Mayor Newsom Announces More Sunday Streets
San Francisco—Days before the final 2009 Sunday Streets event on September 6, Mayor Gavin Newsom announced the continuation of this popular event as a permanent program in San Francisco.
“Sunday Streets will be back in 2010 with more routes, longer hours, more San Francisco neighborhoods and more programs at each event,” said Mayor Newsom. “We have created a new tradition in San Francisco that will improve our quality of life for years to come.”
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), co-sponsor of Sunday Streets 2009, will be the lead agency for the Sunday Streets program starting in 2010. The San Francisco Mayor’s Office will continue to provide leadership support for the program, and Livable City, a sustainable transportation advocacy non-profit, will continue as the fiscal sponsor.
“The SFMTA has been proud to join with our City partners and Livable City to promote healthy family outdoor activities this summer. Working together on programs like Sunday Streets, we can increase the use of sustainable transportation to protect the environment and to ensure the City’s sustainability for future generations,” said Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., SFMTA Executive Director/CEO.
Sunday Streets creates safe, fun car-free space on City streets that give San Francisco residents and visitors an opportunity to get out and get active. Temporarily closing some streets to automobile traffic opens them to people for walking, cycling, skating and playing. Sunday Streets events create a stronger sense of community in every neighborhood they touch and throughout the City.
San Francisco’s program began in 2008 with two inaugural events on August 31 (Labor Day weekend) and September 14. A 4.5-mile route connected Chinatown to the Bayview neighborhood along San Francisco’s picturesque waterfront.
This year Sunday Streets featured six events along four different routes throughout the City: April 26 from Fisherman’s Wharf to AT&T Park along The Embarcadero; May 10 from AT&T Park to the Bayview neighborhood along the Bay Trail; two events in the heart of the Mission District on June 7 and July 19 (the latter coincided with the SF Symphony’s free concert in Dolores Park); and the last two near the ocean, with a route through Golden Gate Park and along the Upper Great Highway on August 9 and September 6, 2009.).
