Monday June 1, 2026 10:17 am
(Agenda Item 11 – June 2, 2026 Board Meeting)
Dear SFMTA Board of Directors,
Hayes Valley Safe (HVS) respectfully urges the Board to reject the proposed Pay or Permit Parking (PPP) expansion in Hayes Valley.
Over the past two years, Hayes Valley has served as one of the City’s primary pilot areas for this program. During that time, our organization has participated in meetings with SFMTA staff, reviewed agency materials, monitored implementation, and communicated regularly with residents, businesses, and neighborhood stakeholders.
While we understand the goals of improving parking availability and reducing long-term vehicle storage, the record before the Board does not demonstrate sufficient, measurable success to justify doubling the program’s footprint in Hayes Valley at this time.
Several concerns remain unresolved:
- Updated compliance analysis remains incomplete.
- No clear performance benchmarks have been identified that would justify expansion.
- The interaction between PPP and the ongoing Hayes Street weekend closure has never been fully evaluated, despite the closure materially affecting parking availability and meter access.
- Community outreach remains limited relative to the scale of the proposed expansion.
- Long-term neighborhood impacts remain uncertain.
We are also concerned that expansion appears to be advancing primarily because funding and infrastructure are already in place rather than because clear performance outcomes have been demonstrated.
SFMTA’s own outreach materials acknowledge that this proposal was initially studied in the Marina, Cow Hollow, Lower Haight, and Hayes Valley. Following community opposition elsewhere, those neighborhoods were removed from consideration, leaving Hayes Valley as the sole remaining expansion area. Hayes Valley should not become the default destination for expansion simply because other neighborhoods were removed from consideration.
For Hayes Valley residents and businesses, this proposal is not occurring in a vacuum. The neighborhood has already absorbed years of transportation experiments, parking changes, street closures, and overlapping policy initiatives. Residents are continually asked to accept additional burdens while being told the benefits will come later.
At some point, the burden of proof must shift back to the agency.
Based on the information presented to date, we do not believe SFMTA has demonstrated that expanding PPP further into Hayes Valley is necessary or justified. We therefore oppose the proposed expansion and urge the Board to reject it. Hayes Valley should not continue serving as the default expansion area simply because the infrastructure already exists or grant funding remains available.
Thank you for your consideration.