SFMTA

This has been, once again, a bad year for road safety in San Francisco. In the past few weeks, we've seen a death and a serious injury in the Richmond District, a death on Sloat at 36th, and the death of a man at the Fell crossing at Baker. Advocates, frustrated with the carnage and lack of progress in pursing the city's Vision Zero goals, called on the mayor to intervene and stop delays on safety projects caused by inter-agency conflicts.

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One week ago, on Oct. 31, San Francisco saw its 16th victim of road violence this year--47-year-old James Samiere was struck and killed while crossing the intersection in the image above, at Sloat Boulevard and 36th.

An SFMTA crew installed official safe hit posts today to make the intersection at Baker and Fell safer. The posts compliment painted bulbouts that went in over the weekend. This is the location where 90-year-old David Grinberg was killed last month while crossing the street.

Yesterday afternoon, journalists and advocates were given a first look at Fire Engine 13, assigned to the station on the corner of Washington and Sansome in San Francisco's Financial District. "This fire engine is narrower, not as long, and has a better turning radius," said San Francisco Fire Department Chief Joanne Hayes-White. "It's a beautiful piece of equipment."

Some 45 yellow-shirted safety advocates turned out last night to demand a protected bike lane on the Embarcadero.

The North Bay fires are a painful reminder of the disastrous impact of climate change. Unfortunately, the federal government’s most recent responses to the climate crisis include eliminating the Obama Administration’s attempt to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, known as the Clean Power Program. Now more than ever, the Bay Area has to lead the way in providing solutions that prioritize the needs of communities of color. We need to set a new path away from a carbon-based economy rooted in extraction and exploitation to a just transition economy anchored in sustainability.

"What if San Francisco becomes the next Detroit?" asked Jonathan Miranda, Director of Strategy at Salesforce.com, during a keynote speech this morning at the "Focus on the Future" conference in downtown San Francisco. Given the region's meteoric growth, that may seem far fetched--but no more so than Detroit's fall after the booming years of the auto industry. He said that given San Francisco's inability to build sufficient housing, that's a real possibility. "Companies are moving to Austin, Denver, Seattle--what happens if software and Silicon Valley start looking for a different place?"

Streetsblog tipsters riding on Folsom through SoMa had some good news to report: the parking protected bike lanes, part of the short term improvements planned for this street, are now under construction.