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

In Most U.S. Cities, Archaic Laws Limit Roommate Living
Critics argue laws preventing unrelated adults from living in the same home fail to understand the modern American household.

Ten Signs of a Resurgent Downtown
In GeekWire, Chuck Wolfe continues his exploration of a holistic and practical approach to post-pandemic urban center recovery, anchored in local context and community-driven initiatives that promote livability, safety, and sustainability.

Off-Peak is the New On-Peak
Public transit systems in major U.S. cities are starting to focus on non-rush hour travelers as pre-pandemic commuting patterns shift and transportation needs change.

Tacoma Coalition Calls for ‘Tenants’ Bill of Rights’
The group wants to put more power in the hands of tenants, but the city has its own, competing proposal for addressing the housing crisis.

New Power Transmission Line Approved in the Southwest
The proposed transmission line will transfer wind-produced power from New Mexico to cities in Arizona and California.

The Limitations of ‘Reconnecting Communities’
The Biden administration has pledged to correct the damage imposed on communities by highways and infrastructure, but many projects are only committing to minor improvements, not transformative changes.
Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission
Code Studio
TAG Associates, Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Montrose County
Knox County
Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.