By Rachel Dovey.
San Francisco could soon become the latest city to transform the spaces beneath its overpasses into parks, joining the ranks of New York and Miami, among others.
The power to make it so — allowing S.F. to take part in what’s become quite the fad among densifying cities — lies with California Governor Jerry Brown, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. That’s because the 10 plots of shaded space belong to the state DOT, Caltrans, which owns 75 across the city and makes about $9.2 million each year by leasing them out, mostly to private companies that use them as parking lots or storage space. A bill, currently waiting on Brown’s signature, directs Caltrans to give San Francisco the opportunity to rent each plot at a 70 percent discount once the individual leases expire, so that the city can develop them into public spaces.
“We have such little space for kids and families to go to,” San Francisco Assemblyman Phil Ting, who worked with Mayor Ed Lee’s office to craft the bill, told the Chronicle. “Every space not utilized is a waste.”
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