Comments on: Enrique Peñalosa Urges SF to Embrace Pedestrians and Public Space http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/07/08/enrique-penalosa-urges-sf-to-embrace-pedestrians-and-public-space/ Covering San Francisco's livable streets movement Sat, 20 Mar 2010 06:22:47 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: Fran Taylor http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/07/08/enrique-penalosa-urges-sf-to-embrace-pedestrians-and-public-space/comment-page-1/#comment-13281 Fran Taylor Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:36:01 +0000 http://sf.streetsblog.org/?p=3651#comment-13281 Thank you, Penalosa, for mentioning the irrational fear of the wolf in the face of the real threat of the car. I wrote the column linked below following the media frenzy in response to a dog mauling death some years back. No higher compliment than to hear this analysis echoed by our hero from Colombia: http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=2094 Thank you, Penalosa, for mentioning the irrational fear of the wolf in the face of the real threat of the car. I wrote the column linked below following the media frenzy in response to a dog mauling death some years back. No higher compliment than to hear this analysis echoed by our hero from Colombia:

http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=2094

]]> By: Fran Taylor http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/07/08/enrique-penalosa-urges-sf-to-embrace-pedestrians-and-public-space/comment-page-1/#comment-12931 Fran Taylor Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:09:19 +0000 http://sf.streetsblog.org/?p=3651#comment-12931 Thank you, Penalosa, for mentioning the wolf as an imaginary fear versus the very real threat of the car. I wrote the column linked below in response to media frenzy following a dog mauling in San Francisco in 2005. No higher compliment than to hear this analysis echoed by our hero from Colombia. http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=2094 Thank you, Penalosa, for mentioning the wolf as an imaginary fear versus the very real threat of the car. I wrote the column linked below in response to media frenzy following a dog mauling in San Francisco in 2005. No higher compliment than to hear this analysis echoed by our hero from Colombia.

http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=2094

]]> By: marcos http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/07/08/enrique-penalosa-urges-sf-to-embrace-pedestrians-and-public-space/comment-page-1/#comment-12881 marcos Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:58:25 +0000 http://sf.streetsblog.org/?p=3651#comment-12881 @Jamie Whitaker, lotsa black lines on the SoMa map cross Folsom, each with a mind and plan of its own: Port, Rincon, Transbay, E. SoMa, Central Subway, W. SoMa and Mission. Existing plans call for Folsom to be a two way boulevard to one extent or another. -marc @Jamie Whitaker, lotsa black lines on the SoMa map cross Folsom, each with a mind and plan of its own: Port, Rincon, Transbay, E. SoMa, Central Subway, W. SoMa and Mission.

Existing plans call for Folsom to be a two way boulevard to one extent or another.

-marc

]]> By: Jamie Whitaker http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/07/08/enrique-penalosa-urges-sf-to-embrace-pedestrians-and-public-space/comment-page-1/#comment-12841 Jamie Whitaker Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:45:49 +0000 http://sf.streetsblog.org/?p=3651#comment-12841 Sounds good to me ... Valencia is certainly less risky at this point in time and ready to roll, if the community wants it. I'll continue planting the seed for Folsom over the next decade though ... suppose we need to get this Transbay Transit Center thing done first. :) Sounds good to me ... Valencia is certainly less risky at this point in time and ready to roll, if the community wants it. I'll continue planting the seed for Folsom over the next decade though ... suppose we need to get this Transbay Transit Center thing done first. :)

]]> By: marcos http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/07/08/enrique-penalosa-urges-sf-to-embrace-pedestrians-and-public-space/comment-page-1/#comment-12761 marcos Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:28:07 +0000 http://sf.streetsblog.org/?p=3651#comment-12761 @Jamie Whitaker, planning for Folsom is a patchwork affair. The MTA is on board with adding enhanced transit (proposed TEP 11 and 27 lines) to a two-way Folsom. Heights might approach 85' throughout most of Folsom, 65' was the last I saw from 7th to 13th, but the Mayor's Office and SPUR are salivating over 400' heights around 4th Street under the rubric of Central Subway TOD. There it might actually make sense within striking distance of both BART and CowTrain, but the economics only make sense for the developers. Irrespective of any of this, it is not like a planning process(es) is/are completed, those rules hit the books, and the next morning one wakes to see the entire planning area built out to the envelope. These things take decades to accrete. If any street in SF would be amenable to a Las Ramblas approach, it would be Valencia post-26 line, as the critical mass of residents, businesses and intangibles are already in place. It would be wonderful to see permanent Zocalos put into place within a block of each of the Mission's two BART stations. I'd envision Valencia closed to traffic between 24th/23d and 17th/16th with those two plazas linked by a Las Ramblas that had a few rutted, unpaved portions for the occasional automobile. -marc @Jamie Whitaker, planning for Folsom is a patchwork affair. The MTA is on board with adding enhanced transit (proposed TEP 11 and 27 lines) to a two-way Folsom. Heights might approach 85' throughout most of Folsom, 65' was the last I saw from 7th to 13th, but the Mayor's Office and SPUR are salivating over 400' heights around 4th Street under the rubric of Central Subway TOD. There it might actually make sense within striking distance of both BART and CowTrain, but the economics only make sense for the developers.

