Recent Streetsblog SF posts about Pavement to Parks

'Proxy' in Hayes Valley is a great example of vacant lots going to good interim uses (such as dancing). Photo: David Baker Architects

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SPUR Talk: Enlivening Spaces in the Interim

By Roger Rudick | Sep 7, 2017 | No Comments

“Why wait five or six years before doing anything with the space?” was the question Brad Leibin, an‎ architect at David Baker Architects, was asked to help solve about an affordable housing project planned for West Oakland’s San Pablo Avenue at 34th Street. “So we started to make a difference on that streets-cape immediately … […]

SFMTA Proposes a Car-Free Powell Street in Union Square

By Aaron Bialick | Aug 26, 2015 | 19 Comments

The SFMTA has proposed making crowded, traffic-clogged Powell Street in Union Square a car-free street on a trial basis. Removing cars from the equation would make the street function better for pedestrians and cable cars on the blocks between Ellis and Geary Streets. As we wrote last year, it makes little sense to have cars on Powell, which […]

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Applying the Parklet Strategy to Make Transit Stops Better, Quicker

By Aaron Bialick | May 20, 2015 | 17 Comments

San Francisco’s parklet revolution has broadened the possibilities for how curb space can be used. Now, city planners in SF and the East Bay are taking the idea in a new direction: using temporary sidewalk extensions to make transit stops more efficient and attractive. Three different names for the concept have emerged from planners at three institutions where it […]

Five Years On, SF Parklets Are Going Strong and Looking to Grow

By Aaron Bialick | Apr 2, 2015 | 2 Comments

Five years after the city installed its first parklet, there are more than 50 of these neighborhood gathering spaces throughout San Francisco. Using a couple of parking spaces for public space is no longer the act of rebellion it was ten years ago. The practice is now an institution in SF, and parklets are more widespread here than in any other city. […]

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Hearst Corp Backs Off Bid to Tear Out Annie Alley Street Plaza

By Aaron Bialick | Feb 2, 2015 | 5 Comments

The Hearst Corporation has withdrawn its appeal against the Annie Alley street plaza [PDF] after talks with city planners and the Yerba Buena Community Benefit District. The bid to get the plaza torn out was surprising, since Hearst had been involved in creating the plaza, leading to speculation that closing the alley to cars had irked executives at the company. […]

Hearst Corp Seeks to Rip Out Annie Alley Plaza to Make Room for Cars

By Aaron Bialick | Jan 9, 2015 | 20 Comments

The Hearst Corporation filed an appeal last month in an attempt to dismantle the Annie Alley street plaza so drivers exiting its parking garage could take a more direct path to Mission Street. In November, the alley exit along Mission, between Third and New Montgomery Streets, was turned into a place for gathering and events […]

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