Although the project has been hugely successful with local residents, the mayor and some county supervisors wanted to revert the road to vehicle use.

The "Great Walkway," a "pedestrian paradise" created in San Francisco during the pandemic, reopened to cars on August 16. An article written by Heather Knight describes the former 17-acre park, converted to a car-free promenade in April 2020, as "one of the few silver linings to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic." Since then, "[a] city study found it was incredibly popular — drawing 126,000 visitors each month, including 3,240 each weekday," and 53% of respondents to a survey wanted the change to remain permanent. "The city also rightly responded to neighbors’ concerns about increased traffic on their streets, installing stop signs, speed humps and traffic diverters" on adjacent roads.
Now, in a surprise move that angered mobility advocates, the city's mayor and three county supervisors have "privately decided" to reopen the Great Highway to cars five days a week, citing concerns about access to schools. But "[i]n a city that has 1,200 miles of roads for cars, devoting a small fraction to pedestrians and bicyclists isn’t too much to ask," argues Knight. "If giving 2 miles of the Great Highway to people two days a week is a compromise, as the mayor says, that’s a strange definition."
Before the reopening, close to 600 residents gathered to protest the reopening of the street. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition said in a statement that the organization "continues to firmly believe that the Great Highway should be a park and be car-free 24/7." Meanwhile, "three city residents on Tuesday planned to file a California Environmental Quality Act appeal in an attempt to block the return of the roadway to vehicles," arguing that putting cars–along with their polluting emissions–back on the street merits an environmental review.
FULL STORY: Sadly, S.F. getting ready to reopen Great Highway - a pedestrian 'paradise' during pandemic

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

HSR Reaches Key Settlement in Northern California City
The state’s high-speed rail authority reached an agreement with Millbrae, a key city on the train’s proposed route to San Francisco.

Washington State Legislature Passes Parking Reform Bill
A bill that would limit parking requirements for new developments is headed to the governor’s desk.

Missouri Law Would Ban Protections for Housing Voucher Users
A state law seeks to overturn source-of-income discrimination bans passed by several Missouri cities.
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