SF Recreation and Park Department

New Lot Offers 20 Free Accessible Spaces in Heart of Golden Gate Park

A new, all-accessible parking lot in the heart of Golden Gate Park offers 20 free blue zone spaces, bringing visitors with disabilities closer than ever to museums, gardens and other cultural attractions, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department announced on June 1. 

The renovated Golden Gate Bandshell Parking Lot includes re-paved walking surfaces, an accessible path to the Japanese Tea Garden and curb ramps throughout the area. The project broke ground Monday, Feb. 28 and recently opened to the public. 

It is among an array of improvements scheduled to take effect in the park this summer and part of the Golden Gate Park Access and Safety Program’s more than 40 initiatives to improve safety, equity, accessibility and mobility. Included in the initiatives is a project to renovate eight existing curb ramps in Golden Gate Park with new, ADA-compliant curb ramps. The crosswalk between these curb ramps will also be repaved and re-striped as funding allows.

The lot and its pathways are among Rec. and Park’s focus on ensuring accessible parks. Over the past decade, Rec. and Park has invested more than $19 million into more than 20 projects with a focus on trails, accessible pathways, or paving improvements. These include the Stanyan Street Edge Project and Phil Arnold Trail in Golden Gate Park, as well as improvements to pathways at parks and playgrounds across the city, from North Beach and Western Addition to Lake Merced and Crocker Amazon. Repaving projects ensure access for all at some of the City’s most iconic places, such as the Palace of Fine Arts, Conservatory of Flowers, Stow Lake, and TPC Harding Park.