Amid the urban hubbub, Linden Living Alley provides a safe, low-speed area where pedestrians, bikes, and cars can coexist with greenery and social space. The re-envisioned throughway realizes the potential of San Francisco’s small streets and alleys, a challenge given the city’s strict standards of segregation between roadways and sidewalks. It is a modern “shared space” street – examples of which date back to the 1970s but have virtually disappeared due to accessibility requirements of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. Architect Dave Winslow and designer Loring Sagan (whose studio Build Inc. is located on Linden Alley) worked for years with the city and disability advocates to develop a design that preserves accessibility
while fulfilling the vision of a truly shared space.