Starting this weekend, a large swath of downtown San Francisco is subject to closure for people biking, and airport-style security is also expected for several blocks.
People biking will be forbidden on the following streets and routes starting as early as Saturday, Jan. 23 and lasting until as late as Friday, Feb. 12 include:
- Davis Street, between Washington and Market;
- Drumm Street, between Washington and Market;
- southbound along The Embarcadero, between Washington and Don Chee Way (at the Ferry Plaza);
- The Embarcadero Promenade;
- Steuart, from Market to Howard;
- Spear Street, from Market to Howard;
- Main Street, from Market to Howard;
- Beale Street, from Market to Howard;
- Mission Street, from 1st to Embarcadero;
- Market Street, from 1st to Embarcadero; and
- Howard Street, from 5th to 3rd.
We were surprised to hear of these significant street closures and made strong recommendations to ensure reasonable access for people biking. We asked for the Super Bowl Host Committee, the Port of San Francisco and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority (SFMTA) to increase access for people biking. Those requests were rejected.
Despite barring people from biking through a large patch of downtown San Francisco, the SFMTA indicates that “there’s one simple message [they]’d like to spread to minimize traffic headaches: If possible, please avoid driving near the area of the Super Bowl events.”
Read the SFMTA’s full blog post about the street closures here, and consider adding your thoughts and questions in the comments and/or via 311.