Oakland Shuts Down Streets To Give Walkers More Room
By on April 10, 2020
Props to the city of Oakland for this idea. The Town is shutting down nearly 74 MILES of roadway to vehicle traffic to give residents more room to walk and ride their bikes. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf announced in a virtual town hall meeting that sidewalks are getting so congested at peak hours of the day that some pedestrians were taking to the streets to stay six feet away from others.
With a lot less car and truck traffic in the city right now, this will allow people to spread out a bit on their daily walks and still uphold social distancing practices. Of course, the “Oakland Slow Streets” closures are only temporary and will be lifted as our daily lives begin to return to normal. A formal announcement along with the start date for this program is expected later today (Friday, April 10) including a more detailed map of roads closed to vehicle traffic.
Our friends at KTVU have more information about Oakland Slow Street here https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-to-close-74-miles-of-streets-to-cars-paving-way-for-pedestrians-and-bicyclists
