A group of public transportation users in San Francisco have appealed the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s decision to stop charging for Sunday parking meters.
The SFMTA board approved its new two-year budget last month and with it the directors decided to repeal its Sunday meter enforcement policy as of July 1.
The policy to charge for parking on Sundays went into effect January 2013, but only a year later San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee called for its repeal.
The transportation board took the mayor’s lead and decided to eliminate the policy, planning to return to six days of enforcement.
The San Francisco Transit Riders Union, an organization made up of Muni riders, claims the transit agency will lose $11 million in revenue by abolishing Sunday parking meters.
The group says the sudden change in policy will affect the Muni budget, increase congestion, put more pedestrians and cyclists in danger, and hurt local businesses and shoppers.
Union organizers said their group, along with the mayor and SFMTA leadership, supported an additional day of meter parking initially, and the policy was well researched and reviewed before implementation.
The riders union delivered a petition to the SFMTA Wednesday with more than 200 signatures from people who oppose the repeal.
SFMTA spokesman Paul Rose said he couldn’t comment on the appeal, but confirmed that the board received the petition Wednesday afternoon.
Sasha Lekach, Bay City News
