I hope everyone had a blast at Sunday Streets yesterday! It was the third iteration of San Francisco's ciclovia, but the route through the Mission District brought out a huge, engaged crowd like I haven't seen at previous events.
I was on the street for the full four hours this time. There was so much to see and so many people to stop and talk to that the time flew by! At 10am the first cautious pedestrians and bicyclists ventured onto the asphalt, and before long the crowd had filled the streets.After walking the length of the route and a brief break at Dolores park, I turned around and walked it again headed East. As I turned the corner at Valencia and 24th Streets i was amazed at the volume of the crowd on 24th. These are people who don't get the chance to appreciate the public spaces in between buildings very often, and who were taking full advantage of the brief opportunity.
Businesses on 24th and Valencia had tables on the sidewalk and people in their shops. Folks on their bicycles intermingled calmly and freely with pedestrians, roller skaters, hula hoopers, and at least one unicyclist.
If you missed your chance to enjoy the neighborhood, then mark your calendar for July 19th. On that Sunday the streets of the Mission District will be opened to people again.
Showing posts with label ciclovia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ciclovia. Show all posts
Monday, June 8, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Sunday Streets Recap
I spent Mothers Day with my own mother on Third Street in this year's Bayview Sunday Streets. There may have been fewer people at this event than last month's Embarcadero closure, but not by much. The route was longer and the weather was perfect.
The businesses along Third Street set a very different tone for this month's event than the last. Many merchants offered special promotions or publicity programs, adding a level of engagement that was not so present on the Northern waterfront.
It was also a great excuse to see the construction progress in Mission Bay. The streets still haven't reached a level of connectivity that makes it easy to explore, and the oversize scale of the buildings makes it somewhat overwhelming. But mandates for public art in and around the straight-outta-Santa Clara commercial buildings provide some fun discoveries.
The segment along Dogpatch is layered in history. The old shipyard awaits restoration and redevelopment across from brand new apartments, which are already occupied.
I still don't understand why the route turned off of Third Street ad Islais Creek. The two events last year used this same route, and there were clear problems with the abandoned tracks along Illinois Street. Third is not especially heavily traveled between Islais and Mission creeks, and Illinois is a very wide road. Cars could easily be diverted onto Illinois if the capacity of Third was a concern.
There will be four more Sunday Streets events this year - one per month until September.
The businesses along Third Street set a very different tone for this month's event than the last. Many merchants offered special promotions or publicity programs, adding a level of engagement that was not so present on the Northern waterfront.
It was also a great excuse to see the construction progress in Mission Bay. The streets still haven't reached a level of connectivity that makes it easy to explore, and the oversize scale of the buildings makes it somewhat overwhelming. But mandates for public art in and around the straight-outta-Santa Clara commercial buildings provide some fun discoveries.
The segment along Dogpatch is layered in history. The old shipyard awaits restoration and redevelopment across from brand new apartments, which are already occupied.
I still don't understand why the route turned off of Third Street ad Islais Creek. The two events last year used this same route, and there were clear problems with the abandoned tracks along Illinois Street. Third is not especially heavily traveled between Islais and Mission creeks, and Illinois is a very wide road. Cars could easily be diverted onto Illinois if the capacity of Third was a concern.
There will be four more Sunday Streets events this year - one per month until September.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday Streets, April 2009
After walking over seven highly enjoyable miles along a street crowded with pedestrians, joggers, bi-, tri- and multi-cyclists (where my unicyclists at?), skateboarders and scooter-ers, parents and children, I'd be shocked if anyone tried to describe Sunday Streets as anything but a huge success.
Running this year's first installment of SF's version of the ciclovia down the Embarcadero from the ballpark to Fisherman's Wharf was a smart move. I heard many people, particularly along the more crowded stretch North of the Ferry Building, remark with pleasant surprise on the event, which they clearly hadn't yet heard of. These folks are in luck - there are five more Sunday Streets events left, one per month until September.
Before leaving my house I was worried that the chilly air would dampen turnout for the event. When I arrived at 3rd and King there was a fairly small crowd entering the closed Northbound lanes from this endpoint. But as I walked along the sun-soaked boulevard toward the Ferry building the crowd grew denser.
It was a bit of a trip to walk lazily in the center of San Francisco's breathtaking waterfront boulevard. One certainly doesn't get many chances to pass under those Canary Island Date Palms, right up against the demonstration runs of the proposed E-Embarcadero line.
By the time I passed under the Bay Bridge (an amazing public space in its own outsized way) the street was full of everything-but-cars. And once I passed the Ferry Building the crowd was noticeably thick with BART riders, tourists and farmers market-goers.
It was remarkable how many kids were out with their parents. Most of these kids were on big wheels, trikes, and tiny bikes with training wheels. These kids were using this new civic resource to learn how to ride their bikes, a rite of passage that cul-de-sac dwellers take for granted.
