How pleasant life would be..., by Jeffrey Veen

How pleasant life would be...

"And then to the rarest treasure, Golden Gate Park on a car-free Sunday morning, the air wet and clean, the meadows green with the promise of spring. Not a single automobile: The silence is deafening, you can actually hear the branches dripping moisture, squirrels scrambling through the underbrush -- and the birds! Hundreds of redbreasted robins bobbing across the lawns, now that there are no cars to frighten them. On Stanyan, the families are renting bikes and heading into the winding trails. Slowly it dawns on them that they can use the main drive and the roads. For once the world does not belong to the automobile. The bicycle is king again and the rider may go where fancy dictates without looking nervously over his shoulder. You are even allowed, for a few unrealistic minutes, to reflect on how pleasant life would be if the car were banned from San Francisco."

Herb Caen, San Francisco Chronicle, 1/28/73
via the weekly newsletter from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

This entry was written by Jeffrey Veen and posted 4 April 2006 at 6:00 AM. It was filed under Cycling. | View blog reactions

Comments

1. On 5 April 2006 at 11:00 AM Geert De Deckere wrote:

That would be totally awesome! I'm in. I'm no longer using my car on Sunday. Well, that is if I had a car, and a driving licence.

2. On 5 April 2006 at 11:14 AM Lydia wrote:

Hey Jeffrey - just a heads up:
You've got a glitch in the month - listed as May 4, rather than April.

3. On 5 April 2006 at 1:30 PM Jamison wrote:

Somewhere I read some of the opposition to a saturday closing instead wanted to narrow the road (no, don't gasp, give me a sec...) and instead widen the pedestrian path and add to it the east and westbound bike lanes to one side like those along Crissy Field in the Presidio.

The idea being instead of just having that pedestrian oasis on just saturday and sunday, constrict the road and slow traffic and make a wide safe pedestrian path that can be enjoyed the entire week.

I hate riding through on sundays, when just because everyone is welcome to use the street most people are paying no attention and suddenly swerve to one side or another without looking to see if someone is in the way.

4. On 5 April 2006 at 1:56 PM vanderwal wrote:

It used to be that much of the north side of the Golden Gate Park was closed to traffic on Sunday. Did that change?

It was not so great for cycling as the road was filled with roller blades, kids, and skateboards all doing seemingly random things. It was very nice to choose alternate transport (non-bike) to head over to the Japanese Garden or Stowe Lake. It was wonderfully quiet and peaceful.

Sunday usually meant a ride across the GG Bridge and do the Tiberon or Nicasio loop. Ah crap, now I am really missing SF again.

5. On 5 April 2006 at 2:14 PM Veen wrote:

Sundays are still closed, Thomas. The Coalition is behind a proposal to close the road on Saturdays, too.

And I don't ride through the park then, because I tend to ride fast as well and it feels dangerous with so many kids running in the street without a care in the world. Which is how it should be in a park. I don't mind at all.

6. On 6 April 2006 at 2:31 PM John Dowdell wrote:

That's odd... I was in Golden Gate Park last Sunday, along Kennedy Drive, and didn't see Herb Caen at all there.... ;-)

7. On 6 April 2006 at 5:18 PM Jamison wrote:

Herb Caen might no longer be with us, but legend has it his spirit refuses to leave San Francisco and on quite nights you can hear his ghost whispering anecdotes of wonderful things about the City. Or at least that's the legend I just made up.

8. On 6 April 2006 at 6:57 PM Gino wrote:

Hey Veen, speaking of cycling, I'd like to invite you to give Distance Logger a spin. Get in touch via email if you want to know more. http://www.distancelogger.com