We don’t often publish a release directly, but this one seemed fitting, given the backsliding that’s happening on our streets… from our friends at Walk S.F.:

You may have seen today’s Chronicle article: enforcement of the five most dangerous driving behaviors, called “Focus on the Five,” has plummeted in the past two years. Meanwhile, of course, there are tens of thousands more vehicles on the roads.

As I state in the article, it’s unconscionable that a city committed to Vision Zero would allow traffic enforcement to drop to these astonishingly low levels.

But there’s good news out of Mayor Breed’s office. The SF Police Department will double the number of traffic officers dedicated exclusively to Focus on the Five citations. The SFMTA is about to pilot “left turn calming.” In addition, Mayor Breed asked SFMTA to create a plan by January to develop a “no right on red” policy. These are both solutions we’ve been strongly advocating for to help prevent crashes in the crosswalks.

We are thankful to Mayor Breed for pushing city agencies to do more – and to do it faster.

Now is a good time to email Mayor Breed to thank her for her leadership on safe streets, and ask her to keep pushing toward Vision Zero. The need for safe streets couldn’t be more urgent, and so much still must be done. We are in a state of emergency for traffic safety.

That’s why Walk San Francisco will continue to hold the SFPD and SFMTA accountable. We will win state legislation to bring speed safety cameras and lower speed limits to San Francisco. We will make the city’s first raised crosswalk (coming to Page Street next year) be the first of many. And we will create many more car-free spaces, including Market Street!

So I want to truly thank you for being part of this movement for safe streets for all. Step by step, we will get there together.

Lastly, if you’re free, I’d love it if you could join me at the next SFMTA Board Meeting on Tuesday, September 3rd. At this meeting, the SFMTA and Department of Health will give a Vision Zero update. This is a perfect chance to speak up about the SFPD’s enforcement (or lack thereof) of dangerous driving behaviors and thank SFMTA for moving forward innovative safety solutions. Please email brian@walksf.org if you can make it; we will share some talking points.

Walk on,

Jodie Medeiros
Executive Director, Walk San Francisco