Embarcadero

We reported last week that the SFMTA is considering testing out a two-way bike lane on the Embarcadero during the next America's Cup races in October, according to an agency report. However, America's Cup spokesperson Jane Sullivan tells us that the lane will only serve one-way traffic in the northbound direction, and no trial bike lane will be provided in the southbound direction.

A two-way protected bikeway along the Embarcadero could get a trial in the coming months. The SF Municipal Transportation Agency is considering implementing a temporary two-way bikeway along the waterfront during the next America's Cup events in October, according to an agency report. The agency is also developing plans for a more permanent bikeway along the Embaracdero near Pier 39, from Kearny to Powell Streets.

Sunday Streets returns to Chinatown this weekend with a car-free route running along Grant Avenue and east toward the Embarcadero. It'll be Sunday Streets' second run in Chinatown, following a highly popular event last year, but the route will be different: Rather than running into North Beach all the way to Coit Tower, it'll turn east at Jackson Street toward the waterfront.

A luxury waterfront condo and parking garage development is on its way to the central Embarcadero, even though it would add three times the number of residential parking spaces allowed by law, plus 255 public spaces, to one of San Francisco's most transit-rich destinations.

As the plan to revamp the public realm on Jefferson Street in Fisherman's Wharf develops, planners recently announced that two blocks of the project could be brought to life by summer of 2013 in time for America's Cup.

It would someday rank among the world's most beautiful bike paths. Imagine a separated, 2.5-mile bicycle path between the northbound traffic lanes of the Embarcadero and the pedestrian promenade from AT&T Park to Fisherman's Wharf. Not only would it provide a safe and dignified passage for cyclists, it would cut down on bike and pedestrian conflicts that occur on the shared sidewalk. Sound like a fantasy? Not so, according to a study sponsored by SPUR, which suggests that not only would the path serve an important transportation function, it would attract tourists and locals alike.

Tens of thousands of people came out to enjoy Sunday Streets yesterday, filling the Embarcadero with walking, cycling, skating and general merriment.  The mainstream media couldn't help but cough up superlatives to describe the car-free event, underscoring its importance to the local economy, to encouraging fitness and physical activity, and to entertaining families in a manner not seen on our streets for ages.

Today's crisp, sunny weather and car-free waterfront drew thousands of people to San Francisco's first Sunday Streets of 2009 along the Embarcadero from Aquatic Park to the Giants ballpark. Business seemed like it was booming in Fisherman's Wharf, dispelling concerns among some business owners the opposite would happen.