[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 186 (Monday, September 28, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49410-49411]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-23313]


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PRESIDIO TRUST


Notice of Trial Use Limits

SUMMARY: By Federal Register notice of August 20, 2009 (73 FR 42028), 
the Presidio Trust (``Trust'') announced its proposal to undertake 
trial temporary traffic-calming and reduction measures for a period up 
to 45 days in that portion of The Presidio of San Francisco 
(``Presidio'') under the Trust's administrative jurisdiction (``Area 
B''), including temporary road closures of certain roads, in order to 
assess various means that may slow traffic through Area B and reduce 
cut-through traffic. The Trust also announced its termination of the 
temporary public use limits no later than 45 days after they commence. 
In its notice of the trial temporary traffic-calming and reduction 
measures the Trust solicited public comment through September 21, 2009.
    Under 36 CFR 1001.5, the Board of Directors of the Presidio Trust 
(``Board'') may close all or a portion of Area B to all public use or 
to a specific use or activity, given a determination that such action 
is necessary for the maintenance of public health and safety, the 
protection of environmental or scenic values, or the avoidance of 
conflict among visitor use activities. The Board has determined that 
the trial temporary traffic-calming and reduction measures, including 
temporary road closures of certain roads for a period up to 45 days 
commencing approximately September 29, 2009, will afford the Trust the 
opportunity to study and monitor the

[[Page 49411]]

effects (both positive and negative) of these actions. The Board has 
authorized these temporary public use limits in Resolution 09-19.
    Comments: The Trust received approximately 100 individual comments 
as well as a petition signed by 128 residents of Area B. The comments 
generally fall into three categories: (1) Inconvenience--some commented 
that temporary road closures, specifically the closure of Presidio 
Boulevard, would create an inconvenience to motorists, both to those 
who live in the Presidio as well as to those who live outside the park; 
(2) safety and congestion--some worry that rerouting traffic to other 
streets might create safety problems, especially on West Pacific 
Avenue, the roadway adjacent to Julius Kahn Playground; and (3) timing 
and length of study.
    Responses to Comments: In the 2002 Presidio Trust Management Plan, 
the Trust committed to mitigate traffic impacts as Area B occupancy 
increased and visitation grew. The Trust has implemented a number of 
strategies and an array of traffic-calming measures. In March 2009, the 
Trust took traffic counts at all Presidio gates which allowed the Trust 
to ascertain what percentage of the cars entering the Presidio simply 
drove through the park and out another gate. The Trust determined that, 
while the Trust appears to have succeeded in managing traffic generated 
by park residents, tenants and visitors, and that the Presidio has 
sufficient capacity for traffic generated by anticipated land uses in 
Area B, cut-through traffic has become a major issue representing 
approximately 50% of the traffic in Area B. With the anticipated 
transformation of Doyle Drive, the landscape of the Presidio will be 
changing and new traffic patterns will emerge.
    This trial limitation of public use and resulting study will help 
the Trust in implementing its management responsibilities and in 
avoiding conflicts among resident, tenant and visitor activities by 
allowing the Trust to analyze the effects of measures that are intended 
to slow traffic and to discourage cut-through traffic on Area B's major 
streets and gateways and through the Presidio's residential 
neighborhoods. In particular, it will help the Trust plan for the 
effect the new Doyle Drive/Girard Street interchange may have on the 
use of Area B streets for cut-through traffic. Further, as 
implementation of the Presidio's Trail and Bikeways Master Plan 
continues, the Trust expects the numbers of pedestrian and cyclists 
using the park to increase. Ensuring the safety of this growing 
population means prioritizing the traffic movements of park users over 
traffic unrelated to park uses.
    The study will examine the effects of a variety of potential 
traffic-calming solutions. The challenge is to weigh the benefit of a 
potentially significant reduction in traffic in the park against the 
inconvenience of using other routes. Cut-through traffic, especially 
those vehicles using the Presidio Boulevard gate, is creating 
congestion elsewhere in the Presidio. During the temporary closures the 
Trust anticipates a reduction in traffic volume throughout the 
Presidio. Safety concerns along West Pacific Avenue will be addressed 
through the addition of a speed cushion, increased United States Park 
Police enforcement, signage, and altering parking patterns to create a 
pedestrian zone out of the roadway. The study is scheduled for a brief 
window before construction of the Doyle Drive Replacement Project 
begins later in the fall. The study is designed in part to anticipate 
changes that may come about as a result of Doyle Drive; gathering data 
before construction begins is essential to undertaking an analysis of 
the impacts of potential changes. All roads will remain open to MUNI, 
PresidioGo and emergency vehicles. The Trust has considered public 
comment and has decided to proceed with the temporary public use limits 
and to terminate the use limits no later than 45 days after they 
commence.
    Further Information: Further information about the study can be 
found at http://www.presidio.gov or by contacting Public Affairs 
(415.561.5418), The Presidio Trust, 34 Graham St., P.O. Box 29052, San 
Francisco, CA 94129-0052.

    Dated: September 22, 2009.
Karen A. Cook,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E9-23313 Filed 9-25-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-4R-P