Taken with Transportation Podcast: Slowing Down and Getting to Know the Neighborhood

The Lyon Slow Street mural.

A new mural on Lyon Street. A public parklet on Page Street. A San Francisco man who founded a coffee company and sells that coffee on Slow Streets in his neighborhood. These are some of the ways Slow Streets are becoming community spaces.

And we explore these spaces in the latest episode of our podcast, Taken with Transportation. 

Public art on Slow Streets 

In the episode “Slowing Down and Getting to Know the Neighborhood,” we showcase the Slow Streets Mural Pilot Program. We work with residents and the San Francisco Parks Alliance to bring public art to the city’s streets. A mural was recently installed on Lyon Slow Street in the North of Panhandle (NoPa) neighborhood. Another one soon will be painted on Page Slow Street in the Haight. 

Two young painters help out with the Lyon Slow Street mural. Photo courtesy of Shannon Cheng.

“The Mural Pilot Program represents an expansion of the Slow Streets program from strictly infrastructure-focused,” SFMTA Transportation Planner Julia Malmo tells Taken with Transportation Host Melissa Culross. “This is an opportunity for folks to come together on a Slow Street and really cement it as that community space.”

“We’re here to do the traffic feasibility and, hopefully, make it as easy possible to get art on the street,” SFMTA Analyst Elijah Enis adds. “For us, this is a chance for the city to just be more vibrant and colorful and exciting.” 

The episode also profiles Zaid Zayouna, the founder and creator of Slow Street Coffee. Zayouna began roasting coffee at home several years ago. He now sells it on Slow Streets in his neighborhood. 

Zaid Zayouna pours a cup of his Slow Street Coffee at Page and Baker streets. Photo courtesy of Zaid Zayouna.

“It started off as an experiment where I gave some coffee away, got some feedback,” Zayouna says. “[Later] I set up to sell on a Slow Street next to where I live, and it all just came together.”

Artist Matley Hurd, Stephanie Troyan with the Parks Alliance and several community members also appear in “Slowing Down and Getting to Know the Neighborhood.” You can find it and all the Taken with Transportation episodes at our podcast webpage (SFMTA.com/Podcast), our YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.

To learn more about the Slows Streets Mural Pilot Program, go to our project webpage (SFMTA.com/StreetMurals).