Pedestrian Safety

The watered-down re-design of Polk Street is expected to go up for approval by the SFMTA Board of Directors in March. But support seems stronger than ever for a bolder plan that includes protected bike lanes along the whole length of the corridor, as many residents and merchants call for safety to be a higher priority than car parking.

San Franciscans don't drive nearly as much as previously thought, according to new SFMTA survey data. But the needle hasn't moved much in recent years either.

SFPD Traffic Company Commander Mikail Ali has been replaced by Northern Station Captain Ann Mannix, the SF Chronicle reported today.

Mission District residents who equate streetscape improvements with rising rents dominated a community meeting discussion yesterday about public space upgrades along Mission Street.

The already watered-down redesign of Polk Street, with a protected bike lane only on one segment, will begin construction in Spring 2016 -- a full year behind the original schedule. The SFMTA announced that final approval of the project is approaching with a preliminary hearing next Friday, January 30, followed by a vote at the SFMTA Board of Directors in February or March.

No sidewalk is safe.

The SFMTA recently made some upgrades to bike lanes and pedestrian crossings around Valencia Street and Market Street.

Opportunities to expand sidewalks and make streets safer go to waste too often when the pavement is torn up in SF. A year ago, the city announced efforts to improve coordination between agencies so that when a street undergoes repairs, safety measures are added, saving time and money in addition to saving lives.

For SFPD Traffic Company Commander Mikail Ali, the reason so many people are getting killed by drivers on SF's streets apparently has nothing to do with the fact that every station but one is failing miserably to adhere to the department's "Focus on the Five" enforcement strategy.