Lake Street’s designation as a ‘slow street’ is overwhelmingly popular with residents. Why does the city plan to dismantle it?
Despite having support from more than 80 percent of respondents to a city survey, San Francisco officials plan to dismantle one of its remaining ‘slow streets.’ “It’s unclear why the city made this decision after it worked so hard to confirm that a clear majority of people in the area wanted to keep the street unavailable for cut-through traffic,” writes Roger Rudick in Streetsblog San Francisco.
Over the last two years, since Lake Street’s initial closure to through traffic, the city has solicited several rounds of public input, during which only a small minority objected to the closure. Yet the city is canceling plans to install concrete diverters and plans to remove existing slow street infrastructure. Advocates say the move is in blatant opposition to the city’s stated Vision Zero goals, as “traffic deaths and serious injuries in San Francisco just keep getting worse because the city signs pledges and makes promises but then backs off nearly all concrete action to make streets safer.”
In May, CBS Bay Area reported on San Francisco’s slow streets program. At that time, four of the city’s nearly 30 slow streets were approved to stay in place, including Lake St.
FULL STORY: S.F. Trashes Outreach, Kills Slow Lake St.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
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