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Navigating Chinatown’s Corridors and Alleyways
August 6, 2016
IMPORTANT: This walk is SOLD OUT!
Walk SF and volunteer walk leaders David Yi, Lisa Yu, and Maggie Dong, all members of the Chinatown Community Development Center’s (CCDC) Campaign Academy program, will lead an observational and interactive monthly members walk in August.
Despite having the San Francisco’s lowest car ownership rates, the 24 square blocks making up Chinatown suffer from a disproportionately high number of crashes. Discover how the long-established community here is working to make streets safe for the many seniors, children and adults of all abilities, who call this historic district home.
You will begin at the corner of Broadway and Powell Street, streets which have the dubious distinction of being part of the city’s High-Injury Corridor network – the six percent of streets where over 60% of the crashes involving people walking results in serious injury or death, as in the tragic case of 63-year-old Sun Choi Law, who was killed on March 11, 2016.
Learn about the engineering and traffic controls that would turn these dangerous streets into safe ones, designed to better serve the local community members who get to work, shops, restaurants, and nearby Jean Parker Elementary School, primarily by foot and transit.
The walk will then lead you down Stockton, one of two anchoring, north-south streets. Stockton functions as Chinatown’s main shopping district, home to fresh produce, seafood, and meat markets, as well as some of the neighborhoods most significant social and political institutions. Next stop, Stockton and Pacific Street, to highlight the Central Subway.
Move on to Stockton and Sacramento to take in one of the several “pedestrian scrambles” that have been installed to dramatically increase safety and give priority to people walking. Before returning to Chinatown’s busy streets, enjoy a historical respite highlighting some of the neighborhood’s narrow, quiet alleys.
Your walk ends at Kearny and Clay Street, where you can put your newly-acquired audit skills into action to improve safety and walkability at a key high-crash intersection, which links seniors walking/taking transit on Kearny to “Chinatown’s living room” at Portsmouth Square.
Enjoy an optional lunch, on Clay Street at the hundred year-old Sam Wo Restaurant.
Where: Buena Vista Park
What to bring?
- 1.5 mile, mostly flat walk on paved sidewalks and streets
- Wear closed-toe, comfortable shoes
- Carry rain gear and sunhat as needed
- Stock sunblock, water, and personal snacks
Entrance Fee: FREE for Walk SF members; $10 minimum donation per person for non-members.
