SIGN PETITION BELOW

By Joel P. Engardio

We need to ramp up coronavirus testing. We need a safe place to get tested while practicing social distancing. We need a site that provides easy access for seniors, healthcare workers and first responders.

What if we turned the giant and mostly empty parking lot at Stonestown Mall into a drive-through testing site?

Good news! We launched a petition the morning of March 27 and by late afternoon we heard from Darren Iverson, the general manager of Stonestown Mall.

Iverson called to say that Brookfield Properties — the mall’s owner — was ready, willing and able to offer its parking lots for drive-through testing. 

Now that Brookfield Properties has stepped up as a good neighbor, we still need to urge City Hall to act quickly in a partnership with the private sector to increase testing. Sign petition below.

A lack of COVID-19 tests and limited access to testing are reasons why the coronavirus pandemic has become such a crisis. More people need to know whether they are infected so they can avoid spreading it to others.

Even when tests are available, going to a medical office or hospital to get tested is not advisable. A crowded waiting room is the least safest place when we must practice comprehensive social distancing.

That’s why drive-through COVID-19 testing has become commonplace in many states. People can remain self-isolated in their cars while medical professionals in protective gear administer the nasal swab at the car window.

On a small scale, the parking lot of Kaiser’s French Campus in the Richmond District has been offering drive-through testing for Kaiser members since mid-March.

San Francisco must vastly expand drive-through testing capacity for all residents, especially our healthcare workers and first responders.

Stonestown Mall is the perfect site, thanks to the cooperation of owner Brookfield Properties. The many acres of mostly empty parking lots can be set up in a medically safe manner to test more people.

While Trader Joe’s and a farmer’s market at the mall continue to operate as essential services, the rest of the mall is closed. There is plenty of parking lot space for drive-through COVID-19 testing that would be a safe distance from people shopping for essential items.

Located on the westside, Stonestown also provides easy and safe access for a large and vulnerable senior population that lives in the vicinity.

Tell City Hall to take Stonestown up on its offer to host drive-through testing. It’s the right thing to do for the health of our community.

Joel Engardio is a candidate for supervisor on San Francisco’s westside in District 7. Learn more about his views on local issues at engardio.com/issues

CALL TO ACTION

This petition asks:

• City Hall to utilize the Stonestown Mall parking lot as a drive-through COVID-19 testing site, as offered by Brookfield Properties.

• City Hall to waive permit and zoning requirements to allow Brookfield Properties along with health care providers and private, medical testing companies to create a drive-through COVID-19 testing site.

• Thanks Brookfield Properties for offering its Stonestown parking lots for a drive-through COVID-19 testing site in partnership with medical providers that need space for testing.