Our 2010 study of the first trial parklet in San Francisco found an increase in pedestrian activity , pedestrian satisfaction, and people’s sense of community character within months of the new parklet on Divisadero Street.
We are pleased to release our 2011 Parklet Impact Study which studied pedestrian counts, stationary activity counts, pedestrian surveys, and business surveys looks at three at three neighborhoods where parklets were built last year:
Mission: parklet hosted by the Crepe House and Zaytoon Wraps at 1136 Valencia Street.
Polk Gulch: parklet hosted by Quetzal Café at 1234 Polk Street.
North Beach: parklet hosted by Tony’s Pizza Napoletana at 1570 Stockton Street.
The most significant tangible benefit of parklets identified in this study is the creation of new public space for anyone to sit, relax, and enjoy the city around them. At all three locations in this study, public seatng prior to the parklet was limited to a couple of seats at one bus stop. After the parklets were installed, the number of people stopping to spend time on the block increased as people were able to stop and sit, read a book, eat, or socialize where there previously wasn’t space dedicated for that kind of activity. The greatest increase was seen on Polk Street where the average number of people increased 191%. Download the report below to learn more.
A special thanks to all the interns and volunteers who helped us collect data for this study. To learn more about the research methods or data collection, email info[at]sfgreatstreets[dot]org
The report features the results of various surveys conducted along mid-Market, including information regarding sidewalk activity and public safety. The report findings highlights the fact that pedestrian activity dramatically drops between 6th and 7th Streets on Market Street compared to the area between 4th and 5th Streets where there are nearly four times as many pedestrians traveling during the same period of time.
The five-page Market Street Action Plan includes objectives, such as, stabilizing the existing community, enhancing and activating the public realm, enhancing the creative arts community, reducing vacancies, building community capacity, and improving safety. The strategies included in the Market Street Action Plan to improve sidewalk activity and public safety includes; enhancing sidewalk and plaza cleanliness; developing new programming for plazas and public spaces; improving pedestrian and bicycle access, mobility, and safety; expanding green spaces and sidewalk seating (e.g. parklets); and incorporating public art.
Click here to view the full report or the Market Street Action Plan,
For the full list of organizations working with the Central Market Partnership click here.
London’s West End shopping district will celebrate the holiday season next weekend with West End VIP Day – Very Important Pedestrian Day! For only the seventh time in London’s history, the whole of Oxford Street will be closed to car traffic. In stead of cars, the street will be filled with kids, families and shoppers of all ages running holiday errands and enjoying the festivities. The West End Company recognizes the business value of high foot traffic. Knowing the sidewalks on Oxford and Regents Streets aren’t wide enough to accommodate all of the people flocking to the area to do holiday shopping, they decided the best solution was to open the streets to people. After considerable success with the previous traffic free shopping days, the pedestrian shopping weekend returns again December 10 and 11 for the 2011 Christmas season.
Here in San Francisco, the Union Square district is also seeing its annual peak in pedestrian traffic for holiday shopping. The new promenade on Powell Street means this year there’s more room for people to walk or sit and wait for their fellow shoppers on two of the busiest blocks of Powell Street. The Powell Street Promenade is a step in the right direction towards making the Union Square District and San Francisco a better place for getting around on foot; and West End’s VIP Day is a great inspiration for other possibilities.
Where would you like to see San Francisco celebrate VIP DAY?
Summer talks to new businesses on Market Street about what they see for the future of the corridor.
We’re sad to say goodbye to another member of our intern team. Summer Krounbi has been an integral part of our research and outreach team, from talking to businesses on Market Street, to flyering around new parklets, to conducting bicycle and pedestrian counts. Thank you for helping us build support for placemaking projects and great streets in San Francisco.
The Great Streets Project is hiring another intern to fill her place. Read more about our internship opportunities and how to apply here. Applications accepted on a rolling bases, but we’re looking to hire as soon as possible.
This parklet hosted by Four Barrel Coffee at 15th and Valencia Streets is a great example of making the most of the public right of way to create a great space for people to gather and park their bicycles while visiting nearby shops and cafes.
The San Francisco Planning Department has released the third Request for Proposals (RFP) for parklets.
Over 20 parklets have already been built in neighborhoods around the city, adding a little more space on our sidewalks for people sit, relax, and enjoy the city around them, but neighborhoods, residents and businesses are still calling for more! San Francisco is ready for the next round of innovative designs and is eager to see them branching out to new neighborhoods.
CBDs Community Benefit Districts, Storefront Business owners, and Non-profits and community organizations are encouraged to apply. Other applicants may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Applications are due on December 5, 2011 at 5:00pm.
Download the RFP and application here, and visit our parklets page for resources for interested applicants and more information about parklets in San Francisco.
Beginning November 4th, 2011, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts will be featuring a one-week showing of the film Urbanized, by Gary Hustwit, director of Helvetica and Objectified.
Urbanized explores the many challenges that cities are faced with today, while presenting strategies and best practices of urban design being implemented globally. The film features architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers that discuss urban issues of housing, transportation, public space, economic development, civic engagement, and environmental policy that challenge cities all over the world. By examining various urban design projects and highlighting the contributions of ordinary citizens, Urbanized sets up a global discussion on the future of cities.
What lessons can we learn from these urban design projects, the issues they seek to adress, and the roles of both experts and ordinary citizens as we strive to revive Market Street?
