SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco is becoming more pedestrian friendly. Over the next three years, San Francisco will loose nearly 1600 parking spots, many of which are downtown. The Financial District and SoMA have been deemed arguably the most highly trafficked areas.
The reallocation of these spaces is in the name of pedestrian safety, bicycle accessibility, and better driver visibility. In the place of those former parking spaces, parklets, a low, fenced-in seating area will be installed. Parklets serve as an urban mini-park and are gaining popularity as extra outdoor seating for restaurants, a venue for small, acoustic performances, or social gatherings. In addition to the 50 already installed, 24 are approved to pop-up in the near future.
The downside for many of the 500,000 daily San Francisco commuters is that they are already competing for 280,000 street parking spots in the city. Paul Rose, a Muni spokesman stated these changes will hopefully encourage more people out of cars and utilizing public transportation options.
