Hey Supervisor Kim & Director Reiskin,
Obviously, thank you to Supervisor Kim for putting forward this proposal! This is the kind of action our city needs, for health & safety reasons, environmental reasons, social justice reasons, and reasons of pure human happiness.
I lived in Boston for the last 14 years until moving out to SF last year, and in that time I never owned a car. I never needed or wanted one---it would frankly have been a real pain to own a car, not least when you needed to shovel it out after a blizzard, but that was fine because car ownership wasn't necessary. Everything I needed was in walking or biking distance, our streets were narrow and slow, and car parking was scarce. (Bike parking, on the other hand, was easy to find.)
It wasn't perfect, and there were still some accidents, but it was better, and I was happier for it. I got more exercise, I got more sunlight, I emitted a LOT less CO2, and I interacted more with my neighbors. Even now living on the other coast, practically every time I go out for lunch or ice cream and sit in Davis Square---which in another city would be a parking lot---I run into people I know sitting there or walking by, coming to and from the subway, and usually we say hi and have a conversation. In comparison, at best I can wave to a friend passing by in a car, if I see them at all. So I know first hand just how good our cities can be when they serve the needs of humans over the needs of cars. Walkable cities enable community, health, and happiness.
Director Reiskin, I ask that you support Supervisor Jane Kim’s proposed ordinance to remove parking minimums where they remain in current planning codes. This is the first step to not the Manhattanization of San Francisco---or even the Bostonization of San Francisco---but to making San Francisco an amazing, diverse, and modern city where we can all live healthily and happily for many years to come.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
- Kevin Riggle