin Hub, which are currently in the freeway\u2019s shadow, would be \u201clovely\u201d if it were removed, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s dark. It\u2019s unsafe. People really don\u2019t want to walk there, and cars are zipping through,\u201d Valente said. \u201cIt could really be a vital part of the city. It\u2019s so central to everything. Public transportation is all around. It\u2019s a great place to live because you can walk everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sfstandard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/CentralFreeway_013.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-72212\"\/><figcaption>Martha Zulke, 59, crosses the street under the Central Freeway, in San Francisco, Calif. on August 29, 2022. | James Wyatt for The Standard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Owens is enlisting neighbors to the cause. He has sought guidance from the nonprofit Livable City, and members of the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association expressed support for the plan this summer, as have members of the political action committee GrowSF, he said. Owens also said he had the support of some elected officials but declined to name them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Neither Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association nor GrowSF has taken an official public position yet. However, Jen Laska, who has leadership positions in both organizations, said the neighborhood association\u2019s membership has been supportive of taking down the freeway for many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Livable City Executive Director Tom Radulovich said that the city needed to act: \u201cIt\u2019s a decaying piece of infrastructure that we\u2019ll either spend a zillion dollars rebuilding or doing something different, but that requires us figuring out what, as a city, we want to do with it.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-very-brief-history\">A Very Brief History&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1999, voters approved a proposition to build Octavia Boulevard to replace the concrete section of the Central Freeway west of Market Street severely damaged 10 years earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the project advanced, calls to study the removal of the eastern section of the freeway mounted. In 2004, then-Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who now sits on the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/sfstandard.com\/glossary\/bay-area-rapid-transit\/\">BART<\/a>&nbsp;board, directed the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/sfstandard.com\/glossary\/san-francisco-county-transportation-authority\/\">San Francisco County Transportation Authority<\/a>&nbsp;(SFCTA) to study relocating the freeway\u2019s on-and off-ramps and managed to narrowly pass legislation directing city agencies to study the complete replacement of the elevated freeway with a boulevard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy recollection was that I was an island of one, and I don\u2019t believe departments took the effort seriously,\u201d Dufty said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sfstandard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/CentralFreeway_010.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-72206\"\/><figcaption>The Central Freeway in San Francisco, Calif. on August 29, 2022. | James Wyatt for The Standard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The legislation urged the governor at the time to commit Caltrans to work with the city to study alternatives to the freeway and to postpone retrofits to lessen the negative impacts on the surrounding neighborhoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom did not end up signing the legislation, and Caltrans did end up retrofitting the freeway. But in his current role as governor, Newsom could order Caltrans to study the impact of the freeway\u2019s removal. His office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-matter-of-city-policy\">A Matter of City Policy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s most intriguing about the question of the Central Freeway is tucked away in San Francisco\u2019s General Plan, which outlines the city\u2019s plans and policies for guiding growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The plan\u2019s \u201cTransportation Element\u201d calls for a comprehensive study of removing the Central Freeway south of Market Street to analyze neighborhood livability, transportation and economic benefits and impacts.Sections of the Central Freeway in San Francisco, Calif. on Aug. 26, 2022. | Paul Kuroda for The Standard<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>San Francisco County Transportation Authority Executive Director Tilly Chang, who was unaware of the provision, said it is actually the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/sfstandard.com\/glossary\/san-francisco-planning-department\/\">San Francisco Planning Department<\/a>&nbsp;that needs to take the lead in initiating the study in question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf there\u2019s going to be a discussion about taking down the freeway, it really needs to include land use,\u201d Chang said, referring to the policy decisions around what types of housing and industry could be built and operated in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Planning Director Rich Hillis declined to be interviewed for this article. The department, meanwhile, is working to fend off a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/sfstandard.com\/housing-development\/state-cracks-down-on-sf-housing-gridlock-launching-first-ever-review-aimed-at-speeding-up-construction\/\">state investigation into the city\u2019s housing production<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is an important issue,\u201d mayoral spokesperson Parisa Safarzadeh said. \u201cWe\u2019re definitely looking into it and getting more information.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sfstandard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/CentralFreeway_016.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-72209\"\/><figcaption>The Salesforce tower is seen from under the Central Freeway in San Francisco, Calif. on August 29, 2022. | James Wyatt for The Standard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Elizabeth Deakin, a retired UC Berkeley urban design professor, said city government ignoring general plans is a problem not just in San Francisco but statewide. She prescribed adding an \u201cImplementation Element\u201d\u2014as in, timing on projects\u2014to bolster chances that plan goals are met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhere we trip up is actually putting the plans into effect,\u201d Deakin said. \u201cAnd we see it\u2019s not just transportation. It\u2019s the same problem that we have with our housing elements and affordable housing requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Planning Department is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/sfplanning.org\/project\/transportation-element#timeline\">updating<\/a>&nbsp;the transportation section of the General Plan this year. What will happen to the section regarding the comprehensive study of the Central Freeway and the impact of taking it down remains to be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-vision-for-the-future\">A Vision for the Future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>San Francisco State geography professor Jason Henderson has participated in public meetings about the future of the Central Freeway and written a chapter about the debate in his 2013 book,&nbsp;<em>Street Fight: The Politics of Mobility in San Francisco<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Transportation Authority has limited capacity, he said, and it prioritized other projects over the Central Freeway, such as removing Interstate 280 in Mission Bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Henderson and amateur urban planners estimate that the potential for mixed-use development on the land the freeway occupies would be substantial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sfstandard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/CentralFreewayFuture_pk_.jpg005-2-2500x1667.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-72253\"\/><figcaption>The Central Freeway ends on Octavia St., lower left (out of frame), on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022 in San Francisco, Calif. | Paul Kuroda for The Standard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>UC Berkeley student&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnu.org\/publicsquare\/2021\/04\/22\/urban-repair-through-freeway-removal\">Qingchun Li\u2019s 2021<\/a>&nbsp;plan for turning the Central Freeway into 4,000 housing units, two parks and a tree-lined boulevard earned a merit award from Congress for New Urbanism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The redevelopment of the freeway also has a strong social justice aspect because of its location in the middle of the city, according to Henderson. \u201cThis is where we need to put workforce housing, so people can get to the city jobs, like emergency responders and the teachers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Owens, the teacher who launched this latest campaign to raze the freeway, has his work cut out for him. While he says the organizations and people he\u2019s spoken to agree in principle, it will be difficult to muster the political will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sfstandard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/CentralFreewayFuture_-7-2500x1667.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-72236\"\/><figcaption>Daniel Owens poses for a portrait next to the Central Freeway in San Francisco Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. | Benjamin Fanjoy for The Standard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s going to be hard for everyone to put aside their differences and work together,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we have to do it if we\u2019re serious about mass transit, more affordable housing, climate change and more bike and pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Owens has already a new unifying name in mind for the new street should his dream come true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cName it \u2018Vision Boulevard\u2019 instead of Division Street,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alex Mullaney&nbsp;can be reached at&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:amullaney@sfstandard.com\">amullaney@sfstandard.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Written by\u00a0Alex Mullaney Published\u00a0Sep. 01, 2022 \u2022 10:00am (SFStandard.com) In a compact city that prides itself on progressive urban design and desperately needs more housing, public officials have inexplicably ignored one especially promising area for innovative development: the land now occupied by the remainder of the Central Freeway. A deep&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2022\/09\/04\/forget-the-central-subway-whats-happening-with-the-central-freeway\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23439"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23439"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23440,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23439\/revisions\/23440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}