Once I got to the wharf the crowd of San Franciscans speaking at least three different languages was impressive. I'll let the wharf businesses' receipts speak for themselves, but if I was a business owner I would be thrilled to have such a parade of recreators at my doorstep.
There was the Dolores Park boombox-bike guy (who I learned today through Streetsblog SF is SF Bicycle Coalition Board Member Amandeep Jawa). As he progressed through the route this betricycled pied piper attracted quite a crowd of cyclists behnd him.
There was also the FunCycle, a ring of pedalers who also had a speaker setup complete with disco ball. When I passed them at the Ferry Building on my return trip, they were stopped, singing karaoke-style along with the song that was playing - they tweaked the words to match a Sunday Streets theme (see photo in the slideshow above).
The only downside to the morning came after leaving the closed-off route. As I walked through South Beach/SoMa I encountered three bicyclists on the sidewalk (one per block). I happen to work in the area and I can attest that this is a fairly common occurrence along SoMa's narrow sidewalks. As a pedestrian I recognize the natural alliance between bicyclists and pedestrians, but it's unfortunate that so many (any is too many, IMHO) cyclists choose to alienate the most vulnerable road users by speeding through the only protected pedestrian space.
It was a regrettable ending to an incredibly encouraging day.
The next Sunday Streets event will be through the Bayview neighborhood. The route has yet to be announced, but it will likely follow a similar path to last year's alignment.
Running this year's first installment of SF's version of the ciclovia down the Embarcadero from the ballpark to Fisherman's Wharf was a smart move. I heard many people, particularly along the more crowded stretch North of the Ferry Building, remark with pleasant surprise on the event, which they clearly hadn't yet heard of. These folks are in luck - there are five more Sunday Streets events left, one per month until September.
Before leaving my house I was worried that the chilly air would dampen turnout for the event. When I arrived at 3rd and King there was a fairly small crowd entering the closed Northbound lanes from this endpoint. But as I walked along the sun-soaked boulevard toward the Ferry building the crowd grew denser.
It was a bit of a trip to walk lazily in the center of San Francisco's breathtaking waterfront boulevard. One certainly doesn't get many chances to pass under those Canary Island Date Palms, right up against the demonstration runs of the proposed E-Embarcadero line.
By the time I passed under the Bay Bridge (an amazing public space in its own outsized way) the street was full of everything-but-cars. And once I passed the Ferry Building the crowd was noticeably thick with BART riders, tourists and farmers market-goers.
It was remarkable how many kids were out with their parents. Most of these kids were on big wheels, trikes, and tiny bikes with training wheels. These kids were using this new civic resource to learn how to ride their bikes, a rite of passage that cul-de-sac dwellers take for granted.
Once I got to the wharf the crowd of San Franciscans speaking at least three different languages was impressive. I'll let the wharf businesses' receipts speak for themselves, but if I was a business owner I would be thrilled to have such a parade of recreators at my doorstep.
There was the Dolores Park boombox-bike guy (who I learned today through Streetsblog SF is SF Bicycle Coalition Board Member Amandeep Jawa). As he progressed through the route this betricycled pied piper attracted quite a crowd of cyclists behnd him.
There was also the FunCycle, a ring of pedalers who also had a speaker setup complete with disco ball. When I passed them at the Ferry Building on my return trip, they were stopped, singing karaoke-style along with the song that was playing - they tweaked the words to match a Sunday Streets theme (see photo in the slideshow above).
The only downside to the morning came after leaving the closed-off route. As I walked through South Beach/SoMa I encountered three bicyclists on the sidewalk (one per block). I happen to work in the area and I can attest that this is a fairly common occurrence along SoMa's narrow sidewalks. As a pedestrian I recognize the natural alliance between bicyclists and pedestrians, but it's unfortunate that so many (any is too many, IMHO) cyclists choose to alienate the most vulnerable road users by speeding through the only protected pedestrian space.
It was a regrettable ending to an incredibly encouraging day.
The next Sunday Streets event will be through the Bayview neighborhood. The route has yet to be announced, but it will likely follow a similar path to last year's alignment.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Sunday Streets 2009 Lineup Announced
This year we get six(!) Sunday Streets events. The lineup is as follows:- Sunday, April 26: Waterfront Route running along the Embarcadero–from AT&T Park to Aquatic Park.
- Sunday, May 10: Waterfront Route in the Southeast Sector, highlighting the San Francisco Bay Trail, which is celebrating its 20th Anniversary in May. From AT&T Park to the Bayview Opera House, along the Bay.
- Sunday, June 7: New route for 2009 through the Mission, engaging new neighborhoods in the Sunday Streets movement.
- Sunday, July 19: New route for 2009 through the Mission, engaging new neighborhoods in the Sunday Streets movement.
- Sunday, August 9: Great Highway Route. Connecting Golden Gate Park to the San Francisco Zoo, along Ocean Beach.
- Sunday, Sept 6: Great Highway Route. Connecting Golden Gate Park to the San Francisco Zoo, along Ocean Beach.
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