Oakland's pandemic experiment with "slow streets" appears to be working.
"I would say there’s a little less traffic than normal," Rylan, a friend of mine who lives on one of the impacted streets, said. "I do feel like I’ve seen more cyclists out on the streets. As far as pedestrians walking on the streets, not so much."
Now, other cities like Palo Alto are considering similar road restrictions to reduce speeding and give pedestrians and cyclists more room to safely socially distance.
"Before, people were packed on to crowded sidewalks," Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said. "We were seeing our parks get overcrowded. This has really been kind of a relief value for our rights of way."
Schaaf told KCBS Radio families have been taking advantage of the extra room to social distance.
"(We’re seeing) a lot of people voluntarily comply with social distancing as well as seeing a lot of cloth masks over people out in public," Schaaf said. "It’s very encouraging."
Schaaf said the city has taken down a number of goal posts and basketball nets to discourage contact team sports in public spaces.
City officials in Oakland announced the shut down of 74 miles of streets last week.