Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said Thursday she will temporarily banish cars from residential streets throughout the city, opening more space for pedestrians and bicyclists to use the roadways for exercise during the coronavirus stay-home order.

“Because of the reduction in car traffic we will be closing off a number of streets, so that bicyclists and pedestrians can spread out and exercise and take in fresh air safely,” Schaaf said during a virtual town hall Thursday evening.

The emergency measure, called “Oakland Slow Streets,” will shut out automobiles from 74 miles of streets — 10% of the roadway space in Oakland. Schaaf displayed a map during the town hall which showed the targeted streets as purple lines criss-crossing just about every neighborhood. City Council President Rebecca Kaplan and Oakland’s Department of Transportation helped plan the effort.

Many questions remain unanswered about how the city will manage and enforce the closures.

Before the coronavirus pandemic exploded in the Bay Area, a car-free streets movement was picking up steam in San Francisco. Officials banned cars from Market Street on January 29, and the chair of the Municipal Transportation Agency floated the idea of purging private vehicles from Valencia Street in the Mission District. Mayor London Breed expressed support for congestion pricing — rush hour road tolls to thin out traffic on the busiest streets downtown.

But Oakland appears to be leading the charge during the shelter-in-place period. Schaaf’s announcement drew immediate and undiluted praise from bicyclists and pedestrian advocates on social media.

Some advocates in San Francisco are ramping up pressure on the Recreation and Parks Department to close John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park to automobiles. It drew attention after a hit-and-run in 2016 left a cyclist dead and jolted the city.

Parks officials declined the request last month, saying the Public Health Department had advised against it over concerns that a car-free roadway would encourage gatherings.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan