August 4, 2021Updated August 4, 2021 1:47 PM
People walk past a mural by street artist Amos Goldbaum on a block of a slow street in Sanchez and 24th Street in San Francisco on March 5, 2021.
Douglas Zimmerman / SFGATE
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency on Tuesday voted to maintain four slow streets beyond the COVID-19 Emergency Ordinance and initiate the process to determine which streets in the city will remain permanently pedestrian-friendly.
Several blocks of Golden Gate Avenue north of the Panhandle neighborhood, Lake Street in Richmond, Sanchez Street in Noe Valley, and Shotwell Street in the Mission District are the first corridors the board has decided to offer long-term welcome to cyclists and pedestrians. Design work for the four streets is underway to improve safety, SFMTA said. Signposts and zebra crossings are planned for Sanchez, and new turn restrictions are intended to reduce through traffic on Shotwell, for example.
SFMTA Director Jeffrey Tumlin shared the news on Twitter, writing, “Some #SlowStreets have attracted far more people than we expected and represent the full demographics of their neighborhoods, regardless of age, ability, ethnicity, gender and fitness level. “
San Francisco kicked off the Slow Streets program in April 2020 amid the pandemic, which eventually closed 31 streets to through traffic and provides residents with safe spaces to walk, cycle and social distance. People who live on the street and emergency vehicles still have access.
SFMTA said it is evaluating all slow streets “for a post-pandemic future” to develop a network of pedestrian and bike friendly corridors that will last beyond the pandemic. The process involves interviewing residents who live within a quarter mile of a slow street and collecting pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicle numbers.
Amy Graff is the news editor for SFGATE. Originally from the Bay Area, she began her career in the news with the Daily Californian newspaper at UC Berkeley, majoring in English literature. She has been with SFGATE for 12 years. You can email her at araff@sfgate.com.
