Missing the point

Parking in S.F.? You're in a tight spot / Downtown mall to double but no new spaces planned

This article complains that as businesses expand (including a huge new expansion to the Westfield Mall), parking is not expanding to meet the increased demand.  The people in the article continually rail against the city's "transit first" policy. You know what?  They're missing the point.

THE WHOLE POINT is to reduce reliance on cars and encourage people to use public transit.  One person interviewed said they'd rather drive down the peninsula if downtown gets too crowded.  You know what?  That's find too.  Spread the wealth across the Bay Area.  It's not a "loss" for San Francisco because the number of consumers downtown will increase anyway!

Most bothersome was the family interviewed, who stated that they drove downtown from Bernal Heights.  Why didn't they take the 49 Line?  Or the J Line?  Or BART?  Not only would they have saved a lot of money, but they would have saved the hassle of having to drive downtown.

My wife and I agree that one of the best things about living in SF is you can take public transit almost anywhere.  We fill our gas tank about once a month.  Hopefully these car-addicted idiots will eventually see the light.  I was in REI a few weeks ago and I saw someone wearing a bike helmet.  His t-shirt said: "ONE LESS CAR."  Now that's what I'm talking about.