A rendering of the Powell Street transformation proposed by Field Operations and Sitelab Urban Studio. A new design, programs to attract businesses and rising tourism should enliven the corridor.

I always feel bad for the tourists lining up to ride the cable car at the Powell Street turnaround in San Francisco. They’re about to have an experience that — even for someone like me who has lived in the city almost my whole life — is filled with joy. But in the interim, they’re stuck, often for a long time, surrounded by blight.

Once so busy with pedestrians that it forced the city to figure out how to accommodate foot traffic on its crowded sidewalks, this stretch of Powell has become a poster child for the post-COVID doom loop.

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Fortunately, that’s about to change.

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A line of people waits to ride the cable cars in 2024 at the Powell Street turnaround in downtown San Francisco.

On a warm and sunny Wednesday, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced the city’s commitment — and the enactment of legislation to accept a $14.5 million private grant — to transform three blocks of Powell Street from the cable car turnaround at Market Street to Geary Boulevard “into a world-class gateway.” Construction is due to begin later this year.

“San Francisco will have 24 million visitors this year, surpassing 2019 levels,” Lurie said, addressing a clearly energized crowd at the cable car turnaround, noting that many of them begin their experience there, and that they should see “a corridor that reflects the optimism of our city.”

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Voters initially funded the refurb via the passage of Proposition B in 2024, and I’m pleased to report that their money has thus far been well spent.

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Eleven teams competed to design this small but significant project (if only nearby Embarcadero Park had........

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