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Oakland and SF's Socially Distant 'Slow Streets' Now in Google Maps

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"Slow Streets" are in vogue. Since shelter-in-place orders were instituted, city streets have been closed to vehicle traffic, first in Oakland, then in San Francisco. And now, Google Maps is in on the party.

Oakland initially announced plans to close 74 miles of streets to through-traffic (allowing for local car traffic). In late April, San Francisco followed suit, with 34 miles of streets open to walkers and cyclists (and dog walkers, and rollerbladers, and, if you absolutely must, e-scooters, too).

But the information was dispersed, and useful maps were hard to find.

Now, these designated "Slow Streets" can be spotted in Google Maps, featuring a convenient dotted line marked "Slow Streets" and "open to pedestrians & cyclists, authorized vehicles only."

Noted Bay Area transit advocate Chris Arvin spotted the changes on Twitter, which was followed by a social media flurry, including a reply from San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Director of Transportation Jeffrey Tumlin, who wrote, "Wow - @googlemaps is now showing #OpenStreets for most US cities, fostering good municipal competition. @OakDOT and @seattledot in the lead! San Franciscans: help us catch up in Ph 3 ."

If you're rarin' to see them expand slow streets even further, reach out to share your opinion with San Francisco here and Oakland here.

— Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez (@FitztheReporter)

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