Supervisors approve temporary Saturday closures on section of JFK Drive for summer trial; permanent plan to follow CEQA review

The Board of Supervisors on April 17 approved a temporary closure of a shortened section of John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park on Saturdays from May 26 through Sept. 29 as a trial, and directed the Recreation and Park Department to prepare reports on use, Americans with Disabilities Act compliance and museum access. The board also directed further planning for improvements to Middle Drive West.

Deputy City Attorney John Malamet outlined the measure and the limits of the temporary action. Malamet said the closure area was shortened from earlier proposals and would begin just west of the Teegarden Drive entrance and run to Transverse Drive; the temporary closure would begin on Memorial Day weekend and run through the last Saturday in September. Malamet told the board the temporary closure would be implemented only after the Saturday and Sunday closure areas met ADA requirements subject to written confirmation from the mayor’s office on disability access. He also said the Recreation and Park Department will prepare a report covering park use during the Saturday closure period, disability access, and access to the De Young Museum’s loading dock.

Supervisor McGoldrick, the item’s sponsor, described a lengthy mediation process involving multiple stakeholders, calling the adopted compromise the product of “give and take” among neighborhood groups, advocates and city staff. Supporters, including Supervisor Dufty, asserted the measure would expand car-free recreational space during the warm months and highlighted a planned Middle Drive West improvement effort to consider surfacing, concessions and restroom facilities. Opponents, including Supervisor Ju and Supervisor O'Pier, argued San Francisco voters had twice favored keeping park roads open and expressed concern about limiting access for older or disabled park users; Supervisor O'Pier said he would dissent on the measure.

Deputy City Attorney Malamet and staff said the permanent closure proposal would require further environmental review under CEQA and return to the board; the temporary closure was described as a data-collection step to inform that CEQA work.

On roll call, the board recorded 9 ayes and 2 noes for the temporary measure (the transcript records a tally described as 9 ayes and 2 noes) and approved the temporary closure and the related direction to Rec and Park to prepare the required reports and an improvement plan for Middle Drive West. The board emphasized that the temporary closure is limited and that any proposal to make closures permanent would require additional review and a separate board action after environmental review.