Comments

1
Cities are obsolete, so it's only natural that they de-densify and turn back into spacious suburbs.
2
NYC has turned large swaths of Broadway into this and is shutting down Park Ave. to cars during weekends all month for stuff like this, even bringing in swimming pools.
3
Or we could have small wading pools.
4
i had two very astonishing things happen to me at two different times in the restaurant in that picture!
5
Are patrons expected to bring their own blankets during colder months, or does the cafe provide communal blankets? Either way, count me out.
6
They recently expanded the sidewalk along a popular shopping street in the Mission, but last I ate outdoors at the new outdoor seating, booze wasn't allowed outside. This could be because some restaurants are still waiting for additional licensing, or this could be the rule, I'm not sure. There's some older establishments where it's always been permitted, but I wonder if they're grandfathered in somehow.

At any rate, go for it Seattle. You got more days where people would enjoy eating outside during your summer (aka tourist season) than we do, and it still works great here. (unless you propose blocking a street in Noe Valley, then all hell breaks loose)
7
I'm letting the funny spelling of San Francisco slide, but I never get the tic that has people referring to Broadway as Broadway Ave. It's a Way, nothing comes after. Though I guess in a city where University Way is shorthanded as "the Ave," the glitch is understandable.
8
@5 - you'll notice those tables are portable, they wouldn't set them up on shitty days.

Widening sidewalks, especially if you've got a major street project coming up anyhow... say a streetcar, is relatively inexpensive way—as is taking over under-utilized space the city already owns—to revitalize a shopping district.

One of these little used-to-be-a-street/parking lot-parks is more-or-less in fucking nowheresville, pedestrian-wise (17th and 3rd) and, besides the love from skaters it gets, is actually turned into a legitimate little park, lunchtime courtyard. The Castro one was a no-brainer, but it's almost weird how well the 17th st. one has worked out.
9
I wouldn't keep reminding the restaurants that customers sit around at the tables for a long time. They don't want to hear that.
10
Great City has more here: http://www.greatcity.org/2010/07/20/leve…
11
10th Ave between Oddfellows and Neumo's would be my number one- right at the Cal-Anderson Park....
12
@11 good location.
13
@1

Are you John Bailo!?!?
14
@13, that is he, the Ladykiller of Kent Station.
15
@13,

Yes, he is.
16
There is an underutilized parking space in San Francisco?
17
@16 - "Underutilized" only in the sense that, at one time, only cars could use them.
18
you're finally realizing how to have joie de vivre?
19
@5 I saw a lot of communal furs/blankets at restaurants throughout Sweden and Norway, and they were very well kept. Obviously it depends on the quality of the establishment, but my guess is that if a restaurant provides blankets, they would have to wash them between patrons in order to follow health code. If used properly, they can make outdoor seating very nice, even in the snow.
20
Seattle- the city so conservative that you can still get a ticket for drinking a glass of wine with your picnic 50 feet from an uninterrupted drug deal.
21
Spend a few seconds in Vancouver and you'll see how much Seattle sucks in terms of outdoor seating and walkabillity. They have the same weather as we do (if not worse), yet they have 100x more outdoor seating than we do!

Even when I was Berlin with their shitty weather, they had tons of outdoor seating with gigantic umbrellas and heated lamps.
22
@19: bedbugs.
23
@22, bedbugs wouldn't like the outdoor blankets, too sunny, even in Seattle.
24
Clearly, we have some work to do before we can catch up to San Francisco.

San Francisco has sex. Seattle masturbates.
25
@7 Broadway most definitely is an Avenue, not a Way. In Seattle/King County Avenues run predominantly N/S, streets run predominantly E/W. Ways run on diagonals or on weird angles well outside the normal, established street grid. (Olive Way v. Olive St)

Also, this really helps on the Eastside, if the directional (W, N, E, S, SW, NE, NW, etc.) comes before the street name (S Spokane St) it is an E/W STREET. If the directional comes after (4th Av S) it is a N/S AVENUE.

Ways, Places, Courts, etc. are the exceptions to the rule. Broadway, despite having way in the name, is NOT a way.
26
How does giving public sidewalks over to private businesses activate public space? Wouldn't it be deactivating public space?

Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.