Neighbor­hood parking meters rankle residents

Frustration continues to mount over controversial plans to add parking meters in several San Francisco neighborhoods.

Residents and city supervisors expressed their concerns over the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s parking management plans during hearing a Thursday at the Board of Supervisors neighborhood services committee.

SFMTA plans to help better manage parking in the northeast Mission, Potrero Hill, Dogpatch and South of Market were also the subject of the hearing.

Supervisor Mark Farrell, who called for the hearing back in February, said the hearing originated from concerns from residents in his district and throughout The City about parking meters creeping into residential neighborhoods:

“I want to ensure moving forward we have a comprehensive parking management plan for those first affected neighborhoods that works toward our city policy goals, but also works for our neighborhood and our residents and merchants that live there on a daily basis.”

Director of Transportation Ed Reiskin expelled rumors of any further plans to add parking meters into other neighborhoods other than those already identified by the transit agency as needing better parking management.

Reiskin said managing parking in The City will help drivers from circling around the block looking for a space and will help businesses with more turnover at parking spaces with meters.

Supervisors brought up concerns about production, distribution and repair businesses also known as PDRs.

Most of theses PDR businesses are in the eastern neighborhoods of The City, which include areas the SFMTA is planning to possibly add parking meters. Businesses in that area include warehouses that produce and deliver goods, and film production companies.

Supervisor Malia Cohen, who has many of these type of businesses in her district, said the PDRs are different from traditional retailers, and don’t need the same level of parking turnover compared to other parts of The City.

Cohen also said that public transportation is often unreliable near those businesses.

Angela Sinicropi, a member of the North East Mission Business Association, wants better solutions from the SFMTA:

“They need to create a solution that’s going to meet our needs rather than making us accept their choices and saying you’re going to have to find a way to work with it.”

Sinicropi said PDR businesses need the parking spaces without meters for clients who need to park all day.

Reiskin said the transit agency is working on refining the proposals to reflect the concerns of those businesses.

Read more about parking management plans in northeast Mission, Potrero Hill and Dogpatch neighborhoods.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.