Parking, transit advocates reach compromise; both support diluted parking measure for Feb. 2008 ballot

Backers of a November local ballot initiative to build more downtown parking garages have reached a compromise with transit advocates, who believed the new garages would generate more automobile traffic, and that the additional cars would clog bus lanes.

Under the compromise, Don Fisher, founder of The Gap stores, will not finance a campaign to pass his brainchild Neighborhood Parking Initiative on this November's ballot, according to a person involved in the negotiations.

Instead, Fisher, along with transit advocates, will back a different measure, submitted Thursday to appear on the Feb. 5, 2008 San Francisco ballot, which would lead to the creation of more parking garages in San Francisco, but not as many as Fisher had initially wished.

The compromise initiative, which has the unofficial title "Sensible Parking Initiative" on the Department of Elections form submitted Thursday, is sponsored by Supervisors Aaron Peskin, Sean Elsbernd, Angela Alioto-Pier, and Bevan Dufty.
-- Matt Smith