SFMTA Board Unanimously Approves Controversial Frida Kahlo Way Quick-Build Project

By Jeremy Zhu

jzhu267@mail.ccsf.edu

The Quick-Build project along Frida Kahlo Way at City College’s Ocean Campus is set to begin construction this summer.

An article by The San Francisco Standard said the board of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) voted to approve the Frida Kahlo Quick-Build Project unanimously. The project intends to add protection to the existing bike lane by widening it, as well as shifting bus stops towards Judson Avenue. It will also result in the loss of 29 parking spots.

City College is also planning to remove 1,800 or roughly 60% of its own parking spots to make way for 1,100 units of housing, and a Performing Arts Center to be built in the Balboa Reservoir Lot.

The college has listed requests for proposals to construct parking structures to mitigate the losses.

The controversy is one of many conflicts of interest between city officials wanting to modify streets for cyclists and pedestrians, and local advocates that believe the well-being of neighborhood businesses and organizations is preserved with parking.

SFMTA Board of Supervisors Stephanie Cajina said she was hesitant on her vote due to concerns raised by City College students, but said the project could be reversed.

“If we do have a firm commitment to say this is a quick build in its true form, and we are committed to adjusting its design within a year’s time if need be, then that’s something I feel more comfortable with,” Cajina said.

SFMTA staff are set to review the impacts of the project one year after construction has finished.

Opponents of the project such as City College’s Higher Education Action Team (HEAT) cited SFMTA's other recent controversial projects as a reason to delay the plans. City College's Mission campus on Valencia Street has its own bike lane project, with business owners on the street working to move the bike lane from the center of the road.