“I love Slow Lake Street because it feels like walking down a boulevard in a foreign country. I love walking down the middle of the street and seeing little kids on bikes. We’ve seen live bands perform. And seeing our neighbors out and about. Period.

I absolutely want it to remain slow. I am completely in support of limited car action on this street.”

LIZ NOTEWARE (walking with friend)

“I’m a parent and my kids have learned to ride their bikes here. It’s a place I can go when I need a break, and really feel like I have space and air. It feels like a little community. People pass each other. They say hello. I see people getting to know each other. I see people here from our preschool and our schools that I would not otherwise see. I feel safe with my kids. It’s hard to teach a 4-year old on the sidewalk. She’s done a lot better in the middle of the street. It just feels like the way San Francisco should be. The way cities should be. Space for everybody.

I think of San Francisco as a city that has a lot of community oriented places and this should be just another one of them. Is it surprising that it is still here? Maybe because people argue against everything around here. I think it does a lot more good than inconvenience people. I drive too. I have little kids so we have to drive places and I don’t feel inconvenienced by it. I don’t mind not being able to drive down this street. I think it’s worth the tradeoff for me and our family.

I’m a Richmond District native. I grew up in this neighborhood and I love that there are spaces that my kids can be kids and learn to be little functioning people that aren’t so closed in.”

LAUREN KEANE (walking with her daughter Alexandra Shaw)

“We come out and walk Lake Street for our sunset stroll every day between 5 and 6, rain or shine and we, I mean, this is part of our daily, we’ve done this for what, two years now. It’s the best part of our day. Truly the best part of our day being on Lake Street as a family.

I want to be my most articulate here but, we always walk right in the middle of the streets. We have space. We stop and chat with people. The sidewalk is insufficient. If we wanted to go on the sidewalk we would be somewhere else. Here we actually get to be, free.

My husband Tam is not on this walk but he is also a Slow Lake supporter.

I’m just shocked there’s any opposition to Lake being a permanently slow street. It seems like a win for everyone.”

MACKENZIE HUYNH (walking with son Felix and daughter Gemma in stroller)

“I ride on an electric longboard and I like Slow Lake ‘cause I can avoid any sort of traffic on Slow Lake Street. It’s a lot safer without cars speeding through. There’s no stoplights and stuff so it makes it pretty easy to get to and from work, and to and from the gym, which I go to in the Outer Sunset. It’s a large part of my commute, avoiding traffic. It makes it nice.

It’s nice to avoid most cars, you could say. It would be ideal if it were to be permanent.”

THOMAS JENNINGS (skateboarding)

“I feel like I can peacefully walk on this street and see everyone getting their exercise, families, kids, adults, everyone just walks here and it’s so nice. The sunlight is amazing. I walk my dog here. I feel safe walking in the middle of the street.

For me it’s very energizing to see everyone and be able to walk and know that I don’t have to worry about potentially any cars or anyone trying to get in your way.

It would be great if it was permanent. I know it’s an inconvenience for many people but I think it’s a really nice way for the community to have somewhere to go if they don’t want to go to a park or anything like that or don’t have access to that. This street provides that comfortable place.

Just to see people smiling. You see families. You see dogs. My dog. She loves it. She can see other dogs. For me it’s very energizing. I always walk around with a smile on my face, so when people see me they just smile. I feel sometimes a smile can make a big impact on someone who might not be having such a great day. For me, the work that I do I don’t have to impact anyone. But if I can impact one person, even with just a smile or a look or a friendly hello. You might make that person’s day. So for me, I try to get on Lake Street pretty frequently, whether alone or with my dog.”

MELISSA FAJARDO (walking)

SIERRA: “I like it because it’s a place to hang out with friends. I really connect with my friend Anna because we’re able to bike all the time down here. Which is something I don’t usually get to do because we don’t really live anywhere where there’s a space where you can freely bike. So that’s a bit of fun.

It’s different than biking in a bike lane because my parents let me bike out here earlier than they probably would have let me if it wasn’t a slow street because there were less cars. It gave me more freedom at a younger age. Even now they might not let me do it if it wasn’t a slow street.”

KI: “I actually think we’ve enjoyed it more for hiking and then biking and being outside, and just kind of walking. I think it makes the neighborhood feel more like a neighborhood instead of some kind of crazy city street. It’s great. We spend a lot more time outside than I think we would have otherwise. We do a lot of family, out-to-dinner kind of walks, both during the daytime and in the evening.

I think Slow Lake Street feels safer during those darker hours when there’s a lot of traffic. So we get to use more of the extended shoulders of the day because you can do it early in the morning and more at dusk when it feels less safe.

On California Street there was a pedestrian that was killed crossing the street. We live on 18th and there’s no stop sign there. So a lot of people just kind of… It’s just really hard to be a pedestrian in the neighborhood just one block over where it’s not a slow street. It just feels a lot safer to be walking here.

