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The Best 1-Minute Song About Keeping JFK Drive Car-Free You'll Ever Hear

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A man in a red shirt and guitar sings a song at the podium
San Francisco musician John Elliott sings his song "Car-Free" at the Board of Supervisors hearing on Tuesday, April 26, in support of keeping JFK Drive closed to cars and open to bicycles, roller-skaters and pedestrians. (San Francisco Board of Supervisors/Granicus)

During today’s Board of Supervisors meeting on whether or not to allow cars on John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park, one of those wonderful, dammit-I-love-the-internet things happened: a San Francisco musician sang a song at the speaker’s podium.

John Elliott premiered his brief, catchy song “on behalf of the dwindling community of musicians in San Francisco, and the 50% of San Franciscans who rent their homes and do not own a car,” finishing his triumphant coda just as the speaker’s allotted one-minute chime sounded.

(KQED readers may remember Elliott from his Taylor Swift/Jake Gyllenhaal parody, “All Too Well (Jake’s Version).”)

JFK Drive, which became car-free during the pandemic, has been at the center of strong debate over its planned return to vehicular traffic. As least now we know how one District 1 resident feels—and his short, simple anthem for all who want to keep JFK Drive car-free.

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