Innovative Ideas Showcased on PARK(ing) Day

 

 

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Innovative Ideas Showcased on PARK(ing) Day

via sfbike.org RSS feed on 9/21/09

The SFBC and our Great Streets Project hit the streets last Friday to showcase two cool innovations, on-street bike parking and flexible parking spots. Out front of Bi Rite Market and Four Barrel Coffee we showcased on-street bike parking, a component of the recently approved 2009 SF Bike Plan, which transforms a single car parking space into 12 bicycle parking spaces. It's a benefit for bicyclists and pedestrians alike as it opens up the sidewalk space where bicycles would normally be locked to sign posts and parking meters. See photos here.

SFBC's Great Streets Project got minds churning (and bellies full) by highlighting how a flexible parking spot literally widens the sidewalk and offers up more room for outdoor dining. We worked with Renew SF and the owners of Caffe Roma and Caffe Greco to place platforms that extended the sidewalks for additional cafe seating on busy Columbus Avenue in North Beach. This demonstration project showed what code-compliant flexible parking spot conversions will look like and highlighted the plan to increase pedestrian breathing room on crowded Columbus Avenue. SPUR also hosted a park in front of their Urban Center; the wide, flat streets of SOMA are indeed perfect for sidewalk extensions. See photos here.

If you are a business or know of a business who could benefit from "on-street bike parking" please contact SFBC Program Manager, Marc Caswell marc@sfbike.org or 415-431-2453 x302. If you are interested in using the sidewalk platform extension for your business, please contact Erin Rice at erin@sfgreatstreets.org.

Special thanks to Bi Rite Market, Caffe Greco, Caffe Roma, Four Barrel Coffee, Renew SF and SPUR for working with us on these next generation Park(ing) Day spots. And a huge thank you to all the amazing volunteers who made Park(ing) Day a success, especially Great Streets Project Intern Erin Rice for her many hours of planning, Riyad Ghannam (rg-architecture) whose amazing architectural and building skills demonstrated the flexible parking space concept, Geoff Palmer (bikeparking.com) for all of the bike parking racks, Front Porch for donating tables and chairs, SPUR for the work space and San Jose/Guerrero Coalition to Save our Streets, Friends of the Urban Forest and San Francisco Landscapes for the plants that greened our Park(ing) Spaces.

 

 

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