The Out of Order Elevator at Hallidie Plaza

Yahoo/Sent

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  Tina Martin 

  From:tina_martin@sbcglobal.net

  To:John King

  Tue, Dec 5 at 11:54 AM

  Dear John King,

  
  

  I enjoyed your talk at the SFPL, and my son and I are making Portal our book of the month for January.  

  
  

  What do you think of the Out of Order sign on the huge elevator at Hallidie Plaza--decorated with snowflakes now?  This is in an area that the mayor says she wants to revitalize, but I've seen tourists take too many suitcases precariously up the escalator, and parents with strollers on 5th and Market can't get down to the Plaza, which is supposed to be a winter wonderland.  

  
  

  People arriving in wheelchairs can't get down from Fifth and Market  to the plaza either, and if they arrive in a streetcar, they can't get up unless they go to 4th street, and that can be a hike for someone on a walker.  I tested this out with a friend who has a balance problem, and she really had difficulty getting from 5th and Market to the small, badly ventilated elevator on Fourth and Market.  

  
  

  We have had "Rise Up for Elevators" rallies, and the Mayor's Disability Council has been advised.

  
  

  Wouldn't it be a doom loop to bloom loop sign if that broken (for years)  elevator would rise again?

  
  

  An Urban Design Reader,

  Tina Martin