The San Francisco call., 1896-10-24
SUPERVISORS IN ERGOR
Resolution Resembling Privi-
lege ExemptS the Railway
Company.
Panhandle Fences May Go, but the
Stanyan.S rect Depot Esrricade
Must R main.

When the Superintendent of Streets
begins to remove the fences at Golden
Gate Park he will meet with opposition
from source that was not considered last
Monday when the Board of Supervisors
gave him power and directions to proceed
with this work. And it is likely that he
will have to leave his task unfinished and
wait either for a new resolution to be
passed or for the courts to give him
authority to act.
At the instigation of some property
owners in the vicinity OF Golden Gate
Park a resolution was adopted by the
Supervisors last Monday as follows:
Resolution No. 1913 (third seriesl-
RESOLVED, That that portion of resolution No.
1860 tnew series), which gives the Park
Commissioners the privilege of extending the
fences OF Golden Gate Park TO the outer line of
the sidewalks on Oak, Fell, Stany an, Fulton, D
and streets, be and the same is hereby re-
scinded and the Superintendent of Public
Streets, Highways and Squares is hereby di-
rected TO remove all fences that have been put
up undersaid resolution No. 14,605 new
series).
According to this resolution it would
seem that the park encroaches on streets
surrounding the panhandle" and skirt
ing the park on three sides, as far as the
curb line. Such is not the case however,
s.,
sidewalks are supplanted by beautiful
pathways inside the fence among flower
ing and sweet-smel.ing shrubs. On the
other streets mentioned-Stanyan, d and
b streets-the park line does not encroach
on the streets. So the only effect this new
resolution will have is to narrow the mag
nifcent panhandle" and in so doing
destroy numerous beautiful pines. cypress,
eucalypti and pretty hedgerows And
a o. lf ,oHa
by the petitioners Tor the alteration de-
sired.
The resolution was especially intended
to include the Park and Ocean Beach Rail-
way depot at the Haight-street entrance
TO Golden Gate Park. This has been an
eyesore and source of continual agita-
ton among property-owners and resi-
dents of Ashbury Heights for two or thre,.
years. What was most particularly OBJ
1ected to was high fence outside the de-
pot along the westerly curb line on STAN
yam street for the distance of one block
south OF Haight street. Inside this fence
the railway monopolized the sidewalk,
and pedestrians have had to cross the
street at the depot to find level and clean
foothpath along Stanyan street. The
fences along the panhandle are not to be
compared with this obstruction, so far as
the residents out tEere are concerned-a
fact which was entirely overlooked in
framing the resembling resolution-al-
though this same barricade is still pre-
served from the ak of the Street Superin-
tendent.
This is how the error was made: Reso-
luton IA, sos (new series) which has been
rescinded, gave the Park Commissioners
permission to extend the fences on Fell,
Oak, Baker. Stanyan, Fulton, D and 81
streets out to the curbline. 1t was adopted
April Is, 1880, but the Commissioners did
not take advantage of the grant in its en-
tirety. The railway company got special
permission from the Board of Supervisors
to take the sidewalk for its depot on
Stanyan street, and then appropriated
that portion of the street to it's own exclu-
sive uses by fencing it against the public.
For years people had to pay their nickels
to get inside this same barricade, which
still stands and will continue to stand for
some time, because, under the present res
olution, it cannot be moved.