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Open thread: What should San Francisco’s New Year’s resolution be?

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2018 is coming, whether we’re ready or not

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The new year is a time for thoughtful reflection and an opportunity to be better and do better.

That’s the idea, anyway. In practice most of our individual results vary. But if San Francisco writ large had to make a resolution for the new year, what would it be?

It’s always easy to think of things that can improve about city life, but as the self-appointed experts will tell you, a resolution without a plan is probably going to lead nowhere. So what do we want to do, and how do we plan to get it done?

A few obvious suggestions to get the ball rolling:

  • More housing, of course. This one is so obvious you’d think we make it every year...and by and large we do. But technically we do have more housing every year; what, if anything, should the city be doing to make sure it’s getting enough housing, or enough of the right kind?
  • Less traffic please. Everyone has their own pet ideas about this one too: Are Lyft and Uber to blame? Is cycling the holy grail of congestion relief, or will people finally get out of their cars when services like Muni and BART up their game? Should we allow private transit companies to do more, or do we need a major infrastructure hall, like a second Bay Bridge or a total redesign of downtown streets?
  • Homes for the homeless, somehow, some way. Virtually the only thing every San Franciscan agrees on is that we want more people off the streets. Down in San Jose they’re building tiny houses for them. In the Easy Bay they’re considering modular micro houses. City Hall thinks more Navigation Centers are the answer. Or is there some better solution no one has suggested yet?

And there’s always room for more. What does a better San Francisco—or Bay Area—look like in 2018?