Parking gives way to sidewalks (update)

Here’s a city that’s not afraid to try new things. San Francisco is taking away some parking spaces in order to have wider sidewalks. Here’s a link to the full article, courtesy SF.streetsblog.org

Gee. In Charlotte we’re still trying to get the city to allow MORE onstreet parking – as a way to slow traffic and avoid having to build surface lots or decks. They were on the right track but after 9/11 someone deep in the bowels of the CMGC decided Osama was planning to park a bomb-laden truck outside all the local banks, so a lot of the parking vanished. Interestingly, no such protection was afforded to the daily newspaper office (or the weekly ones for that matter) or multiple other businesses uptown.

Update, 5:35 p.m., from Charlotte Department of Transportation’s Jim Kimbler: It turns out Charlotte is doing a small version of what SF is, along Fifth Street between North Tryon and Church streets. Kimbler told me via e-mail that the city is helping the retail property owner at the Ivey’s building, Stefan Latorre, who plans to open the interior restaurant space onto Fifth. It would mean wider sidewalks and removing the on-street parking on that block.

“Both the widened sidewalks and the removal of parking are consistent with the Center City Transportation Street Enhancement Standards,” Kimbler wrote. “We believe this will help activate this street with outdoor dining and more comfortable sidewalk space.”

(And no, Mayor Gavin Newsom is no relation. But at least he spells his name right.)