Sunday Streets

Chinatown and North Beach, the "densest neighborhoods west of the Mississippi," are set to be graced by Sunday Streets for the first time this year, Mayor Ed Lee announced today. City leaders and advocates said they're eager for the opportunity to let residents experience Grant Avenue and California Street free of car traffic.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee supports the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's Connecting the City vision, promises to "very aggressively" carry out Gavin Newsom's executive directive on pedestrian safety, and said he has a commitment from the SFPD to do more aggressive enforcement of drivers in the Tenderloin to make the streets safer for those on foot.

The ever-popular Sunday Streets will feature eight events in 2011, allowing neighborhoods from the Great Highway to Japantown to Bayview to once again open their streets to people for fun, community-oriented, car-free spaces. Families can look forward to playing in the streets and enjoying free bike and skate rentals at thriving parties in the Mission and the Embarcadero and will get another shot at good weather for the Civic Center and Western Addition events.

With the fourth Sunday Streets in the Mission over the past two years recently completed, the verdict is in and the community is very happy with the results. In addition to the tens of thousands of people coming out to enjoy the sun and open streets while pedaling and strolling, the events have had a very positive impact on the bottom line.

Sunday Streets continues to be a huge success in San Francisco, with last month's event bringing out at least 25,000 cyclists, skaters and amblers. Because of the large size of the crowds, organizers have added Harrison Street from 16th to 26th Streets to the route, which provided ample room for learning to ride a bicycle or taking a leisurely spin. 

The first 2010 Sunday Streets in the Mission drew huge crowds for five hours yesterday, with countless young kids learning to ride and enjoying the car-free space. Organizers estimated approximately 25,000 people came out, though I could have been convinced attendance was higher given the dense foot and bicycle traffic along the route. 

Don't forget to come out for Sunday Streets this Sunday from 10 am - 3 pm in the Bayview. The route runs from 3rd and King to Bayview Park at 3rd and Carroll. And please add your favorite shots to our Flickr group.

Sunday Streets returned to the Bayview and the Central Waterfront for a third straight year yesterday, welcomed by a resplendent, sunny day and thousands of participants on bike, foot and skate.