Speed Limits

Supervisor Eric Mar requested a city study last week about how lower speed limits could benefit San Francisco. Although lowering speed limits without implementing physical traffic calming measures isn't a panacea for safer streets, the measure does hold promise as a first step toward saving lives and implementing Vision Zero. San Francisco would follow in the footsteps of New York City, Paris, and the United Kingdom in looking at major speed limit reductions.

The speed limit on Woodside Avenue was recently raised from 30 miles per hour to 35 MPH, according to Mark Dreger, who's lived in the neighborhood his whole life. Dreger posted a photo in the Streetsblog comments section of a 30 MPH sign on Woodside, with a 35 MPH sign seen right behind it, in what appeared to be slip up by the crews who switched them out.

Belmont residents fed up with dangerous conditions from speeding drivers on Ralston Avenue have launched an online petition with nearly 600 signatures so far, calling on the city council to implement safety improvements.

Speed limits have been lowered from 30 MPH to 25 MPH on Howard, Folsom, Harrison, and Bryant Streets in the South of Market area, the SFMTA announced yesterday.

Tomorrow's bi-weekly SFMTA engineering hearing has a couple of peculiar items on the agenda:

San Francisco became the first major city in California to implement all of its planned 15-MPH school zones, the SFMTA announced today. With proper enforcement, the measure promises make the streets surrounding 181 schools safer and more inviting for students and parents walking and biking.

“Whose Streets? OUR Streets!” yell rowdy demonstrators when they surge off the sidewalk and into thoroughfares. True enough, the streets are our public commons, what’s left of it (along with libraries and our diminishing public schools), but most of the time these public avenues are dedicated to the movement of vehicles, mostly privately owned autos. Other uses are frowned upon, discouraged by laws and regulations and what has become our “customary expectations.” Ask any driver who is impeded by anything other than a “normal” traffic jam and they’ll be quick to denounce the inappropriate use or blockage of the street.

SFMTA staff approved a measure today to lower speed limits on Harrison and Bryant Streets form 30 MPH to 25 MPH in the South of Market (SoMa) District.

Many streets could become safer for children walking and biking to school with a project in the works to lower speed limits within school zones to 15 mph. New signs warning drivers could be in the ground as early as this winter, according to an SFMTA staff report [pdf], granted the funds are approved next month by the SF County Transportation Authority.