17th Street Plaza’s First Saturday

When one block of San Francisco is transformed into a pedestrian plaza in 72 hours, the city’s first-ever trial street closure gives birth to an urban oasis.

17th Street Plaza’s First Friday Night

BFF and fellow transit nerd Greg and I went up to see how the plaza was doing on its first Friday night.  While getting food, we saw Cameron pedaling on a trainer in front of Diesel and the Harvey Milk Plaza raising funds for his AIDS Lifecycle 8 ride.  We suggested he come over to the plaza, and he not only brought some life to the plaza but also got some nice donations from moviegoers and other passers-by.

As Tom said, the urbanist gaggle in the plaza collected more transportation and urban planning geeks as the night went on.

17th Street Plaza’s First Sunday

After Sunday Streets, Kate called Orphan Andy’s to ask about the status of the 17th Street Plaza. Greg and I had gone the previous day and only seen the signs but no change in street configuration. Michael at Orphan Andy’s told us there was yellow paint, so we headed west to check it out.

It was very yellow indeed! We parked our bikes against the police barricades and ended up explaining the plaza and the project’s motivation to many puzzled passers by, including police. We sat down in a hippie circle to critique the yellow color, enjoy the sun, and get a head start on the reclamation of public space. We passed the camera around, so thanks to the other transit nerds for some of the shots.