People are sharing photos of San Francisco's car-free Market Street

A busy two-mile stretch of San Francisco's Market Street became mostly car-free on Jan. 29, 2020. A busy two-mile stretch of San Francisco's Market Street became mostly car-free on Jan. 29, 2020. Photo: Jean-Paul Torres / Twitter: @jpnv Photo: Jean-Paul Torres / Twitter: @jpnv Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close People are sharing photos of San Francisco's car-free Market Street 1 / 30 Back to Gallery

San Francisco took an ambitious stand against cars Wednesday.

Private cars, including Lyft and Uber vehicles, are now banned from the busiest two-mile downtown stretch of Market Street. The change is permanent, and aims to make the roadway safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. It also emphasizes public transit with the intention of improving service and performance times.

S.F. resident Jean-Paul Torres frequently rides his bicycle on Market Street and noticed a difference on Wednesday morning.

"It was energizing and refreshing to ride on a quieter Market," Torres said. "It felt safer to ride because it was easier to hear Muni vehicles and less nerve-wracking to have to keep a watchful eye out for private cars."

Torres added, "I have a couple of friends who are Muni operators and they mentioned they were looking forward to car-free Market and not having to navigate around cars."

Something we’re often told we’ll NEVER see in North America. San Francisco’s Market Street this morning on the first day going car-free. Congratulations @LondonBreed & ALL who championed change. #StreetsForPeople #SanFrancisco HT @jeffreytumlin for video: pic.twitter.com/Cn3BvhlANk — Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) January 29, 2020

Many took to social media to celebrate the car ban, posting images and videos showing the street dominated by bicycles. The hashtags #CarFreeMarketStreet and #BetterMarketStreet were both trending on Twitter.

"It’s so awesome to have a new, low stress way to get from BART to Caltrain," shared a cyclist on Twitter.

"This is Market Street, not Amsterdam," joked another on Twitter, referring to the European city where bicycles have long ruled roads.

The mood on the street was celebratory, and while the road is still far from being entirely vehicle-free, many noted this was a step in the right direction.

ALSO: San Francisco's Market Street is closing to car traffic: What you need to know

Wednesday marks what city officials are calling the "Quick-Build" phase of a multi-year project that will create a safer and greener space for the half-million pedestrians and hundreds of cyclists who use the city's main downtown thoroughfare. This first step mostly involves rerouting traffic, installing signs, striping streets, extending Muni lanes, and creating new safety and loading zones and bike lanes.

While private cars have been banned, city-regulated taxis, commercial vehicles, emergency vehicles, public transit and paratransit are still allowed. All traffic is able to cross Market Street on cross streets. Where private cars are barred is a little confusing because the no-car zones vary depending on which direction you're traveling. Private cars aren't allowed to travel eastbound from 10th Street to Main Street and westbound between Steuart Street and Van Ness. (See map in the gallery above.)

With Lyft and Uber being pushed off Market, the city is adding passenger zones on some side streets to facilitate drop-offs and pickups.

"We have coordinated with Uber and Lyft to have the white zones added to their apps, so that passengers wishing to have a pick-up on Market Street will be redirected to the closest cross-street white zone for their pick-up," SFMTA said in a statement. Vehicles with commercial license plates (e.g., delivery vehicles) can only access the car-free stretch of Market during certain times to minimize conflict with pedestrians, bicyclists and transit. Starting Wednesday, officials are helping direct cars and educating drivers on the change.

In coming weeks, drivers who turn onto car-free sections will be cited for a moving violation with a fine of $238 and a point on your license.

Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.