Irrespective of any of this, it is not like a planning process(es) is/are completed, those rules hit the books, and the next morning one wakes to see the entire planning area built out to the envelope. These things take decades to accrete.

If any street in SF would be amenable to a Las Ramblas approach, it would be Valencia post-26 line, as the critical mass of residents, businesses and intangibles are already in place. It would be wonderful to see permanent Zocalos put into place within a block of each of the Mission's two BART stations. I'd envision Valencia closed to traffic between 24th/23d and 17th/16th with those two plazas linked by a Las Ramblas that had a few rutted, unpaved portions for the occasional automobile.

-marc

]]> By: Jamie Whitaker http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/07/08/enrique-penalosa-urges-sf-to-embrace-pedestrians-and-public-space/comment-page-1/#comment-12741 Jamie Whitaker Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:52:57 +0000 http://sf.streetsblog.org/?p=3651#comment-12741 I'm not sure how the Rincon Hill Plan and Transbay Redevelopment Area plans for adding around 20,000 residents east of 2nd Street will pan out over the next decade, but I sure would like to see traffic calmed on Folsom ... at least east of 2nd Street ... give cars one lane east and one lane west on the outside edges like Las Ramblas. I'm a dreamer. :) I'm not sure how the Rincon Hill Plan and Transbay Redevelopment Area plans for adding around 20,000 residents east of 2nd Street will pan out over the next decade, but I sure would like to see traffic calmed on Folsom ... at least east of 2nd Street ... give cars one lane east and one lane west on the outside edges like Las Ramblas. I'm a dreamer. :)

]]> By: marcos http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/07/08/enrique-penalosa-urges-sf-to-embrace-pedestrians-and-public-space/comment-page-1/#comment-12721 marcos Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:01:07 +0000 http://sf.streetsblog.org/?p=3651#comment-12721 Does Folsom have the density, residential or commercial to support a Las Ramblas? Is that level of density in any of the wildest, most ambitious plans? Market Street has the activated critical mass to make a Las Ramblas style promenade work but it has all of that transit on it, which presents its own challenges. -marc Does Folsom have the density, residential or commercial to support a Las Ramblas?

Is that level of density in any of the wildest, most ambitious plans?

Market Street has the activated critical mass to make a Las Ramblas style promenade work but it has all of that transit on it, which presents its own challenges.

-marc

]]> By: Jamie Whitaker http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/07/08/enrique-penalosa-urges-sf-to-embrace-pedestrians-and-public-space/comment-page-1/#comment-12711 Jamie Whitaker Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:53:26 +0000 http://sf.streetsblog.org/?p=3651#comment-12711 How many fellow SOMA residents would like to see Folsom Street turned into a Barcelona Las Ramblas type pedestrian way with the middle 3 car lanes turned into a ped/bike area? Sign me up! Folsom Street is the root of pedestrian safety issues in Rincon Hill. How many fellow SOMA residents would like to see Folsom Street turned into a Barcelona Las Ramblas type pedestrian way with the middle 3 car lanes turned into a ped/bike area? Sign me up! Folsom Street is the root of pedestrian safety issues in Rincon Hill.

]]> By: Barna Mink http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/07/08/enrique-penalosa-urges-sf-to-embrace-pedestrians-and-public-space/comment-page-1/#comment-12641 Barna Mink Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:00:35 +0000 http://sf.streetsblog.org/?p=3651#comment-12641 I enjoyed reading this, thanks! Unfortunately with my schedule there's little chance that I could ever make an event in the city at 5:30. @Colin Hughes, "I liked it when he asserted that if every citizen has an equal right to the road, then a bicyclist has a right to as much space as a driver, and a bus with 40 passengers has 40 times as much right to the road as a driver in a car." I have pondered this often. Such as when riding with my wife on our bikes, and encountering a car occupied by a single person who clearly thinks that bikers are street debris and proceeds to bully us to the side. Or when I am sitting on Muni metro that is standing at a red light for an equal amount of time as a car. @Virginia, this is very true. I live in probably the worst neighborhood in SF when it comes to sidewalk parking. Unfortunately most people here are not interested in livable streets. They spend their time inside, watching TV (I guess). The only time I see them on the sidewalk, is when they are washing their cars. I do hope this attitude will start to change, though. I so wish the city / DPT would help by actually enforcing the law. I enjoyed reading this, thanks! Unfortunately with my schedule there's little chance that I could ever make an event in the city at 5:30.

@Colin Hughes, "I liked it when he asserted that if every citizen has an equal right to the road, then a bicyclist has a right to as much space as a driver, and a bus with 40 passengers has 40 times as much right to the road as a driver in a car."

