San Francisco leaders are pushing forward with a proposal to designate a city owned parking lot as a safe place for people living in their vehicles to temporarily stay.
The lot was used by Muni to park its light rail trains and in one year the lot will be turned into a housing complex. Until then, city leaders will launch the pilot program to address homelessness.
In the last few years the city has seen a spike in people living in their cars or RVs, according to the city’s most recent survey of the homeless population. According to the survey, more than a third of San Francisco's unsheltered homeless population lives in some kind of vehicle.
"People are living in their vehicles, it means they can’t afford rent," said Steven Currier, San Francisco Homeless Commissioner. "So what we want to do is help them out, give them services, and help them find permanent housing."
The lot holds about 30 parking spaces and people will be allowed to stay for a maximum of 30 days.
