The city of San Jose on Wednesday launches its Al Fresco Dining Street Closure in support of downtown restaurants and other businesses, starting with the shutdown of San Pedro Square to make space for outdoor diners.
The first San Jose street closure for dining in response to COVID-19 shuts off traffic on San Pedro Street between Santa Clara and St. John streets.
Crews on Wednesday installed large potted trees as barricades at either end of the street closure.
Unlike previous closures in San Pedro Square during Super Bowl 50, the college football national championship and a series of temporary community closures, the al fresco closure is semi-permanent, at least through September, the city said.
The closure is intended to support the expansion of outdoor dining and bring businesses and customers outside while following social distancing and sanitation protocols as ordered by state and county public health officials, the city said.
In Mayor Sam Liccardo's June budget message, he allocated $189,000 from VTA Measure B and county funding along with $600,000 from CARES Act funding for the al fresco program.
