Lawmaker, Walk S.F., Renew Support for Vision Zero

Walk San Francisco and Supervisor Dean Preston try again to get San Francisco lawmakers and bureaucrats to value life over parking

By Roger Rudick

3:46 PM PST on February 24, 2023

Lawmaker, Walk S.F., Renew Support for Vision Zero

February 2020's outreach meeting on Valencia, refining the protected bike lanes and intersections from 19th to Cesar Chavez. SFMTA would later throw out these approved plans, bowing to parking interests and ignoring years of outreach and best international practices. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick

It’s hardly news that Vision Zero is failing. With 37 traffic deaths in 2022, and a steady trend line in the wrong direction (see chart below), it’s obvious lawmakers and bureaucrats in San Francisco are barely trying. That’s also clear by the constant watering down or de facto abandonment of safety projects: using plastic posts where concrete is needed, throwing out Better Market Street, or SFMTA’s decision to betray years of public outreach and cancel promised protected bike lanes and intersections on Valencia.

This lead to the death of Wan Mei Tan last month, who was killed at one of those intersections that would have been made much safer had SFMTA fulfilled its promises.

From the city of San Francisco's Vision Zero page — From the city of San Francisco’s Vision Zero page

How hard is it to figure out if a city verbally commits to Vision Zero but then installs flimsy plastic posts, the death rate is at best going to remain the same?

That’s why Supervisor Dean Preston will introduce a resolution at the Board of Supervisors to get all city agencies refocused on Vision Zero. Walk San Francisco is urging people who care about safe streets to email their Supervisors to get them to support the resolution. From Walk San Francisco’s statement:

On Tuesday, February 28, Supervisor Preston will introduce a resolution at the Board of Supervisors to get to the bottom of this question – and get all city agencies refocused on Vision Zero in key ways. Let’s get this resolution unanimously supported!

Walk San Francisco has set up links to help people email their supervisors district by district. Be sure to visit their page and get those emails out. Click on the Walk SF logo below to reach that page:

A look at what SFMTA now calls a "protected" bike lane--infrastructure that is best suited to preventing damage to cars, not saving lives. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick — A look at what SFMTA now calls a “protected” bike lane–infrastructure that is best suited to preventing damage to cars, not saving lives. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick

Streetsblog has to disagree with Walk San Francisco and Supervisor Preston on one point however. There’s no question to get to the bottom of: we know exactly why Vision Zero is failing. It’s because Mayor Breed, Supervisor Hillary Ronen, and others in the city hierarchy have made a conscious decision that parking and car throughput have some importance when measured against the literal lives and limbs of their constituents.

Streetsblog recommends that in your emails you tell these politicians you will dedicate yourself to making sure they have no political future if they don’t start valuing human life over parking. Maybe that’s something they’ll understand.

Roger Rudick

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