Bringing more “eyes on the street”: Horton Plaza Park Opens

Yesterday would have been Jane Jacob’s 100th birthday. This famed visionary known for her book, Life and Death of Great American Cities, is also equally famous for having fought against the building of an expressway that would have destroyed her Greenwich Village neighborhood. At the heart of her message is just this simple idea – to prioritize people first. Nnot too radical of a concept considering BikeSD’s own mission.

Even Google paused its march toward for driverless cars to honor Jacobs yesterday:

Thus yesterday was a fitting tribute to open a new public space in San Diego, the Horton Plaza Park.

Our local placeshaker, Howard Blackson, took some great photos showcasing the new park downtown:

More people outside the automobile contributes to not just a more livable space, but one that is safe as well. I’d like to quote a bit from this article published last year on The City Fix:

Urban security is not simply a matter of policing: it is directly related to the quality of public spaces and their ability to attract people onto the streets.

Public spaces, like people, are not islands, isolated from the surrounding environment. Public spaces are connected to collective identity, everyday life, and the ways that we interact and meet one another. Cities gain their vitality from their residents—beyond the walls of buildings and in public spaces at the essence of urban life.

Pushing policies and agendas to keep people isolated from one another, whether it be through expanding more highways to induce more driving, or advocating for more vehicle parking on our most valuable public spaces – our city streets – is the antithesis of city living and ultimately contributes toward an unsafe environment. More public spaces and more bike lanes all contribute toward a better city and a better quality of life for everyone. Pretty nice to see that downtown is continuing to enable “more eyes on the street”.