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Public To Weigh In On San Francisco's Mid-Market Revitalization

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - By most accounts, it's been an uphill battle to truly transform San Francisco's Mid-Market neighborhood, roughly from 5th Street to Van Ness Avenue, back to its original grandeur.

The recent decision by micro-blogging giant Twitter to move to the neighborhood was certainly a step in the right direction, and now San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee wants to build on that momentum. He has scheduled several public workshops to look at the 'bigger picture," essentially looking for ways to revitalize the neighborhood - as a whole.

KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports:

"We are looking to engage the various stakeholders of Market Street, people who live there, shop there, work there, travel through there," explained San Francisco Director of Public Works Ed Reiskin. "What we really want to do is kind of tap the imagination of San Franciscans and get their input into what they see as the future of Market Street."

Mid-Market was once a thriving theater district, and the hope at City Hall now is to create an updated version of that - imagine things like art galleries and sidewalk cafes.

"Making that inviting and attractive and safe," Reiskin described the vision, "and just generally improving the quality of life."

"It seems to me there's something of a critical mass building to reestablish that area as an art district and I think that will likely be a theme in any vision," he added.

A major paving renovation was also planned, which could include new limits on vehicle traffic and more room for transit, bicyclists and pedestrians.

(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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