Streetsblog San Francisco

Despite the department’s insistence that officers are not targeting bicyclists on Market Street, new numbers from the San Francisco Police Department confirm that cops are going after people on bikes following two high-profile crashes.

Last Friday, as part of SFPD’s traffic safety campaign [pdf], officers beefed up enforcement at 5th and Market and issued a total of 83 citations, mostly to bicyclists, but not a single driver was cited.

Here’s the breakdown, according to numbers provided to Streetsblog by SFPD:  30 bicyclists were cited for running red lights, 21 bicyclists were ticketed for riding on the sidewalk, 16 were cited for “bikes without brakes,” 3 “skateboarders on the sidewalk” were given tickets, and 1 pedestrian was cited for “jaywalking.” The SFPD said “12 misc. citations” were handed out, but withheld specifics.

Why weren’t drivers given any tickets?

“Because the drivers actually followed the rules of the road during the period that the officers were out there that day,” said SFPD spokesperson Albie Esparza.

In an interview with Streetsblog yesterday, Police Chief Greg Suhr insisted that officers aren’t specifically targeting bicyclists. He confirmed that the department has stepped up enforcement in general on Market Street.

“It’s just vehicle code violations, generally. It’s actually the pedestrians too. You know, if everybody’s a little bit mad at me, but it’s safer, then that’s okay. It’s basically who raises their hand that’s going to get called on.”

He added he thought the enforcement was “going well,” and further explained: “We’re trying to get Muni to run on time, and we have had a series of accidents. I’m not casting any blame, but just more enforcement.”

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UPDATED Friday, 9:05 a.m.

A 22-year-old bicyclist named Derek Allen was killed by the driver of a 44-O’Shaughnessy on 6th Avenue between Geary Boulevard and Clement Street late Thursday afternoon in the city’s second bicyclist fatality of the year. (The raw video above is from CBS5).

A spokesperson for the San Francisco Medical Examiner’s office said Allen lived in the East Bay but he could not say which city.

An SFPD spokesperson said the crash happened around 4:59 p.m. as the bus was traveling northbound on 6th Avenue. A man who works at a nearby bakery and witnessed the aftermath told Streetsblog the driver may have been attempting to pass another 44 bus when he or she collided with the bicyclist.

At the crash site, the bus involved in the collision, 8456, sat in the southbound lane facing north in the middle of the block near a parking lot while another 44 sat idle closer to Geary Boulevard facing north in the northbound lane.

“One bus was headed in the right direction down 6th Avenue here and then the other bus was passing it on the wrong side of the street, and then we saw a bicycle wedged underneath and the body,” the witness said. He didn’t want to be identified and added that he often sees Muni operators speeding and trying to overtake other buses in the area.

The mangled white bicycle appeared to be a 10-speed. Allen’s body was draped in yellow tarp and two SFPD officers held white tarp over it until it was transported by the Medical Examiner more than two hours later.  The bicycle was taken away by uniformed officers and put into the back of a black SFPD SUV.

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The San Francisco Police Department has arrested two men allegedly involved in the theft and fraudulent selling of Muni late-night transfer tickets, a practice that deprives the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which runs Muni, of thousands of dollars a week.

What's worse, one of the men arrested is a Muni mechanic. Edmund King, a San Francisco resident and Muni employee, was charged with possession of stolen property and conspiracy, both of which are felonies. The other man arrested, Leroy Gutierrez, was charged with conspiracy and possession of stolen property, as well as two other misdemeanor theft charges and misdemeanor possession of a concealed knife.

Late night transfer tickets are valuable because they don't expire after two hours, like normal transfers. They are given out on surface stops after 8:30 pm and are valid until 5 am the next day.

The sting that nabbed the two men was conducted by the Muni Task Force, a special unit of the SFPD under Deputy Chief John Murphy that operates throughout the Muni system to deter crime. Some of the task force are in uniform, while others operate in plain clothes. The arrests occurred at 16th and Mission Streets, one of the areas of higher incidents of crime related to Muni, according to police data.

"It's a big deal because this has been going on for years," said SFPD Spokesperson Sgt. Troy Dangerfield in reference to selling late-night passes. Dangerfield also said the stings would continue and they hoped to greatly deter the practice. 

Dangerfield, who previously worked Muni enforcement himself, said it was routine to hear people at 16th and Mission and other areas saying, "late night, late night" when trying to sell the transfers.

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As I was riding my bicycle on Market Street to City Hall yesterday, I saw another SFPD sting for vehicles violating the mandatory personal vehicle diversion on Market Street north of 10th Street.

I was stopped at Van Ness waiting for the light to change with a gray Mitsubishi to my left. When the light changed the driver and three others proceeded forward as I negotiated my space leading up to the protected green bike lane starting at 11th. The driver of the Mitsubishi started toward the mandatory turn lane, then made a last-second merge back to the left and into the bus and taxi lane. 

Not an uncommon sight, in my experience, as I've witnessed numerous drivers ignore the signs at the last second to avoid the mandatory turn. The Mitsubishi stopped half a block in front of me at the red light and as I neared him, I was of half a mind to warn him he could get a ticket for violating the lane.

Rather than get into it with him, though, I simply rode by and proceeded through the light at 10th when it turned green. To my (I have to admit pleasant) surprise, there was an SFPD motorcycle cop positioned by the Muni island near 9th and Market who immediately signaled to the driver to pull over (into the bike lane) to get his ticket.

After taking several pictures of the moment, I rode past the officer, who gave me a knowing smile and asked how my day was. Good I said, and thanked him for making it safer.

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Until a year ago, there was no written agreement between Muni and the city's police department specifying what services Muni was paying for and how much, despite the fact that the police department was sending the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency an $83 million annual bill.

Now, one year after a formal memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the departments was finally released, the City Controller's office has released a report that looks at the patrolling services SFPD is providing in a district that is both the location of a dramatic spike in Muni-related crime and also a potential model for how SFPD can reduce such crime.

The report, entitled "Addressing Crime and Disorder on the Municipal Railway: A Case Study on Data-Driven Policing in the Ingleside District," focuses on the efforts of Ingleside Captain David Lazar to overhaul and strategically target how police are assigned to Muni during their shifts.

The SFPD's Bus Inspection Program, or BIP, which was formally outlined in the 2009 MOU but has been around much longer, requires each sergeant in a patrol division and each officer "assigned to a radio car" to make two transit inspections per shift. Officers on foot patrol are required to make at least four inspections per shift.

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With the recent addition of fully separated bright green bike lanes and a set of traffic changes that have improved conditions for Muni and people on bikes, Market's midsection has become a place to watch for innovative transportation trial projects. Seven months after a pilot program launched, local drivers seem to be catching on to the required right turns at 6th and 10th Streets on Market, even without anyone standing around to enforce the rule.

But the city's innovative experiment isn't without some turbulence. Over a 15-minute period on a recent weekday, 24 drivers heading eastbound on Market traveled straight through the intersection of 6th Street. Just seven drivers made the same illegal move at 10th Street during a similar period, suggesting the extra signage and cues are working better at the first required turn. At both locations, a large majority of drivers got the message.

"It's definitely a work in progress," said Great Streets Project director Kit Hodge. "The first turn at 10th street is a lot easier to follow for people no matter what mode they're using. The one at 6th, which doesn't have as much enforcement and clues for people as to what they should do, is definitely more of a challenge."

There's an upside to that: the different configurations are serving as a test of what works and what doesn't. "The goal is clarity for everyone so everyone can have the best possible experiences," said Hodge. The huge LED sign at 10th Street and a number of smaller clues seem to be sending a clearer message than the relatively small sign at 6th Street.

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