San Francisco restaurant diners will enjoy a significantly enhanced alfresco experience this summer, thanks to a new program Mayor London Breed announced on Tuesday.
The Shared Spaces Program gives shops and restaurants the chance to repurpose sidewalks, plazas, parks, and even full or partial streets for food and shopping pickup. Once regulations ease further into Phase Three, these spaces can be used to set up tables for outdoor dining.
Officials painted it as a way to save local businesses on the brink of collapse while also lowering the risk of coronavirus transmission by focusing customer service on outdoor areas.
"Thanks to the work of our Economic Recovery Task Force, this new program is a creative solution that will give our businesses more space to operate safely, and shift some of our street and sidewalk space to protect the economic and physical health of our entire community," Breed said in a statement.
The program is likely to start in mid- to late-June as soon as the city puts the finishing touches on the program. It will be free to apply for a permit.
— Julia Scott (@juliascribe)