SFMTA scrambles to fight ‘misinformation’ amid intensified transit debate

Finding a parking spot in San Francisco is challenging, but starting an argument about parking is easy.

Fresh off the contentious battle over Proposition K, which will close the Great Highway to car traffic, discussions about vehicular access and biking in the city have become increasingly heated. In an unusual move, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has taken to social media to combat what it characterizes as deliberate lies about its programs.

Twice in late November, the agency posted on X that claims it planned to close more streets or charge residents of certain neighborhoods for parking were “misinformation.”

“It’s false and seems to be designed to inflame tensions in our city,” SFMTA posted, urging members of the public not to spread rumors.

The aggressive response was evidently directed at ConnectedSF, a moderate political group that has been circulating online forms and organizing opposition to SFMTA projects. Those include a citywide “Biking and Rolling Plan” and the “Pay or Permit Parking Expansion Project,” which would bring new payment stations to some residential neighborhoods.

“SFMTA is planning to close miles of driving lanes: SPEAK UP NOW!” ConnectedSF proclaims in its online form. Another form to oppose more parking meters says, “Enough with the constant squeeze by SFMTA.”

SFMTA said the Biking and Rolling Plan doesn’t involve additional street closures. While the proposal to add parking pay stations in the Marina and Cow Hollow/Union Street would eliminate some free parking for visitors, residents would remain eligible for long-term parking passes.

But the agency’s explanations have failed to quell the controversy.

Marie Hurabiell, executive director of ConnectedSF and a vocal opponent of Proposition K, accused the agency of dishonesty, saying it “wants to charge everyone,” because not every resident has a permit to park. She called SFMTA the “biggest purveyor of confusing and misleading information of all.”

“San Franciscans are confused and anxious about SFMTA’s lack of transparency and questionable priorities,” she said. “So we provided a tool to help them be heard.”

Hurabiell, a Republican turned Democrat and ally of Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie, said the department’s leadership needs a better vision to deal with its major budget deficit.

In the November election, Proposition K, which passed with 55% of the vote,  was one of the city’s most divisive issues. Residents of the west side, where the Great Highway is located, overwhelmingly opposed the measure. Rhetoric around the proposal inflamed a long-brewing culture war between motorists and cyclists over issues such as bike lanes and slow streets.

SFMTA spokesperson Michael Roccaforte said the discourse around the agency’s efforts, especially on bike lanes, is unfortunate.

“We hope to continue building trust with communities and maintain a clear and open dialogue,” he said, “absent of conspiracy theories that erode the trust our staff has been working so hard to build.”

The agency is hosting a community meeting Dec. 2 in the Marina and Cow Hollow to talk about parking payments on residential streets.

SFMTA Commissioner Mike Chen plans to attend the meeting. He notes that transit debates have become more emotionally charged.

“Stakeholders should sit down together to find solutions, not react to new proposals as [if] it’s inherently bad,” Chen said. “We should listen to the full proposal before drawing conclusions.”