bring ny's summer streets to san diego

apart from a few grumbling parking lot owners and car-dependent complainers, this weekend's summer streets saturday in manhattan was a big success. the first of a series of 7 am to 1 pm closures of a ~7 mile length of streets resulted in waves of pedestrians and bicyclists enjoying the street without car traffic. apparently it's already been done in several american cities, so why not san diego? close down 5th ave one weekend morning and let people enjoy the ubiquitous outdoor restaurant seating on that street without car noise and exhaust. university ave. in hillcrest would be another option, but there are fewer alternative driving options in that area.


while we're fantasizing about such an unlikely event, why not toss out a potential date for it - sunday september 7th, the day of bike the bay, where thousands of bicyclists will be converging on downtown for a 7 am departure to circle the bay via the coronado bridge and the bayshore bikeway. it would be the perfect opportunity for the city to acknowledge the huge bicycle community here, one that's getting bigger by the day as people reconsider their auto use.