The sidewalks of the Golden Gate Bridge will only be open to runners taking part in the San Francisco Marathon on Sunday morning.
Cyclists and pedestrians will not be allowed on the bridge from 5 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. to make room for approximately 7,000 runners. Instead, there will be a shuttle to carry them from one side to the other during race.
Until 2017, runners had used lanes on the roadway of the span, but concerns about terrorism led organizers to move the marathoners onto the sidewalks.
Related
"It changed because of incidents around the world in which people were using vehicles as weapons against pedestirans," said Golden Gate Bridge District spokeswoman Priya Clemens. "We simply couldn't take that sort of a risk at the Golden Gate Bridge. We want everyone to be safe and enjoy their experience when they come."
Closing the roadway to cars during the race, however, was an unappealing option, Clemens said.
"The Golden Gate Bridge is a vital artery in this area," said Clemens. "It's really important to us that we keep it open and keep traffic moving at all times."
The Vista Point parking lot will remain closed to private vehicles as it usually is during summer weekends.