Public Life Program San Francisco Planning Department City Design - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Public Life Program San Francisco Planning Department City Design Group Pedestrian Safety Discussion Health Commission Community and Public Health Committee March 2011

The City Design Group’s Mission is to Design the Built Environment for People and Public Life

The City Design Group Manages a Diversity of Plans and Programs Focused on Pedestrians and Public Life • Better Streets Plan • Mission Streetscape Plan • Fisherman’s Wharf Public Realm Plan • Pavement-to-Parks Program • Public Life, Public Space Research Program

Better Streets Plan

Better Streets Plan

Jefferson Street Design

Pavement-to-Parks Program

What’s Central to How We Think About and Design Streets?

We See the Entire Public Realm as a Connected System for Pedestrians and Public Life

We See Streets As the Place to Experience the City, Not Just to Move Through It

We Know Walkable Communities are Healthier, Stronger, More Vibrant Places to Live

Focus on “Human Needs” Results in a Safer, More Appealing City to Walk Through and Spend Time In

Human Needs in the Built Environment • Pedestrians move slowly and are therefore hyper-aware of their surroundings - design details must be at a fine scale. • Pedestrians typically don’t travel long distances - proximity of destinations is key. • Connections to transit must be convenient and reliable. • Perception of safety, from others and from vehicles, is critical to maintain walking’s appeal across all groups. • People are social creatures - we enjoy being around others.

What the Planning Department is Doing Already: Area Plans • Rincon Hill Public Realm Plan • Better Streets Plan • Transit Center District Public • Mission Streetscape Plan Realm Plan • Fisherman’s Wharf Public Realm • Candlestick/Hunters Point Better Plan Streets • Eastern Neighborhoods • Treasure Island Better Streets Community Plans • Park Merced Better Streets • Market-Octavia Neighborhood Plan

What the Planning Department is Doing Already: Street Designs • Cesar Chavez Street • Masonic Avenue • Jefferson Street • Market Street • Fourth Street Corridor

What the Planning Department is Doing Already: Programs • Pavement-to-Parks Program • Public Life Research Program

How Best To Implement the Directive • Coordinated effort by all City agencies – we all have diverse strengths to contribute. • Task force should build upon a broad platform of safety, place making and promotion of walking. • City needs both short-term goals to maintain momentum and long-term planning to provide vision. • Resolve funding question early to provide certainty in staffing and longevity of effort.

Challenges To Implementing the Directive • Propensity to lose broad integrated perspective of safety, place making and promotion of walking. • Lack of public awareness of trade-offs between automobiles and improved conditions for pedestrians. • Existing rules and regulations that severely limit tools to make streets safer, more enjoyable places to walk and spend time will need to be challenged. • Securing long-term funding to plan and implement measures. • Continued political involvement to maintain energy and focus.

Thank You San Francisco Planning Department City Design Group