Pedestrian Safety

Now, before we get into the nominations in this category, we have to say this: all the groups are great! People who dedicate their lives to making our cities safer, more livable, more equitable, and more sustainable deserve all the praise they can get. These are people who are smart and dedicated and give more than their pound of flesh. They are all underpaid and over worked...wait, underpaid? Often they work for nothing.

This morning, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the Department of Public works did a "ribbon cutting" ceremony (minus an actual ribbon) of San Francisco's first protected intersection, located at 9th and Division in SoMa.

Construction on San Jose's huge North San Pedro plan is well underway. It removes a one-way, four-lane S-curve segment of Julian Street just east of Highway 87 and restores several blocks of the city’s original street grid.

Late last week, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation agency announced the results of a survey on its "Raised Bikeway Demonstration Project" on Market Street. SFMTA staffers are recommending a combination of features, plus bollards or some other kind of protection.

Vote for the Bay Area's Best Street Treatment Quick Fix. Which of these (or other nominations) should get a Streetsie?

Last night, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency held its first of two open houses to solicit feedback on possible safety improvements to Folsom and Howard Streets in the South of Market neighborhood. Some 50 people braved the cold and rainy night to voice opinions and hear from MTA staff at the SoMa Recreation Center. From the SFMTA's website:

Yesterday evening, Walk San Francisco held its holiday "Woonerven" party at SPUR's Urban Center on Mission Street in downtown San Francisco. Woonerven is a Dutch word that translates to "living yard" or "residential grounds," referring to streets that are intended for multiple uses. On a Woonerven street, all are welcome, and cars are limited to  "walking speed," explained Nicole Ferrara, Walk SF's executive director, to the crowd.

Last week, cyclist Dana Cray Fernie was out riding on Potrero when she was hit and knocked down by a motorist. AnnaGrace Arnold, a close friend, wrote this description on the SF Bike Ride Crew Facebook page:

Redwood City hosted the first of two scheduled community meetings on its El Camino Real Corridor Plan last month, aiming to lay the groundwork for redeveloping commercial parcels along the roadway and transform it into a Complete Street. After this study is finished sometime next year, a separate study funded by a grant from Caltrans will pay for a new design to rebuild a one half-mile segment of the street that spans the Woodside Road interchange.