The woman was at a crosswalk (on California Street.) She was older and she was hit by a car and killed. I think two years ago?”

SIERRA: “One year ago. It was pretty recent.”

KI: “I think it’s a brutal reminder that we have to share the road. There’s a lot of cars and when you’re on a busy street, it’s harder to do. It’s really nice to have a place where even if cars are driving through they’re at least going slower because they know they’re not supposed to be driving quickly. Like this person right here… (pointing to a car passing by on Slow Lake Street.)

It’s been fantastic and it’s really helped us enjoy the neighborhood a lot more.”

SIERRA and KI KUEHN (Daughter and mom walking together)

JAN: “I live on 8th Avenue and I love it. I love to run. I love to bike. I love to walk. This is such a wonderful venue to do it in without having to worry about being hit by cars, etc. And I love seeing people enjoy it as well.”

RICARDO: “We live in Berkeley. We love coming over to visit Jan and Don. We love it for exactly the same reasons she does. It’s just fantastic to be outside on a non-traffic street.”

JAN: “It’s very European”

MAUREEN: “Yeah. I guess so. We’re on a little hike.”

RICARDO: “We don’t have slow streets in Berkeley.”

MAUREEN: “There’s one slow street that I know of and they’re thinking about giving them up.”

RICARDO: “It’s a highly congested city compared to San Francisco so it’s much more difficult with traffic and whatnot to do that. I think it would be a great idea to make Slow Lake Street permanent. Wonderful. To be dismissive of traffic as much as possible within the boundaries of reason.”

MAUREEN: “In Lisbon and Porto there’s lots of streets where there’s restaurants on either side of the street and it’s just blocked off and all of the tables are in the street. Why can’t we do that?”

RICARDO: “It’s a promenade.”

JAN SMITH, MAUREEN HANLON, RICARDO CHARLES and a Friend (walking together)

“We love Slow Lake because it gives us an opportunity to be outdoors safely with our kids. We can exercise. We can learn how to ride the scooter in a safe, quiet manner. To me it’s the best thing in the city that came from a crazy situation like a pandemic and has allowed people to exercise, feel active, feel great, feel happy. I just love it.”

NISHA PURI (exercising with friends outside her home on Slow Lake Street)

JEREMY: “This is really cool. It just seems like it’s bringing out a lot of different people that are not just bike riders or walkers. You’re seeing all different modes of transportation. Lots of puppies. Just sort of life looks like a good cross section of the neighborhood and beyond.”

JOY: “I like Slow Lake Street because you don’t get distracted by all the noise from the traffic and you get to get immersed in the community. It feels more neighborhood. Everyone can hear the birds singing. It’s just really nice. I totally want it to continue as long as it’s structured and organized properly. It’s super cool to have slow streets in the city in different neighborhoods.”

JEREMY SERWER and JOY JIANG (walking with dog CHARLIE)

“I love Slow Lake because I walk my dog up and down probably five times a day, and my three girls run, ride bikes and skateboards on it almost every day. I want it to stay. Forever.”

MATT VALENTINO (walking with his dog ARCHIE)

“I love Slow Lake for many reasons. One is it’s a great place for people of all levels of ability to walk safely. I have a car and it’s actually easier for me to back my car out of the garage on a slow street. I live on Lake Street and I think it’s just a wonderful place for people to be able to congregate and I hope it stays slow.”

MICHELE SAHL (walking)

NICK: “Like walking the dog. Like being outside and active and not having to worry about cars.”

HAILEY: “I love being able to run freely. I feel like I have more space and it’s calming. It feels like a neighborhood and a community. Love the wide streets. I want it to continue. Please.”

NICK: “Absolutely.”

NICK ROGERS and HALEY MILGROM (walking with their dog PIKA)

SAM: “We walk to school every day. Dad will often walk me up to school every morning. So that’s one of the many ways. We will bike. We walk.”

JP: “I cargo bike to pick her up. In the morning we walk the dog. And the dog gets a walk. And then for the afternoon pick up I pick her up on a bike. The nice change is I used to pick her up in a Ford F150. No joke. And now, we don’t use it. That truck has sold. That is a big change for us, so we really like it. We support this. It’s fantastic.”

SAM: “Absolutely!”

JP: “We got to get some of the fast moving cars to stop.”

SAM: “Yeah. Like seriously. Rage. And then they just go full speed down. And then another thing is I would like to get it to First and Lake too.”

JP: “Oh, you want it to go all the way?”

SAM: “‘Cause that is the last street. It bugs me. We live on 6th and Lake so yeah. First is a problem for me. But personally, I don’t like the fact that we have to fight for this. This is so much better and the fact that some of the people, even on Lake, don’t like it, is absurd. Seriously. It is way more peaceful and it’s upsetting, frankly, that we’re even considering stopping this.”

JP: “And I think it feels like we’re always begging for scraps and the automobile always has so much priority all the time. We always consider their needs for every freaking thing.”

