SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Market Street in San Francisco will welcome a new option for transportation later this year. Mayor Daniel Lurie announced on Thursday that autonomous cars from Waymo will soon begin servicing the vital corridor that has had more than 2 miles of roadway closed to private vehicles since 2020.
Waymo is expected to begin mapping Market Street in the coming days with specialists behind the wheel, according to the mayor’s office. By summer 2025, the company aims to begin offering its fully autonomous passenger service.
Controversial Great Highway park in SF officially named“Waymo’s arrival on Market Street will complement the city’s existing transportation options, including Muni, biking, and taxis, and will make it easier for residents, workers, and visitors to access the shops, theaters, hotels, and restaurants that anchor San Francisco’s downtown economy,” the mayor’s office wrote in a news release.
Lurie said that by inviting Waymo to Market Street, it would make “it easier for everyone, locals and visitors alike, to enjoy everything our city has to offer.”
The announcement comes as others are making a push to open the historic roadway back up to all private vehicles and ride-hailing services.
“We would love to have Market Street reopen to cars,” Jennifer Bielstein, executive director of American Conservatory Theater, told KRON4 last week. “We hear directly from potential customers that they will not come to the Strand Theater because they cannot be dropped off and picked up in front of the theaters.”
Property developer Joy Ou agreed, and said Market Street is making it more difficult for people to return to the area and for businesses to rebound post COVID-19.
Ou was part of a group that had met with Lurie to encourage him to embrace not only cars on Market but also improve public safety and create tax incentives as part of an overall plan to revitalize Mid-Market.
Waymo and city officials said they “will work collaboratively to maintain safety and accessibility” along Market Street.
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