It seems like a joke, but in fact, San Francisco may follow Chicago and Toronto, two cities that have already adopted bird friendly provisions. The worry is that as many as a billion birds per year crash into buildings across North America. There isn’t a firm number for bird impacts in San Francisco, but proponents of the new building codes say that at least several birds per year die after striking windows.
But solutions to the avian obliteration are either hideous or hideously expensive. Ultra-violet patterned windows and gray, metal screens are potential solutions supported by the city’s planning commission.
Of the 2,000 comments received by the city, most appear to favor the new standards.
From KGO-TV:
San Francisco is pushing an idea some are calling birdbrained. It’s a measure to require developers to build bird-friendly structures. City planners say birds are smashing into windows and dying every year.
This sounds like an “only in San Francisco” kind of thing, but it turns out Toronto and Chicago already have it as a law. After a Board of Supervisors hearing on Monday, it is one step closer to being adopted here.
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