SAM: “It’s like the Boreal Warden in the Creatures of Sonaria. You just cannot win. You can not win against the Boreal Warden in Sonaria. It is impossible.”

JP: “Creatures of Sonaria. It’s a video game.”

SAM: “They are 60,000 times taller than you almost no matter what creature you are and you cannot fight them. They will insta kill you. No matter what.”

JP: “The Board of Supervisors and Mayor already approved 80% car emission reduction by 2030. But they’re not going to implement it. The way they’re implementing it is doing practically nothing to get to that goal. She should be leading on this project. She should be blazing the trail. Instead she’s taking the temperature, so to speak, of every person, which is a delaying tactic as far as I’m concerned. And it’s irresponsible. I’m talking about the Mayor (London Breed) and our Supervisors (Catherine) Stefani and (Connie) Chan. Both of them seem to be very neutral. Chan (District 1) is against it. From everything I’ve heard Chan seems to be against it. But Stefani. It’s hard to get a read on her because it’s only a little piece of her District (2), so I can’t be sure.”

JP and SAM LAVALLEE (Dad and daughter walking)

ALEX: “Lake Slow Street is a safe place to ride and especially for the community here. We don’t live on this street but we love coming out here and we love going to the beach. And it’s nice to feel safe, and feel like this is a city for people more than just cars.”

ANDREA: “I love the community feel. I love seeing people bring their kids out and teaching them how to ride bikes, on a safe space. Somewhere to walk and see people live. It’s awesome!”

ELLEN: “I think it feels like such a nice community. I love coming out at the same time and seeing some of the same people out and about. It’s nice just getting to enjoy riding our bikes and running and not worrying about cars.”

ALEX: “Recently we’ve been riding together a lot. It’s our usual group. We do weekends and weeks too. We like to go down to Baker Beach during the week and have a bottle of wine. We just went across the bridge today. Any excuse to get out. Right?”

ALEX HOLLOWAY, ANDREA RODINCIUK and ELLEN NADEAU (friends biking)

AARON: “I just like being able to take the whole family and just have a nice stroll and not worry about cars and actually get on the street. It’s fun.”

SARA: “It feels so safe for the kids to ride their bikes and go for a family walk and it’s easy to get to. We go for walks more just because ‘cause we can go right out the door and go.”

IZZIE: “I love being outside. It’s really beautiful.”

ZACK: “It’s really nice to get fresh air.”

AARON, SARA, IZZIE, ZACK and AVERY RICH (Dad, Mom, and children walking and biking with daughter Avery asleep in the stroller)

“Slow Lake allows me to walk in the shade when it’s warm and in the sun when it’s cold and anywhere I want on the street without fear of traffic. I enjoy seeing other people, particularly younger people riding or being pushed in strollers or jogging or whatever form of transport. Today a wheelchair for a while. It’s a lovely thing. I greatly enjoy it. Have since it first closed.

I want it to continue in some form. I realize there have been proposals for various ways it can open or partially open. But I like it the way it is. I realize there might be some pressure to have some vehicles with limited access to it and that’s fine. If the current openness is still enforced. Even if lanes on the side. It’s a great idea and I like it to continue.

I’ve lived here 22 years. I walk up and down Lake Street much more than I did before. Previously I walked on other streets in the Outer Richmond but now, half of my walking is here.”

RAY WRIGHT (walking)

“I am close by and I am used to walking and it’s beautiful. No traffic. I can walk. It’s very, very confidently. Yeah.

I want it to continue. I love it. Yes.”

FLORA NIKSEFAT (walking)

“When I go biking it makes my ride a lot easier because it’s a lot flatter and not as many cars to worry about. Before it was definitely a lot more cars and definitely had to be a little more cautious whereas now it’s more relaxing and when I am riding on Lake it’s just easier in general.

Most of my friends enjoy it. When I do go riding with friends, when I say, ‘Let’s just take Lake Street,’ they usually are a lot more open to it now than before Slow Lake.”

ZACK GILLERN (biking with mom MICHELLE)

“I like it because we can come out with our dogs and see everybody in the neighborhood. We didn’t ever come on Lake Street before, until it was Slow Lake Street.

We like the community and the neighborhood aspect of it. No cars. I want it to continue. Yes. Absolutely.”

MICHELLE GILLERN (biking with son ZACK)

ALEX: “I love Slow Lake because it’s a wonderful place for people of all ages and generations to come and be safe in the streets together. I’ve seen kids playing outside in ways that I hadn’t seen since I was a kid in the neighborhood. I see elders walking and enjoying the extra space and the slow pace and the quiet that comes from Slow Lake. It’s also a great way to get around.”

WILLIAM: “I like Slow Lake because it’s fun to ride on and there’s tons of open space to play.”

ALEX DARR (riding home on bike with son WILLIAM and daughter LUNA)