Pedestrian Safety

On Tuesday, Menlo Park's City Council postponed a pilot project to replace parallel car parking with buffered bike lanes on El Camino Real, deciding that neighboring Palo Alto and Atherton should also agree on a common design for bike lanes before proceeding with the permitting process required by Caltrans. Despite strong community support to fix the urban highway's safety hazards, the city remains content with today's configuration, after 11 public meetings held since April 2014 on the topic.

With a road diet, new parking configuration, and protected bike lanes on Telegraph Avenue, Oakland is saying to its car drivers: slow down, take it easy. And to its bike riders: you're welcome here and safe.

Marco Salsiccia is a blind resident of the Sunset District. Last month, while stepping off an L-Taraval train at a stop without a boarding island, he got his cane stuck in the wheel well of a car as it illegally passed the train. His cane snapped in two. The motorist stopped briefly and then took off. Salsiccia emailed his San Francisco Supervisor Katy Tang about the incident:

Many parents, including me and my mother, don't let their kids play with toy guns. We believe that guns aren't good for kids. They inure children to the danger inherent to guns.

Businesses in the Mission are complaining to Supervisor David Campos about the new "Red Carpet" painted transit lanes. And there's already talk about taking them out. The San Francisco Transit Riders Union (SFTRU) reacted in an email blast last week:

About a hundred planners, developers, neighbors, and interested citizens crowded into a conference room at One South Van Ness yesterday evening for a presentation from the San Francisco Planning Department on their plans for the area immediately around the intersection of Market and Van Ness, also known as the Hub.

A little less than a week ago, Walk San Francisco held its fourth annual "Walk to Work Day" events. The idea is to get people more aware of the health benefits of walking. From Walk SF's promotion:

Dear Chief Suhr,

This weekend will mark the ninth season of Sunday Streets, San Francisco's open-streets event. The festivities start at 11 am and go until 4 on Valencia Street between McCoppin and 26th.