Meeting Thurs Oct 9, 7pm @ Ingleside Public Library

General Meeting – with guests from the Academy of Art who will be working on potential designs for improvements – come and meet them!

Thursday, October 9, 2014, 7-8:30pm
SF Public Library, Ingleside Branch on Ocean Avenue (@Plymouth)
Community Room

****Meeting Notes by W. Longmire added 11/15/14****

We confirmed that we would focus on detailed plans for two segments: San Miguel to Caine and Howth to Margaret.

We saw the analysis for each segment (all segments were analyzed).

One had an idea of a rail for bike tires to push bikes up alongside steps, like some of the BART stations.

Question came up regarding ramps for wheelchairs.

Sandra said the City will deal with encroachment — the neighbors should not try to deal with encroachment themselves.

Butterflies fly to the tops of hills to mate.

Seating / benches: we should ask Furlicious Wyatt if seating encourages people sleeping there/making it their home. Sandra pointed out that there are new bench designs in the city that prevent recumbent positions but are comfortable enough to pause and rest or take in the view for a few minutes.

Consider adding teaching moments to the walk… this area is rich with history and little placards (or even QR codes) could teach history. For example…

– Ridge Lane was a pedestrian through-way long before people had cars

– The area was called Columbia Heights (Columbia = the city on the hill, a beacon for immigrants, unifying symbol for a diverse nation… all still very true for our neighborhood); the path of 280 is where there used to be a train line

– The natural, geologic history of the ridge… its formation, its rocks, etc.

– One of the houses along Ridge Lane– 3 Caine Avenue– apparently is where a well-known blues musician once lived (according to a neighbor)

– We could interview people who have lived here a long time and see what other pieces of history we discover

We should do a group field trip to visit the Philosopher’s Way trail in McLaren Park, and the Visitacion Valley greenway for ideas about Ridge Lane.

Donations to our project should be made out to the San Francisco Parks Alliance, and be sure to specify that the monies are intended for the Ridge Lane Project.

By the way, in looking up our local hood’s history, I came across two things:

1) The outsidelands project: outsidelands.org   (definitely an interesting browse)

2) There is an album by a local musician called Caine Avenue with a picture of the Ridge Lane / Caine Ave. street sign on its cover. The artist used to live on Caine Ave. You can listen to it here: http://schuylerdean.bandcamp.com/album/caine-avenue  I think my favorite song is Coke Flute.