Can pickleball save Muni?
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco's Municipal Transportation Agency is looking for new ways to dig itself out of a projected $320 million budget shortfall next year. The agency is looking to turn some of its liabilities into assets.
Muni is presenting a series of ideas to the SFMTA board for ways to make money off of existing facilities, and that could include using parking garage roofs as pickleball destinations.
It's no secret that the SFMTA is working on ways to turn struggling parking garages into moneymakers. The agency is facing a $320 million projected shortfall next year.
The SFMTA says garage parking is down more than 20% compared to pre-pandemic levels. To reduce the budget deficit, the agency has already implemented parking rate increases and streamlined operations.
Now the agency is exploring the idea of allowing hotels to use garages as valet locations, allowing fleets to park their vehicles there, and even converting some rooftop spaces, like the one on top of the 5th and Mission Street garage, into tennis or pickleball courts.
Some garage users said it will activate under used garages. "I think it's a great idea. If it's not being used, find something it can be used for," said Mike Emard.
While pickleball players say they love the idea of more places to play, if they have to pay, the idea may be a bust. "If you have to charge for them, you're not likely to make it because there are so many free courts around," said Rufus Browning. "So, we're not going to solve your money problems for you'll tell you that."
Henriette Cornet is a professor of sustainable transit at the University of San Francisco and founded Urban Innovate. "I love the idea of this out-of-the-box thinking. Instead of only cutting services, that was the discussion previously, or increasing fares," said Cornet. "That's something new and refreshing."
In the long term, Cornet said, the agency needs to broaden ridership and get more people to buy into public transit and fund the agency. She said that means a deep dive into why people aren't riding. "You need to understand the granularity of these non-riders, and you can really work on them step by step trying to get more people," said Cornet.
The idea of converting garage roofs into pickleball courts is far from a done deal. At this point, it's best described as being in the idea phase. The agency is hoping, through some combination of new parking strategies, to save $18 million a year.
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