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 Roller boogie: David, Melanie, and Tiffany Miles skate
in a car-free section of Golden Gate Park, goal of San Francisco's best quality-of-life
crusade. |
Best Quality of Life Crusade YOU GO to Golden Gate Park to escape the concrete and carbon monoxide, only to find the roads full of meathead commuters and oblivious joyriders driving at least twice the posted speed limit of 25 mph. It's infuriating, and occasionally down right dangerous, especially if you're skating or riding a bike. Sweet relief only comes once a week, on Sundays, when a minuscule stretch of JFK Drive is closed to automobiles. Bicyclists, joggers, bladers, dog-walkers, and other non-motorized park patrons come in droves-by some estimates as many as 40,000 people on a good day. Seems a bit crowded, no? Maybe it's time to give 'em more room. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's Car Free Golden Gale Park Task Force is on the case. So far it has collected 6,000 petitions for expanded road closures, and it's got the cooperation of skating and environmental groups as well. Should this fail, expect a ballot initiative in 1998. For information, call (415) 431-BIKE. |