Recent Streetsblog SF posts about Car-Free Streets

Car-Free Lombard Street, Filled With People, is KPIX’s Vision of “Chaos”

By Aaron Bialick | Jun 23, 2014 | 37 Comments

Last weekend, San Francisco’s world-famous crooked block of Lombard Street saw most of its car traffic disappear as part of a month-long trial, opening the street up for people. The SFMTA’s goal is to eliminate the gridlock caused by tourist drivers who queue up for blocks to cruise down the street. To KPIX, SF’s CBS affiliate, however, […]

“Closing” Lombard Street: The Language of Taking Cars For Granted

By Aaron Bialick | May 23, 2014 | 97 Comments

A peculiar thing tends to happen when we talk about streets and transportation: We don’t talk about cars. Seriously — listen to conversations, read news headlines, and you’ll start to notice that even when cars are the main subject, people will, consciously or unconsciously, fail to explicitly mention them. This phenomenon was particularly apparent to […]

SFMTA Considers Restricting Cars on Crooked Lombard Street

By Aaron Bialick | May 19, 2014 | 59 Comments

The “crookedest street in the world” block of Lombard Street is a world-famous tourist attraction, but the resulting car traffic causes congestion and safety problems and may lead the SFMTA to ban tourists from driving that stretch. In an attempt to reduce pedestrian injuries and blocks-long car queues, the SFMTA Board of Directors on Tuesday […]

SFMTA to Ban Cars on Kezar, Stanyan, Haight Street for 4/20 This Sunday

By Aaron Bialick | Apr 18, 2014 | 25 Comments

The SFMTA announced that cars will be banned on several major streets for the 4/20 gathering on the east end of Golden Gate Park this Sunday. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., cars will be banned on Kezar Drive, Stanyan Street between Frederick and Oak Streets, and Haight Street between Masonic Avenue and Stanyan. Drivers swarming the […]

This post is supported by GJEL Accident Attorneys

Market Street: Transit Paint Upgrades Coming, but Car Bans Still Missing

By Aaron Bialick | Feb 6, 2014 | 12 Comments

Despite calls for more measures to get cars off of Market Street, and the benefits brought by the forced turns already put in place, the SFMTA still has yet to propose any new restrictions on private autos. The agency does, however, plan to make some paint upgrades to help keep Muni moving this spring or […]

We Used to Expect Streets to Be as Safe as We Do Holly Park

By Aaron Bialick | Sep 12, 2013 | 10 Comments

Rarely does the death of someone struck by a motorist garner as much public outrage as the incident in Holly Park last week. Media around the world has covered the death of Christine Svanemyr, who was lying in the grass with her infant daughter and dog when she was run over by Thomas Burnoski, a […]

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