Better Market Street Popups Appear Fridays in Fall

PRESS RELEASE 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 24, 2012

BETTER MARKET STREET POPUPS APPEAR FRIDAYS IN FALL 

City takes over spaces on Market Street to showcase the potential future of the corridor

San Francisco, CA- Starting the last Friday of September, and continuing each Friday in October, the City’s Better Market Street project team will host a series of popups, or temporary venues, to showcase potential ideas for the future of Market Street: San Francisco’s civic backbone and transportation hub. The intention of the popups is to capture people passing by in the most highly trafficked areas of Market Street that regularly use the corridor but may be unaware of the project’s mission.

“This spirit of the popup shows how spaces can be transformed to improve underused and blighted areas,” said Department of Public Works director Mohammed Nuru, “I am delighted that the City is taking advantage of this concept to share ideas that will eventually transform the street on a grander scale, creating vibrant public spaces and efficient transportation. We plan to update and share the information from our earlier workshops as we continue to explore new ideas for Market Street.”

The Better Market Street project popups will kick off at the FoodLab at A Temporary Offering (ATO), located at the Renoir Hotel on Market Street at 7th Street, on Friday, September 28 from 12- 2:00 pm and 4:00 - 9:00 pm. The site will feature exciting displays of concepts that will provide a glimpse of the corridor’s potential future.

The September 28th FoodLab popup will concur with two other events: 2 Blocks of Art, an art walk showcasing over 100 local artists in 25 locations near 6th & Market from 4 pm to 8 pm and performances from Flyaway Productions, an aerial dance company on the 7th Street wall of the Renoir Hotel at 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm. These events are part of a larger festival called "24 Days of Central Market Arts".

The Better Market Street team will also be out every Friday in October re-appropriating JCDecaux newsstand kiosks throughout Market Street’s major areas including the Embarcadero, Financial District, Mid-Market and Retail District to inform average, daily users of the street about the project. These pop ups will occur on the following dates, locations, and times:

• Steuart & Market - Friday, October 5 - 11am to 2 pm
• Battery & Bush - Friday, October 12 - 11am to 2 pm
• Market & Post - Friday, October 19 - 11am to 2 pm
• Market & 5th Street - Friday, October 26 - 11am to 2 pm

The popups follow the project’s second round of workshops and webinar held July 2012. Over 300 people discussed ideas to improve the way people move and spend time along the street and shared feedback on initial ideas on how to make the street safer and more efficient to walk, bike and take public transportation; and how to develop the sidewalks and public spaces into more inviting places to shop and experience the arts and enjoy the vibrancy of San Francisco.

The goal of the Better Market Street project is to revitalize Market Street from Octavia Boulevard to The Embarcadero and re-establish the street as a premier cultural, civic, transportation and economic center of San Francisco and the Bay Area.

Better Market Street Project is led by the Department of Public Works, Planning Department, SF Municipal Transportation Agency, the SF County Transportation Authority, and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development in coordination with the Mayor’s Office and other city departments. To learn more about the Better Market Street Project, visit www.bettermarketstreetsf.org.

--end--