Valencia Street Closes to Cars for Weekends to Spur Foot Traffic and Business Boost

Buoyed by positive response from shop owners and residents alike the Valencia Corridor Merchants Association is leaping into an expanded version of the COVID-induced Shared Spaces Program. Beginning this Friday, February 5 and continuing through June 27, on weekends Valencia Street will become a pedestrian only area to encourage retail and outdoor socially distant dining options.

Cars will be prohibited during this period in the following blocks of Valencia: 16th to 17th; 18th to 19th; 20th to 21st during the following times: Fridays 5pm to 9pm; Saturdays 12pm - 9pm; Sundays 12pm - 4pm. Vehicular traffic on the cross streets will not be impacted. Additionally, over the next few weeks, funds are being raised for the Valencia Lights Project whereby LED ambient string lights will be installed along Valencia from 14th to 24th Streets.

"We're so excited to do something lasting and bright for our neighborhood, our residents, and our merchants," said Jonah Buffa, co-owner of Fellow Barber and President of the Valencia Corridor Merchants Association. "Lighting up Valencia from end to end, from 14th to 24th street, for years, maybe even decades to come, will bring a sense of community and warmth we all need this winter and beyond as we re-emerge as a City."


Image Credit: Top Image: Photo by Cheryl Guerrero. https://photos.sfstation.com/City-Events/Sunday-Streets-the-Mission/i-Nd6DBvM -- Last Image: Photo by Claude Piché on Unsplash / https://unsplash.com/photos/JUu68BJKuhA