Ticket prices for this film are $10, and YBCA is located at 701 Mission St. in San Francisco, just a few blocks from the Powell and Montgomery Street BART/Muni stations.
More information about the film and these screenings can be found here .
Have you enjoyed biking, walking, jump-roping, or skating through the city during a Sunday Streets event? Do you wish the route was longer, shorter, or in a different neighborhood? Have you had trouble getting around the city because you didn’t know that Sunday Streets was happening?
With the Sunday Streets 4th Season is winding down, Livable City is looking forward and planning for 2012. They want to know what does and doesn’t work for you so that more people can enjoy more Sunday Streets, while having a lighter impact on neighborhoods and the city. Share your thoughts and experiences by filling out their brief 10 question survey.
Sunday Streets is a series of events put on by the City of San Francisco to encourage health, community and fun, inspired by similar events in cities throughout the world. A Sunday Streets event creates a large, temporary, public space by closing off stretches of a neighborhood’s streets to automobile traffic, and opening them to pedestrians, bicyclists, and activities for several hours on a predetermined Sunday.
Haven’t enjoyed Sunday Streets before? Don’t miss your final opportunity this year. The final event of 2011 is October 23 along the popular Mission Route (Valencia from Duboce to 24th Street, 24th Street from Valencia to Hampshire). See the route map at sundaystreetssf.com.
Sunday Streets is presented by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and the City of San Francisco. Livable City, a local transportation-oriented non-profit manages daily operations and serves as the program’s fiscal sponsor. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition manages the Volunteer program for Sunday Streets.
Last Friday Pavement to Parks and the parklet program were honored with a Beautification Award by San Francisco Beautiful at their Together for San Francisco soiree celebration. Each year San Francisco Beautiful honors exemplary community projects that contribute in special ways to making San Francisco beautiful, vibrant and engaging. This year’s honorees all illustrate the creative ways San Francisco is repurposing, restoring, and reactivating our public space.
The award recognizes the San Francisco Planning Department, the Department of Public Works, the Municipal Transportation Agency, and the San Francisco Great Streets Project for their contributions to the successful parklet and Pavement to Parks programs which have created vibrant, beautiful gathering spaces around the city.
San Francisco Parklet
Also honored with Beautification Awards:
EcoCenter at Heron’s Head Park: Once a former Bay landfill at Hunter’s point, the organization Literacy for Environmental Justice built an off-the-grid, sustainable classroom to teach environmental justice and urban sustainability to youth.
Off-the-Grid: Working with the Recreation and Parks Department, Off-the-Grid is a new phenomenon bringing high-quality food to people in parks and open spaces across the city enhancing the experience for park users, and creating new revenue for the city.
Sunnyside Conservatory: A 100-year old treasure once slated for demolition in the Sunnyside neighborhood, the Sunnyside Conservatory was saved by a dedicated group of community members to preserve and repurpose this cherished neighborhood landmark.
San Francisco Beautiful is focused on creating and maintaining the beauty of San Francisco. They make grants to community groups, award exemplary civic projects, and advocate for a better more beautiful city. Learn more at sfbeautiful.org.
The Powell Street Promenade opened to rave reviews earlier this year, and now we have the data illustrate what many people already know, more space to walk and sit means more people enjoying a vibrant street life.
In collaboration with the Union Square Business Improvement District and with the help of 5 dedicated volunteers and interns, the San Francisco Great Streets Project collected pedestrian counts and pedestrian and business surveys to understand the initial impacts of the promenade a month after it was installed.
Here’s what we found
After the promenade was installed, Powell Street between Ellis and Geary Streets is attracting and accommodating more pedestrians – up to 18% more people during peak weekday hours.
After the promenade was installed, significantly more people are not only passing through the corridor, but also stopping to spend time resting, relaxing, window shopping and socializing. On average, 30% more people are enjoying the area at any given time.
Visitors surveyed are more satisfied with these two blocks of Powell Street in terms of “places to stop, relax, an socialize” and”physical attractiveness” and many call for even more efforts to green the street, provide pedestrian amenities and calm traffic. People like what they see and want more!
While there is still room for more improvement and neighboring merchants are continuing to work out the most effective use of the loading bays, the Powell Street Promenade is clearly a step in the right direction towards improving one of San Francisco’s most iconic streets for all users.
A free evening of outdoor art, music, dance, and performance
The Yerba Buena Community Benefit District (YBCBD) presents Yerba Buena Night. Neighborhood streets will come alive with art, music, dance, and performance. The YBCBD invities you to enjoy the Yerba Buena neighborhood, home to the richest concentration of cultural institutions in San Francisco, as well as an enormous selection of food, drink, and entertainment.
And you’ll have the opportunity to see some terrific local artists. The evening includes:
Listen. Live Samba, Bluegrass, and Contemporary on two stages.
Dance. Flamenco and modern dance performances. A Dance marathon to benefit Make-a-Wish and other local nonprofits.
Encounter. Surprise performances by Cirque du Soleil. Street Performers. Poetry readings.
Admire. Free gallery walks at over a dozen renowned Yerba Buena galleries. Cutting edge video art projections. Interactive art.
Dine & Imbibe. B Restaurant & Bar, Press Club, Samovar, Tropisueño, and many more.
The San Francisco Great Streets Project catalyzes the return of our city’s streets to their rightful place as the center of civic life in this wonderful city by working with government, business, and neighborhood leaders to test, analyze and institutionalize placemaking.
