Auto free Market Street?

San Francisco's Market Street

San Francisco's debate about vehicular traffic kicked into overdrive last week.

In the midst of discussions about the propriety of closing off the Embarcadero to automobiles during the busy Labor Day weekend, Supervisor Chris Daly proposed banning automobiles from Market Street permanently and creating what urban planners call a pedestrian mall.

The concept is an old one in the history of urban design.  So-called pedestrian malls (auto-free streets) were suggested and implemented by the score in the 1960's and 70's.  While Europe has examples of fine, working auto-free areas, for the most part pedestrian malls in the United States have been a flop.

Around 200 cities created pedestrian malls 40 years ago or so.  Today, only 30 of them survive and, for the most part, it was a struggle to keep those alive.

One of the most famous failures in pedestrian mall history was State Street in the Chicago Loop.  State Street was a vibrant, thriving thoroughfare in the 50's and 60's.  It was home to famous department stores like Carson Pirie Scott and Marshall Field.  Until automobiles were banned. Then it dried up and became a boarded up wasteland.  The big local department stores either pulled up stakes for the suburbs or became shrunk down versions of their former glory.  They left not because of any convictions about urban design policy, but because their business had slowed down.  By the 80's, you just didn't go to State Street and businesses there couldn't hang on. 

Clearly, a thriving retail trade is essential for a pedestrian mall.  But once a few stores start hurting and pull out, there is often a chain reaction of stores leaving.  The tipping point is suprisingly easy to reach. Empty storefronts and boarded up windows create more empty stores and a ghost town look can ensue. Shoppers, tourists, and families stay away.

Besides retail uses, it's essential to have some kind of residential population near a pedestrian mall.  Boulder, Colorado, one of the few cities with a successful pedestrian mall, Pearl Street, has the advantage of a large student population nearby.  Ditto with one of the oldest pedestrian malls in Charlottesville, Virginia, home to the University of Virginia.  That young, nearby population base provides a pool of people to fill a pedestrian mall.  But San Francisco has tourists, right?  We'll come back to that.

The length of a pedestrian mall is critical.  Pearl Street in Boulder is only six blocks or so.  But Daly's proposal is to close off over two miles of Market Street.  No pedestrian mall of that length has been successful.  They have to be a few blocks long at best.

Cross streets and access for delivery vehicles are crucial components of a pedestrian mall.  Charlottesville's mall struggled for years until cross streets were opened to allow traffic through.  Deliveries to stores were nearly impossible as well.  The reality is that most people drive to get to pedestrian malls and need to be able to drive close enough to see shops and restaurants and stores.  Delivery vehicles need to be able to service shops and restaurants easily.  Cross streets and alleys behind stores (those don't exist behind Market Street) allow this.

Those same patrons who are driving also need parking.  Again, the successful pedestrian streets have provided nearby affordable parking.  Anyone look at the price of parking in downtown San Francisco lately?

But won't the lack of parking force people to walk?  The answer is that people will walk only a limited distance when shopping or dining.  Ever been in a strange city and walked two miles not knowing where it would take you?  Tourist won't do it here either.

The key element of the successful pedestrian malls is an ongoing management and maintenance program.  The mall infrastructure (paving, street furniture, water fountains, lighting, etc.) has to be maintained.  Let it start deteriorating and the ghost town soon follows. 

Planned events are essential for malls.  Festivals, art shows, food fairs are all part of the mix.  The events create the "buzz" that lure people and benefit the retailers.  Ever notice how many events are scheduled in Union Square?

Of course, all this takes money.  Boulder, a much smaller city than San Francisco, with only those six blocks to worry about, spends $2 million a year.  What would it take in San Francisco and what is the likelihood that San Francisco would do it right? 

While an auto-free Market Street might sound nice, the reality is that the 60's and 70's showed us that pedestrian malls rarely worked.

And what about State Street today?  It was reopened to automobiles in 1997 and recovering its former vibrancy.