Recent Streetsblog SF posts about Pavement to Parks

Annie Alley Transformed Into a Downtown Gathering Space

By Aaron Bialick | | 6 Comments
San Francisco’s newest on-street plaza opened downtown this week on Annie Street, a one-block alley that runs near SPUR’s Urban Center between Market and Mission Streets, about halfway between Third and New Montgomery Streets. Temporary concrete and wood seats have transformed a large section of the alley into a car-free space for gatherings and events […]

Persia Triangle in the Excelsior Welcomes Two Parklets

By Aaron Bialick | | 6 Comments
Persia Triangle, in the Excelsior, now has two parklets and other streetscape paint treatments that enliven the prominent but otherwise dreary intersection. The improvements were unveiled, with a ribbon cutting, at Sunday Streets last week. The temporary sidewalk expansions, which feature planters similar to those at Jane Warner Plaza in the Castro, replaced parking spaces on […]

Auto-Clogged Powell Street Could Be a Car-Free Haven

By Aaron Bialick | | 49 Comments
It’s a wonder that anyone drives a car on Powell Street in Union Square. Yet along the busiest pedestrian thoroughfare this side of the United States, you’ll typically see the perplexing scene of drivers, sitting in a line heading down the hill, all seemingly going nowhere in particular and certainly not very quickly. These private autos […]

Coming Soon: Mini Plazas at Persia Triangle and Better Plaza Management

By Aaron Bialick | | 1 Comment
Update: According to the Planning Department, the San Francisco Plaza Program will only apply to permanently plazas installed with concrete features, not semi-permanent Pavement to Parks plazs. City agencies are set to launch a program to manage San Francisco’s plazas, establishing a long-term system to coordinate maintenance and activities in public spaces. As we wrote […]

Vote to Hand Latham Square Back to Cars Bodes Ill for Downtown Oakland

By Alec MacDonald | | 6 Comments
After a trial public plaza at Latham Square was undercut by Oakland’s Planning and Building Manager, the Oakland City Council voted last week to reinstate two-way car traffic on the small, southernmost block of Telegraph Avenue, caving to merchants and developers pushing for unfettered car access. At their January 7 City Council meeting, Oakland council members considered […]
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