RESOLUTION #2006-01 Mayor's Disability Council Resolution Endorsing Accessibility for Golden Gate Park's JFK Drive Closure on Sundays

WHEREAS, the Recreation and Parks Department's current practice of closing Golden Gate Park's JFK Drive and portions of other streets on Sunday for the benefit of pedestrians in lieu of vehicular traffic, which removes access to permanent accessible parking spaces and increases walking distances to key portions of the park; and

WHEREAS, this closure denies equal access to the park for many persons with disabilities; and

WHEREAS, Supervisor Jake McGoldrick's office, the Mayor's Office, the Recreation and Parks Department and the Mayor's Office on Disability have met together to develop concepts for an alternate program to mitigate the closure's impacts on people with disabilities, people aging into their disabilities, and their companions; and

WHEREAS, the proposed program includes but is not limited to providing both temporary and permanent accessible parking spaces on adjacent streets and within the park; the addition of wheelchair accessible trams to provide access along the closed sections of JFK Drive; signage and informational banners and brochures to inform park goers as to the location of accessible parking and tram amenities; and an ongoing re-evaluation of the program; and

WHEREAS, the proposed program and the tram system would universally benefit and provide equal access to all residents and visitors who use Golden Gate Park on days when JFK Drive is closed to vehicular traffic,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that in concert with the Board of Supervisors, the Mayor's Disability Council requests that the Mayor support and encourage the Recreation and Parks Department and the Golden Gate Park Concourse Authority to expeditiously implement the Jog, Roll n Stroll program, as described in the Mayor's Office on Disability memorandum dated 5/22/2005.

June 16, 2006 Mayor's Disability Council – ADOPTED

Ayes: 9 - Jack Fagan, Jul Lynn Parsons, Norma Block, Elizabeth Grigsby, Richard Ow, Denise Senhaux, Tatiana Kostanian, Eugene Flannery and Amy Wishnie.

Nays: 0

Absent: Robert Neil