Editor:

I am the full-time caretaker of my frail parents. Before I gave up my own life to care for them, I loved music festivals. Coachella was one of my favorites. So please don’t mistake me for a party pooper when I say Golden Gate Park is the wrong venue for these huge festivals.

For three weekends in a row, the Sunset and Richmond districts were put through the wringer. Streets were jammed, noise shook our homes, and trash piled up. My neighbors dealt with people urinating and vomiting on their steps. As for me, simple things became exhausting: errands that usually took 20 minutes stretched into an hour+. Driving my parents to their acupuncturist in the Richmond became a headache, and they couldn’t sleep through the pounding bass. Earplugs aren’t an option for them. They’re uncomfortable.

I understand the City bragged about the business these events supposedly brought. But from where I sit, I don’t think much of that revenue reached beyond walking distance of the park. Irving  likely saw a boost, but I doubt festivalgoers trekked to Taraval, Noriega, or Geary to support those businesses. And most of the money went to vendors inside the festival grounds, not the neighborhood as a whole. That’s just my common-sense guess as a resident who has lived through it.

Meanwhile, downtown San Francisco is struggling. Whole blocks of Union Square and the Financial District could use the foot traffic. Venues like Oracle Park, Moscone Center, or even piers could handle the crowds without overwhelming neighborhoods full of families, elders, and working people. If London can keep Glastonbury out in the countryside instead of Hyde Park, surely San Francisco can find a better home for its mega-concerts.

I’m not anti-music. I’m anti-making two residential districts bear the cost of parties we didn’t ask for. The City should move these festivals downtown, where the energy and the business are needed most.

Jason Fong