In these hazy days where the common citizen spends his life working, consuming and resting – many watching TV or checking social networks – meanwhile the changes of command of some politicians who rule the destiny of the city, and therefore those of the population, are taking place. Their positions will be played out in the next elections on November 5th. Many are in a hurry campaigning to be the next ones in charge of politics.
And it should be noted that many become career politicians, who start at the bottom, and then when their term expires, they move on to another candidacy in another department. And little by little the political positions become exclusive clubs, where the powerful political party that houses them becomes the great sponsor. Behind this is big capital supporting the political campaigns of those who promise to be docile and faithful, who if I am not mistaken, make pacts with these ambitious politicians to represent some of their economic interests, but how? passing some friendly laws that favor them. Sometimes I think fictionally that all of this is a mafia of the cosa nostra.
And the promises of politicians to the public abound, they promise you on issues such as security, the increase in the construction of affordable housing, etc., making the prospective voter believe that things will change. But they almost always tell you this when the elections are approaching. What a thing, right?
And yes, things change, but many times for the worse: increase in the cost of living – and death, crime, alcohol and drug abuse on the streets, sale of stolen goods on the sidewalks, thefts in stores, whose crimes are no longer seriously pursued, because if the loot does not exceed a certain amount in dollars, there is no punishment.
After a devastating pandemic that caused the closure of most small businesses, except for large stores, the population was left in shock, defenseless. The government distributed money, and many freedoms were lost. Many people were left without work, locked in their houses or apartments, with their children not physically going to school. There were suicides. Over the last decade, but most recently, since the city started painting sections of streets in red – to give priority to taxis and buses – the city has unleashed an attack on cars, reducing metered spaces and turning them into red zones (where you can’t park unless you accept a fine of almost $100), including the disappearance of parking spaces on every corner.
And all without any rationale, without any explanation; and many spaces were also designated for commercial parking. And you can see that most of the day they remain empty, as prospective business patrons struggle to park.
There is a parking crisis now in SF, especially where it should benefit business owners, who are still not recovering, and patrons.
And you can see on Valencia Street what they did, there is no parking, and no one can turn left. All of this has created confusion and imbalance for both the patrons and the merchants.
In 2014, a bipartisan coalition submitted an initiative called, Restoring Transportation Balance in Francisco with the Department of Elections.
The proposal sought to:
– – Permanently ban meter control on Sundays and holidays
– – Prevent the expansion of parking meters into new areas without the approval of residents and businesses in those neighborhoods.
– – Lower parking meter fines to the amount they were 10 years ago
– – Ensure that people with disabilities have access to convenient transportation options
– – Allow the construction of new parking lots
However, the most troubling thing about these points is that none of the candidates running for supervisor or mayor now have realized the need to create more parking!
I suspect some of the reasons must be: to extort people out of their money by forcing them to do emergency parking in ‘no-go’ zones and thus stab them with the knife of the fine; and also to force the population to use rented or public transportation, and therefore wage war on private transportation.
Shame on you politicians! This is not working for your community, but for other interests.
