What's Happening in San Francisco, CA…

San Francisco officials are considering banning cars from certain streets in the city, leaving more room for mass transit, bicyclists, and pedestrians.

The city has recently made changes to traffic patterns on Market Street, where cars are forced to turn off so that only vehicles that use the red lanes—Muni vehicles, emergency vehicles, and taxis—can travel down Market. Now officials are thinking about the possibility of removing all personal vehicles from some streets.

The San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority (SFMTA) is beginning the effort by considering which streets are already overcrowded, and then perhaps making them for transit vehicles only, according to the board director of the SFMTA, Malcolm Heinicke.

Market Street has been the first street to be approved for car-free status. The project is called “Better Market Street” and suggests widening bike lanes and sidewalks. As noted earlier, cars are already being routed off Market to make room for Municipal vehicles only, though a complete ban is not yet in effect.

Heinicke says that it's important to note that bus travel is slow because of the number of cars in the way, which means people may not opt to ride the bus at all, leading to fewer mass transit riders and more cars on the street.

Public opinion is mixed about the proposed ban, but officials could use flyer printing to explain the concept in detail for residents.