Street closure a boost for San Francisco
By: Brent Begin
Examiner Staff Writer
April 27, 2009
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Out of control: Sunday Streets was a hit as cars and trucks vacated The Embarcadero to make room for activities, bicyclists, walkers, families and balloon animals. (Mike Koozmin/Special to The Examiner)
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SAN FRANCISCO — The closure of The Embarcadero from AT&T Park to Aquatic Park Sunday brought San Franciscans and city visitors alike out to walk, skate, dance and bike their way along the waterfront.
Alan and Jacqueline Hansen took a break from riding their bicycles with sons Mitchell, 9, and Thomas, 14, to sit on the grass and have a picnic. The family came up from Redwood City to enjoy the closure of one of San Francisco’s main thoroughfares and had a blast.
“It’s so much safer this way,” said Jacqueline, who donned her bicycle helmet while soaking up the sun. “I’m not always comfortable having [my kids] ride their bikes in traffic.”
Next to Cupid’s Span, the large bow and arrow dominating a swathe of the Embarcadero near the Bay Bridge, a yoga instructor watched her students perform downward dogs and warrior poses in unison. Meanwhile, Jeff Marshall, who teaches a kite-making workshop in The City, was flying one of his creations overhead.
“This is a step in the right direction,” Marshall said of the closure. “We could all slow down a little.”
By noon, the roadway was completely clogged with bicyclists. Dozens pedaled behind a Pied Piper of sorts, Amandeep Jawa, whose mobile sound system blared everything from Madonna to Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day.”
And a lovely day it was for children of all ages that came out to hula-hoop, pom-pom and hacky-sack. The festival gods smiled kindly upon The City, with sunshine competing with the cool breeze off the Bay.
Honking and dinging was commonly heard from the hundreds of bicycles clogging the Embarcadero, causing some pedestrians to walk warily in the street. Bree Jensen, a nurse from Menlo Park, ran the route at 10 a.m. She praised the event for getting people out for exercise, but wondered if there could be more organization.
“I was a little surprised,” she said. “There was nothing telling people where to run and where to bike.”
By 1 p.m., an announcement boomed from the Ferry Building clock tower that the streets would now be “reopening.” A line of police motorcycles escorted a wall of traffic down the road toward Fisherman’s Wharf, where merchants had once complained that the Sunday Streets initiative would kill their business. Those complaints died down this year, however, after merchants were able to offer input on a suitable date.
With five more closures set for the rest of the year in different parts of The City, Mayor Gavin Newsom’s efforts may meet resistance again. But this time, the few complaints were drowned out by bicycle bells and laughter.
Future Sunday Streets Events
May 10: From AT&T Park to Bayview Opera House
June 7 and July 19: Mission district, from Garfield Square to Dolores Park
Aug. 9 and Sept. 6: From Golden Gate Park to San Francisco Zoo, along Ocean Beach on Great Highway