I have pondered this often. Such as when riding with my wife on our bikes, and encountering a car occupied by a single person who clearly thinks that bikers are street debris and proceeds to bully us to the side. Or when I am sitting on Muni metro that is standing at a red light for an equal amount of time as a car.

@Virginia, this is very true. I live in probably the worst neighborhood in SF when it comes to sidewalk parking. Unfortunately most people here are not interested in livable streets. They spend their time inside, watching TV (I guess). The only time I see them on the sidewalk, is when they are washing their cars. I do hope this attitude will start to change, though. I so wish the city / DPT would help by actually enforcing the law.

]]> By: Samantha Given-Dennis http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/07/08/enrique-penalosa-urges-sf-to-embrace-pedestrians-and-public-space/comment-page-1/#comment-12491 Samantha Given-Dennis Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:37:28 +0000 http://sf.streetsblog.org/?p=3651#comment-12491 Does anyone know of the state of Bogotá after he left office? Peñalosa clearly ignited an energy within the city--is his predecessor supporting the progress he made, I hope? Does anyone know of the state of Bogotá after he left office? Peñalosa clearly ignited an energy within the city--is his predecessor supporting the progress he made, I hope?

]]> By: Virginia Balogh-Rosenthal http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/07/08/enrique-penalosa-urges-sf-to-embrace-pedestrians-and-public-space/comment-page-1/#comment-12441 Virginia Balogh-Rosenthal Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:41:47 +0000 http://sf.streetsblog.org/?p=3651#comment-12441 Many SF homeowners feel they are justified in parking in their driveway as long as there is room for people to pass. They truly don't get the fact that looking down the block and seeing car after car on the sidewalk creates an environment hostile to pedestrians. If we could actually convince San Franciscans to agree with Peñalosa that sidewalks are park land, the parking-on-the-sidewalk issue would go away! Many SF homeowners feel they are justified in parking in their driveway as long as there is room for people to pass. They truly don't get the fact that looking down the block and seeing car after car on the sidewalk creates an environment hostile to pedestrians.

If we could actually convince San Franciscans to agree with Peñalosa that sidewalks are park land, the parking-on-the-sidewalk issue would go away!

]]> By: Colin Hughes http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/07/08/enrique-penalosa-urges-sf-to-embrace-pedestrians-and-public-space/comment-page-1/#comment-12361 Colin Hughes Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:23:50 +0000 http://sf.streetsblog.org/?p=3651#comment-12361 I liked it when he asserted that if every citizen has an equal right to the road, then a bicyclist has a right to as much space as a driver, and a bus with 40 passengers has 40 times as much right to the road as a driver in a car. Keep rolling out those BRT and bike lanes! I liked it when he asserted that if every citizen has an equal right to the road, then a bicyclist has a right to as much space as a driver, and a bus with 40 passengers has 40 times as much right to the road as a driver in a car. Keep rolling out those BRT and bike lanes!

]]> By: Mike Fogel http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/07/08/enrique-penalosa-urges-sf-to-embrace-pedestrians-and-public-space/comment-page-1/#comment-12341 Mike Fogel Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:15:38 +0000 http://sf.streetsblog.org/?p=3651#comment-12341 My favorite part of his talk: instead of envisioning our sidewalks as an extension of the road, the part that you walk on rather than drive on - envision our sidewalks as an extension of our parks. Thin, linear parks, stretching on both sides of every street throughout the entire city. Nice! My favorite part of his talk: instead of envisioning our sidewalks as an extension of the road, the part that you walk on rather than drive on - envision our sidewalks as an extension of our parks. Thin, linear parks, stretching on both sides of every street throughout the entire city. Nice!

]]> By: Pat http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/07/08/enrique-penalosa-urges-sf-to-embrace-pedestrians-and-public-space/comment-page-1/#comment-12321 Pat Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:06:02 +0000 http://sf.streetsblog.org/?p=3651#comment-12321 I especially enjoyed his mention of the crime rates in Bogota. He claimed that the reduction of murders from mid-80's per one hundred thousand to about 15 per one hundred thousand was almost directly attributable to the greenways and open spaces constructed in poor areas. I believe it. He also appealed very well to emotion about our city asking several times whether we would enjoy our city much more if we could walk a block from our homes and be in an open pedestrian plaza with no cars passing by. It was kind of funny that he could not gracefully put an end to a train of thought though. I especially enjoyed his mention of the crime rates in Bogota. He claimed that the reduction of murders from mid-80's per one hundred thousand to about 15 per one hundred thousand was almost directly attributable to the greenways and open spaces constructed in poor areas. I believe it.

He also appealed very well to emotion about our city asking several times whether we would enjoy our city much more if we could walk a block from our homes and be in an open pedestrian plaza with no cars passing by. It was kind of funny that he could not gracefully put an end to a train of thought though.

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