Editor:

Is JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park accessible to all or just to able bodied and financially able?

Where we are today was a result of a potential lawsuit in 2006 by the Coalition for Park Access and a negotiating meeting all night long at City Hall with the Coalition, then-Mayor Gavin Newsom, Recreation and Park and representatives, Healthy Saturdays Supporters, and the Mayor’s Disability Council.

As former CEO for The Arc of San Francisco Advocacy Organization and a member of the coalition supporting ADA accessibility in the park, I stayed up all night until an accessibility commitment was reached. A shuttle would ensure that seniors and people with disabilities could still access the Conservatory of Flowers and other park sites when JFK Drive is closed to cars. Let there be no reneging on that commitment now!

Just as important is the equity question that has been raised about parking affordability and access for San Franciscans with limited incomes. Let us make Golden Gate Park accessible to everybody, from every part of the Bay Area, with or without disabilities! 

Tim Hornbecker, 

Resident of the Sunset, senior, parent of a son with disabilities, Community Organizer