By Robert F. Else In the 60’s and 70’s, in response to increasing traffic jams and the desire to revitalize areas whose economic success had waned for various reasons, many mid-sized cities developed pedestrian malls. According to Wikipedia, in 2009 there were at least 75 pedestrian malls in the U.S. Most people know about the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, and the Church Street Marketplace in Burlington, VT., but there are many others. Wikipedia has links to pages about more than 50 U.S. malls in a good article at bit.ly/2MMbQvz. The most astounding conversion many thought impossible was Times Square, the “crossroads of the world,” closed to vehicles on a trial basis on Memorial Day 2009. Although opposed by many who feared Carmageddon and decreased business, the former river of cars became a river of people, and the pedestrian plazas became permanent in February 2010. The economic and quality-of-life benefits continue, heralded even by those who originally opposed it. The engaging 2016 book “Streetfight” by Janette Sadik-Kahn covers this and other urban innovations, and includes the mistakes as well as successes in these projects. But not every pedestrian mall is successful, and many were undone and reverted to vehicle traffic. According to one graduate thesis, a key factor in the failure of St. Louis’s 14th Street Mall was that cross-streets were interrupted, stifling the traffic grid, even though the mall was only 2 blocks long. But the success of many other, longer malls shows that traffic flow problems can be overcome; many successful plans include one-way streets parallel to the main mall, something Santa Barbara already has in place. Many successful pedestrian malls started as small trials. One of the main lessons from “Streetfight” is that although careful planning is important, taking action and assuming some risks are crucial elements in moving forward. There are many ways to imagine various sections of State Street filled with pedestrians enjoying the shops, arts, dining, and interesting places to sit, relax, and people-watch; the absence of 2 lanes of cars creeping to the next stoplight would make the scene even more enjoyable. In our existing paseos, we already have a taste of how pleasant these oases can be. Could State Street be like this? Editor’s note: Please scroll down for an additional article on the subject, “Reimagine State Street,” and additional photos.
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