Hundreds of people gathered in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park Sunday to celebrate four years of the JFK Promenade serving as an open space for pedestrians to walk, cycle, dance and roll.
Hundreds of people gathered in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park Sunday to celebrate four years of the JFK Promenade serving as an open space for pedestrians to walk, cycle, dance and roll.
The Promenade, a 1.5 mile stretch of road, was originally closed to cars as part of an emergency declaration during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Then, in 2022, the city’s Board of Supervisors passed legislation to make its status as an open space permanent. San Francisco voters reaffirmed the decision later in the same year.
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“We know that, prior to the pandemic, three out of every four vehicles that used to travel down this road didn’t start their trip in a park. And they didn’t end it in a park,” said the city’s Recreation and Park’s Department General Manager Phil Ginsberg. “Which meant they were using this beautiful space, this incredibly valuable space, to get someplace else more quickly. That is not the purpose of a park.”
The crowds there Sunday to celebrate the safe outdoor space also included Mayor London Breed.
