Preview of Castro Plaza 1.0

Curbed has a sneak preview of the permanent design for the plaza at Market, Castro and 17th Streets, "subject, of course, to further modification and budgetary limitations."

My first reaction: maybe it's the drawing but it seems a little too fortressy. Dialing back some of those planters would give pedestrians more freedom to mill about in any direction. And with the entire space dedicated to pedestrians, it seems odd to me that we would still be funneled diagonally along the old crosswalk.

Castro Plaza Facebook Group!

Someone has created a Facebook group devoted to the new pedestrian plaza on 17th Street at Castro and Market. Be sure to check it out and add your own commentary and photos. From what I can tell from the photo gallery, the warm weather made the plaza a pretty popular neighborhood amenity in its first weekend:

According to a Wall post from Lynn Valente, there will be three free concerts in the plaza. The first will be July 4 at 1:30 pm. I've added it to the list of Important Dates in the sidebar.

For more information visit peopleinplazas.org

First Look at Castro Plaza

I made an extra trip out of my way just to see the newly opened pedestrian plaza at Castro and Market Streets. The first impression when popping out of the Muni station is how much more intimate the corner seems to be now.

What was an expanse of asphalt a week ago is a manageable and inviting corner today. (I'm speaking of the shape and perception of safe pedestrian space. The spiky plants in narrow planters placed so closely together are visually jarring - an effect that should be avoided in future 'experiments')

Castro Pedestrian Plaza is Go!

Just caught this photo on Streetsblog SF's Flickr pool.

More than just planters and chairs, the temporary pedestrian plaza at 17th and Market Streets will be (or is now, I should say) defined by yellow paint. Color and texture differences on the asphalt in similar trial plazas in New York - on which this space is modeled - have proven surprisingly successful in delineating the plazas as safe pedestrian space.

Streetsblog reports that the plaza will officially open on Wednesday morning with a press conference with our Spokesmayor. It's on our Important Dates in the sidebar in case you want to attend.

F-line Plaza Coming Soon

SFist reports that mid-May is when we can expect the new, temporary pedestrian plaza in the Castro to be open and ready to use. Presumably the short time frame for construction is the result of the JSK-style trial nature of the plaza. All it will take is some planters and granite blocks to close this section of 17th street at Castro/Market to cars, creating the plaza.

Street Closing Fever

It seems like converting streets into pedestrian plazas and parks is the hot new thing in SF. Ever since Streetsblog reported the potential closures in the Castro and North Beach, residents of other neighborhoods have gotten the bug to identify streets in their parts of town that could use the same treatment.

The other day I nominated the two blocks of Treat Ave on either side of 16th for plaza/park conversion.

Yesterday, local hipster blog Burrito Justice posted a proposal to close the last block of Valencia Street, between Mission and C. Chav. (discovered via MissionMission). BJ's plan would be part of an ongoing plan to rebuild St. Luke's hospital.

While both Mission District street closures have some drawbacks that would need to be addressed (emergency vehicle access in St. Luke's case) I believe both streets are underused as vehicle rights of way, and both are in park-poor areas of town with high population density. Both should be seriously considered.

Which street in your hood would make more sense as a park or pedestrian plaza?

New York-style Pedestrian Plaza Coming to Market Street

Streetsblog SF reports that the Castro will be home to San Francisco's first JSK-style pedestrian space. 17th stree will be closed to cars from Market/Castro east for half a block, as depicted below.

The old-timey F-Market streetcars that stop there will continue to do so, as you can see, but planters and street furniture will prevent cars from accesing the space. This project is being planned as a temporary, trial project, and city officials will study the results closely. No word yet on when we can expect to see this with our own eyes.

News of this project may help folks in North beach who want to close a section of Vallejo street to create a similar pedestrian 'piazza' next to Cafe Trieste. That project is waiting for funding, but Streetsblog commenters aren't the only ones speculating that it could benefit from a trial program similar to the Castro's.