San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee joined several other dignitaries today to announce the transportation plan for the America’s Cup sailing race being held in the city in 2013.
The “People Plan,” a proposal for how to move up to 200,000 people daily along the San Francisco waterfront during the event, will emphasize the city’s commitment to pedestrian, bike and public transit options, Lee said during a news conference outside the Ferry Building.
“It’s really the kind of event that San Francisco was created for,” he said.
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison’s BMW Oracle Racing team won the previous America’s Cup in 2010 on behalf of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Yacht Club and got to choose the host city for the next race.
The team announced in December that it had selected San Francisco to host the event, which includes the America’s Cup World Series in 2012, the America’s Cup Challenger Series in July 2013, and the America’s Cup Finals in September 2013.
Mark Buell, chairman of the America’s Cup Organizing Committee, said 14 teams have so far signed up to participate in the race.
Buell said the transit plan announced today is important because, “If San Franciscans care about anything, it’s traffic, it’s parking, it’s movement.”
Specifics of the plan include modifying some San Francisco Municipal Railway bus and light-rail vehicle lines–including the F-Market and Wharves, 30-Stockton, and 47-Van Ness–creating bicycle renting and sharing stations and secure bicycle parking, and restricting automobile access on some streets near the city’s northern waterfront.
Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi, Mark Farrell, Scott Wiener and Eric Mar, and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Executive Director Nathaniel Ford were among the other dignitaries in attendance at today’s event.
“Whatever we build, whatever we improve, has got to be an improvement that benefits all San Franciscans for future generations to come,” Lee said.
He encouraged city residents to participate in the public comment period for the proposal before May 31.
Comments will be used to further refine the plan in advance of a Sept. 30 deadline agreed upon by the city and race organizers, and will also inform the draft environmental impact report for the event, which the San Francisco Planning Department expects to release in July.
The proposal and other documents for the event are available at www.americascup.com/sanfrancisco.
Comments can be submitted by sending an email to americascup@sfgov.org or by visiting this website created by the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
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