We’ve also got lots of community-minded neighbors, one of whom (Chris Duderstadt) has envisioned the transformation of Irving between 9th and 10th into a pedestrian plaza. Chris’ idea looks like this:
Chris Duderstadt's rendering of a public plaza on display at Irving Street and 10th Avenue. Photo: Aaron Bialick, as posted on SF.Streetsblog.org
That’s right: no cars, no parking (there are no driveways on this block, so no residents would lose garage access). Just trees, pedestrians, benches, a place to gather with neighbors, relax, and enjoy the day.
Chris’ rendering was posted at the recent Inner Sunset Street Fair, where fair-goers were invited to leave their comments on a giant sheet of white paper posted next to the poster.
Photo: Aaron Bialick, as posted on SF.Streetsblog.org
A quick scan of this photo shows a whole lot of yes votes, some gripes about unrelated things happening in Golden Gate Park , some maybes, some suggestions for how to make the idea even better, and some no votes — with the “yesses” appearing to outweigh the others by a large margin.
I happen to love the idea. I love my neighborhood and don’t think the world will come to a fiery end if one block — just one block — were to be closed to traffic. There are a handful of restaurants on this block; could they have a little bit of outdoor seating (cue the snarky comments about the weather being too crappy in the Inner Sunset for people to eat outside…)? Could there be trees and native plantings? Could it be a one-block slice of community outdoor space in a dense urban area?
Could it be???
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