Supervisor Bilal Mahmood is pitching a plan to transform a popular block of Hayes Street into a new entertainment zone and “town square” that — hold on to your britches! — could permanently close the stretch of road to cars.
Mahmood’s proposal, which he will unveil during Friday’s weekly evening street party on Hayes Street, would formally designate the restaurant-lined 400 block of Hayes between Gough and Octavia streets into an entertainment zone. Mahmood said he will officially introduce legislation to the Board of Supervisors on June 2, while also calling on county transportation officials to study options around limiting car access to the block.
That stretch of Hayes Street, which includes Papito Hayes and a Mano, is currently permitted as a pedestrian-only zone on weekends. Mahmood said he wants the study to look at all options, but the possibility that it might be permanently closed to vehicles could ignite intense opposition, as few issues in San Francisco are as combustible as car-free streets.
Opponents of Proposition K, which shut down the Great Highway and turned it into Sunset Dunes, submitted nearly 11,000 signatures this week in efforts to recall Supervisor Joel Engardio after he championed the November ballot measure to convert the 2-mile road into a coastal park. Meanwhile, Mayor Daniel Lurie received blowback this spring for expanding vehicle use of Market Street after he gave Waymo robotaxis near-exclusive access to the downtown thoroughfare, which was closed to cars in 2020.
And who could forget the 2022 war over JFK Drive, which pitted seniors and disability advocates against the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and families that live close to Golden Gate Park to transform more than a mile of roadway into a pedestrian zone?
On top of creating an official town square — though some may note that a square requires four sides — Mahmood said he also will call for the County Transportation Authority to fund a three-part study using funds in reserve after the 2003 demolition of the Central Freeway at Market Street and Octavia. The study will examine the pros and cons of banning cars from one or both lanes on the road, as well as impacts to public transportation and emergency services.
“It’s going to look at how we have more permanent activations of entertainment, music, dancing, carnivals, and street fairs that are already happening there,” Mahmood said. “The second component of it will be pedestrian access — looking into what are the things we need to do to enable full access for the small businesses to be successful.”
David Robinson, president of the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association, which oversees the permit for the current road closures on Hayes Street, anticipates pushback to going car-free. But, he added, the weekend closures have not negatively affected businesses and residents.
“We’ve done surveys on this and it has minimal impact on businesses not being able to drive down one block of Hayes Street,” Robinson said.
Andrew Singer, an organizer for Hayes Promenade, a group that is advocating to make the stretch of road a “permanent pedestrian station,” sees the entertainment zone as a draw that could lure in visitors from across the city as well as outside of San Francisco. He said the group did an analysis of voters around Hayes Street and found that more than 80% were in favor of closing the Great Highway to cars, indicating interest in pedestrian-only areas.
“This neighborhood in particular is probably one of the most favorable environments in the city to push this kind of work forward,” Singer said.
Hayes Valley Safe, an organization opposed to the weekend closures, has already raised concerns over Mahmood’s proposal. The group had previously circulated an online petition to reopen the roadway on weekends.
Representatives for Hayes Valley Safe did not respond to requests for comment, but noted in an online post that they were “stunned to hear this development and find it to be unsubstantiated as a need for our business corridor.”
“Moreover this brings into further focus and question the overreach of the permit holder to change and alter the business landscape of Hayes Valley,” they wrote.
Autumn Adamme, the owner of specialty corsetry shop Dark Garden and president of the Hayes Valley Merchants Council, said she and other business owners in the area are supportive of the study and will keep an open mind to expanding street closures. Adamme said she would like to see a plan that brings greater access to public transportation in the area and makes sure businesses can easily receive deliveries.
“Other than that,” she said, “I’m all for it.”