I'm thinking about SF supervisor Chris Daly's proposal to curtail automobile traffic on Market Street east of Van Ness/Hwy 101. At first, I envisioned a long, tree-lined avenue of only bicycles and pedestrians, frolicking gaily in the sun... Back in reality, I think they could leave almost all the streets that cross Market open to crossing, just cut off turning onto Market itself.
Driving up or down Market Street, currently, is frustrating, slow, and often ridiculously circuitous. I ride my bike up and down Market every day, to and from work, and I pass cars just *coasting* on my bike. It fills me with glee. The cars will race ahead to the next light, then sit there and wait as I pass them again. It's a little game I play in my head that goes something like, "Let's see if I can beat these poor saps who are farting out carbon monoxide in addition to pouring a good chunk of their income into fuel, insurance, car payments, repairs, and parking tickets." Also in my head, I hear that "dun-da-dun-da-dunna" music that plays when the Wicked Witch rides off with Toto. It's fun to be me sometimes.
Back to my Big Idea: people were complaining in the comments on the above referenced article that cutting off automobile traffic from using this street as a through-way would be bad for the businesses on Market Street. But! There is nowhere to park on Market, you already have to go to a side street or a garage. Nobody drives to a business on Market. If cars are not allowed to clog Market, public transit would run smoother, and it would be more welcoming to pedestrians and cyclists. And all of these people? They are on foot. They are physically on the street. Without a giant machine to navigate and stow somewhere, they are much more likely to visit businesses on the street since they can just walk in. People in cars? They have to go park and then walk there anyway!
The tough thing is, Chris Daly rankles people. I think his heart is usually in the right place, but his approach is often so inappropriately simplistic and his stance so stubborn, that it makes it impossible to get behind him. He's like a teenager who thinks he knows everything but can't see the unyielding complications, imbalances, and unfairness in life. I think he looks at a problem and thinks of how things should be, then runs with the first short route from problem to no problem that he thinks of, nevermind the problems his solution might cause. It's not helpful.