tl;dr Take our District 2 slow streets survey and tell the SFMTA what streets you want to be slow and safer for people in your neighborhood!
During shelter in place, SFMTA has started converting some streets to slow streets. People outside are asked to distance from others, but the sidewalks are often too narrow. Slow streets divert away pass-through auto traffic and welcome people to use the roadway in addition to the sidewalk for walking, running, and biking. It gives people more space to exercise and travel for essential trips.
Northern Neighbors is a neighborhood advocacy organization that fights for lively, livable neighborhoods in District 2 (the northern stretch of the city, stretching from Sea Cliff and the Presidio to Pacific Heights and Russian Hill). As advocates for safe and environmentally sustainable neighborhoods, we at Northern Neighbors are happy to see slow streets. Slow streets are safer streets and encourage people to exercise. Walking and biking for essential trips creates less emissions and improves air quality. We are excited that Lake Street in District 2 is now a slow street, stretching for over a mile from Arguello Boulevard to 28th Avenue. We appreciate that the MTA is diligently working to identify, perform outreach for, and install slow streets. But we’d like to imagine bigger and better: not just one or two slow streets in District 2, but an entire network of streets where people can exercise and safely travel to essential businesses.
What could a District 2 slow streets network look like? We are fortunate to have green spaces like Fort Mason, Alta Plaza Park, and the Presidio. We are also fortunate to have quiet streets that do not have much car traffic normally, and especially little now. We imagine a comprehensive network of slow streets spaced so that residents are within easy walk of a slow street. East-West connections like Francisco Street and Clay Street help connect people to parks. North-South connections like Laguna Street and Scott Street give convenient, safe paths for people to walk safely to commercial corridors. The streets in blue on our map (image above) shows a sample selection of streets.
Closing Marina Boulevard to traffic could help de-congest a path that has gotten busier with people running and biking, while the road itself has become less busy with car traffic during shelter in place. If the city blocked two lanes of Marina Boulevard from cars it would better utilize available space for the many walkers, joggers, and bikers passing through.
Do you want slow streets in your neighborhood? Here’s how you can express your opinion.
- Take our District 2 slow streets survey
- Take the SFMTA slow streets survey
