SAN DIEGO — San Diego is one step closer to making the Fifth Avenue Promenade in the Gaslamp a reality. The city is expected to approve a plan this week to make the area more pedestrian friendly.
If you're ever in the Gaslamp on the weekends you've seen barriers up to stop vehicle traffic. Now, the city plans to block cars from driving on Fifth Avenue on a daily basis.
The vision for the Gaslamp's Fifth Avenue Promenade has been in the works for decades.
"Finally the day has come that it's really here," said Michael Trimble, the Gaslamp Quarter Association Executive Director.
The Gaslamp Quarter Association says the pandemic just sped up the process.
"A silver lining for how bad COVID was. It pushed us out into the street, gave us parklets and pushed the promenade, I would say five years ahead of schedule," he said.
Blocking the street from vehicles is the first phase of the vision. Fifth Avenue will be closed from Broadway to K Street everyday from 11 a.m. to midnight using bollards.
"I think it's a great idea anytime you can close down a street for pedestrians and make it safer for people they feel like they can enjoy the most of it especially as the night goes on," said Miola Aganovic, visiting from Texas.
Other cities have already embraced the slow street concept.
"We do have a couple streets like that at home and it's nice to set out in the middle of the road and just enjoy it and have more seating for the restaurants," said Gail Fazzone, visiting from South Carolina.
Eventually the city looks to redevelop the streets, improve the lighting and plant more trees.
"It takes that European model of a promenade that people have been using for so many years and finally brings it to San Diego. We're really excited by that and really just brings a whole new life to the Gaslamp, another phase to its evolution," Trimble said.
The city will start putting out the bollards to block the streets in July.
WATCH RELATED: Gaslamp Pedestrian Promenade gets approval from city committee and man San Diegans (March 2023).