Pedestrian Safety

Last February, Jan Weissenberger was riding his bike from the Larkspur Ferry terminal to his home in San Rafael, when, as he was heading north on Ross Common, he was passed close on his right by crazed motorist Matthew Marshall Engle, driving a dark-red SUV. Engle blasted his horn, screamed threats, and backed his car at him.

"Think about how fast you're driving. Think about that next stop sign. Just think if you're driving a motor vehicle," said Alvin Lester, co-founder of Bay Area Families for Safe Streets, and the father of 21-year-old Arman, who was killed in 2014 while riding his skateboard at 3rd and Cargo Way in San Francisco. Lester made his plea at a press event at City Hall this morning, held to discuss the apparent success in reducing fatalities and serious injuries on San Francisco's streets in 2017.

As cyclists who use Cargo Way in the Hunters Point/Bayview neighborhood know all too well, the bike lane, once celebrated as San Francisco's first on-street protected bike lane, is in a state of disrepair, with broken pavement, a dangerous, tire-grabbing groove, and a busted fence. And in a stark display of how some city officials regard bicycle safety, the city repaved the adjacent car/truck lanes in August, but skipped the bike lane.

A box-truck collided with a car on Monday afternoon, causing a multi-vehicle crash, at the intersection of Geary and 21st in the Richmond District of San Francisco. Two seniors on foot were swept up in the wreck and are currently in the hospital. One of them sustained critical injuries.

Senior's Death at 19th and Quintara Highlights Another Shortcoming of SF Street Design

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) released its latest figures on fatality and injury crash rates in the Bay Area late last week.

Yesterday afternoon, the SFMTA Board agreed to install concrete boarding islands at all stops on the L-Taraval line as part of the L-Taraval Rapid Project. "This is a big win for pedestrian and rider safety," wrote Rachel Hyden, Executive Director of the San Francisco Transit Riders, in an email to Streetsblog.

Today, Tuesday, December 5, at the SFMTA Board of Directors meeting (City Hall, 1:00 pm), the MTA Board will be voting on the remaining proposed improvements to the L Taraval Muni line. This is a great opportunity for riders to help improve the L Taraval’s speed, reliability, and safety.

The $20 million Second Street Improvement Project is finally underway. No planning speed records were broken.