Walk San Francisco » Public Policy

Dangerous by Design: Solving the Epidemic of Preventable Pedestrian Deaths

jamie — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:13:26 +0000

A new report released today by Transportation For America and the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership takes stock of how city streets built for speed and not safety can be deadly to pedestrians. “Dangerous By Design: Solving the Epidemic of Preventable Pedestrian Deaths (And Making Great Neighborhoods)” ranks the nation’s 52 largest metro areas based on a calculated Pedestrian Danger Index (PDI) and reveals how investment in pedestrian infrastructure could save hundreds of lives and prevent thousands of crashes each year.

The report, along with some data from Walk San Francisco, has found that the pedestrian fatality rate in San Francisco is 70% higher than the national average. Nationally, only 1.5% of federal transportation dollars are spent on pedestrian facilities. Locally, San Francisco only spends 0.5% of its federal transportation dollars on pedestrian improvements.

Please see our press release and take action by asking Secretary LaHood to make pedestrian safety a priority.

Extended Parking Meter Hours Study Debated

jamie — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:59:57 +0000

On October 20, the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board heard an introductory presentation of the SFMTA’s Extended Parking Meter Hours Study, commissioned by the SFMTA Board last spring during their budget deliberations, in which Muni service was cut and fares were raised while parking rates remained essentially untouched. When the Board of Supervisors threatened to veto the budget, the SFMTA Board called for a study of parking meter hours.

At the following Tuesday’s SFMTA Board meeting, about 50 people spoke for and against the study’s recommendations to extend meter hours in several well-defined commercial corridors. While understandably controversial, it’s an ultimately essential move towards making Muni a reliable and convenient transportation option, reducing the danger of traffic “cruising” for parking for the sake of safer walking, and rebalancing the inequitable state of encouraging cheap driving in a city with a bold commitment for sustainable streets.

Walk San Francisco will continue to work with transit and bicycle advocates to properly balance SF’s transportation revenue options. Read Walk San Francisco’s letter to the SFMTA Board and send your own note of encouragement to them at MTABoard@sfmta.com. To learn more, please listen to this interview with UCLA Planning Professor Dr. Donald Shoup.

Support the Mayor’s Sunday Streets Pilot Program!

jamie — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:21:16 +0000

Sunday Streets is a pilot program that will bring physical activity space to San Francisco neighborhoods on Sunday mornings this summer and fall. These Sunday morning activities will create a route for thousands of local families, kids and adults to walk, jog, and bike, as well as participate in group exercise. The program will offer safe and free activities that will attract people from throughout the city and the entire Bay Area. It represents our city’s next innovative step toward a healthier community.

Questions and doubts have been raised about the benefits of the Sunday Streets program to San Francisco, and an ordinance has been introduced that could potentially kill this Sunday Streets program planned for late August and September. To voice your support for Sunday Streets, please contact Supervisors through these emails: Michaela.Alioto-Pier@sfgov.org; Tom.Ammiano@sfgov.org; Chris.Daly@sfgov.org;Bevan.Dufty@sfgov.org; Sean.Elsbernd@sfgov.org; Carmen.Chu@sfgov.org; Sophie.Maxwell@sfgov.org; Jake.McGoldrick@sfgov.org; Aaron.Peskin@sfgov.org; Gerardo.Sandoval@sfgov.org.

Modeled on a 25-year old program in Bogota, Columbia, Sunday morning street activities have proven to be wildly popular on three continents in cities ranging from Tokyo to Kiev. American cities like Chicago, Portland, and New York are planning to hold similar events. By starting its own Sunday Streets program, San Francisco will join a global movement to create healthier cities.

Sunday Streets is an innovative way to connect local residents to San Francisco’s neighborhoods, and support local businesses in the process. It literally brings open space to local residents, activating local corridors with healthy activities and demonstrating the benefits of increasing open space and recreational opportunities within our city. The route will run along the city’s waterfront, showcasing the Blue Greenway, and connecting the Bayview district to Chinatown.

For more information about Sunday Streets, please visit the website www.sundaystreetssf.com or contact Susan King at susan@walkSF.org.

Better Streets Plan Draft for Public Review

jamie — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 02:50:16 +0000

View the Better Streets Plan Draft for Public Review

From the San Francisco Better Streets website:

Executive Summary
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Context
Chapter 3: Goals and Policies: The Path to Better Streets
Chapter 4: Approach: Designing Great Streetscapes
Chapter 5: Guide: Street Designs
Chapter 6: Guide: Streetscape Elements
Chapter 7: Implementation
Appendices

To comment on the Draft Better Streets Plan:

Use the formal comment sheet located here

Send comments to: info@sfbetterstreets.org

Or come to a public meeting

To request a free CD of the plan, contact:

Maria Oropeza-Singh
San Francisco Planning Department
PH. 415.558.6307
maria.oropeza@sfgov.org

Hard copies of the plan will be available after June 5. Hard copies will be distributed to San Francisco Public Library branches, and may also be purchased for $99 (cost of printing) at:

San Francisco Planning Department
1650 Mission Street, Suite 400
San Francisco, CA 94103