Car-Free Streets Aren't a Silver Bullet

"Don’t be surprised if banning cars from the downtown stretch of Market Street doesn’t have the transformative effect that boosters predict," writes John King (in a paywalled article) to throw a little cold water on the excitement surrounding the ambitious street redesign project in the city by the bay.

Instead of a panacea, King recommends readers think of the change as a "welcome move in the right direction."

"It won’t cure the worst of Market Street’s ills. But it will make San Francisco’s most symbolic artery a bit calmer and, with luck, clear the way for other changes," according to King.

As for what people shouldn't expect the change to solve, King lists the continuing messiness of the street, with taxis, delivery vehicles, numerous private automobiles crossing at lights, and buses backing up behind historic streetcars. The changes also won't rid the street of some the unsavory elements current residing on the mid-Market blocks.

King is advocating for some of the project's most enthusiastic boosters to tone down the rhetoric, especially considering the history of over promising and under delivering on the street. A sidebar by King providing a timeline of the history of Market Street leading up to the welcome move in the right direction this week—starting with the film A Trip Down Market Street 1906, continuing through a Critical Mass demonstration that suggested cars should be banned from Market Street in 1993, another round of calls for a car-free Market Street in 2008, and more.