San Diego

C Street will become a four-block, permanent pedestrian mall under a measure approved Monday by the San Diego City Council. The council voted, 6-2, to prohibit all vehicular traffic on the street between 3rd and 5th avenues.

The action officially closes a two-block gap, since the council voted in March to close C Street between 2nd and 3d avenues, and between 5th and 6th avenues for trolley stations.

C Street between 3rd and 5th was closed to cars and trucks for 180 days to see what effect the move would have on downtown traffic. City staff members said studies showed no adverse impact on surrounding streets. The San Diego Trolley tracks run down C Street, and an average of eight trains an hour pass through the corridor.

The new mall will have wider sidewalks, and the Metropolitan Transit Development Board has pledged $200,000 to $300,000 to pay for the public improvements, the council was told.