Where the Streets Don’t Look the Same

Socially distanced outdoor dining and retail has changed the landscape of several busy corridors in the Bay Area and we’re pretty excited about it! Cities including Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Redwood City, South San Francisco, Palo Alto, Los Gatos and others have all made quick work of closing streets or removing parking to provide additional space for dining, pedestrians and bikers.

In many cases, closing streets to motor vehicles has been a vision residents and officials had hoped for and this opportunity has accelerated the process. In downtown Sunnyvale, historic Murphy Avenue is closed between East Washington Avenue and West Evelyn Avenue.

Erika Towne writes in the Silicon Valley Voice that ‘Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein says he’s happy it’s finally happening. He says it’s an idea he tried to get businesses behind before, but with no luck. In January, he brought the idea up with the Downtown Association. Both sides were talking about the possibility of closing Murphy Avenue when COVID-19 hit’.

And, in Mountain View, four blocks of Castro Street have been closed to vehicles since June 22nd with potential for a permanent closure.

Mountain View is already in the midst of studying transit options for blocking off part of Castro Street to traffic permanently, in many ways making the three-month closure for outdoor dining a test run for what could be Castro Street's car-free future.

Do You Like Car Free Streets? Use Them and Tell Business Owners and City Leaders.

One of the best ways to show that closed streets can be a healthy and safe alternative is to use them and be visible. Grab your family, jump on your bikes and patronize the businesses. Show others that it’s easy and convenient to ride a bike to these areas. Also, let restaurant and shop owners know that you like the changes. Often business owners view loss of parking in front of their shop as a potential loss of business, but that’s simply not the case. In fact, studies in many cities have all found that people who had biked and walked to businesses spent more money in those areas per month than those who drove there.

In addition to sharing your enthusiasm with businesses, let city leaders know you like this change! Your enthusiasm and support will go a long way. And, as more bicyclists are riding to these areas the need for adequate bike parking will increase. For instance, Los Gatos installed several new bike racks as part of their outdoor dining expansion. If you find yourself looking for bike parking, let your city officials know.

Reopening Responsibilities

It’s exciting to see people enjoying these spaces but please remember to be courteous and responsible users. If you’re on your bike be sure to look out for pedestrians - ride slowly or get off your bike and walk.

Covid-19 has brought hardship to many in various ways but if there's a silver lining, it could be something like closing these busy corridors to cars. The opportunity to stroll and bike through these spaces gives us a sense of how lovely car free corridors can be. Let’s not let this be a fleeting response to the pandemic when it can be a permanent solution for our vibrant social spaces.