Despite campaigns such as “Be Nice, Look Twice,” which encourages pedestrians to always be aware of the presence of automobiles and take caution, the statistics of accidents in San Francisco is still frightening- vehicles struck more than 800 people resulting in the loss of 21 lives in 2013.
Increase in Traffic Citations
There seems to be a profound effort to finally work towards making San Francisco a truly pedestrian-friendly city and get its name off the list of 20 least safe cities for drivers and pedestrians. Police Chief Greg Suhr reports that from January 2013 to February 2014, there was a 53 percent increase in citations citywide.
Be Nice, Stop Collisions
On Tuesday, December 31, 2013, what were you doing?
Universally known as New Year’s Eve, you most likely used this day to review the good and the bad of 2013, remembering what you did right and noting things that could have been done differently.
Bay Area Bike Share Coming to Life
The Bay Area Bike Sharing Program set to launch in August is slowly, but surely coming to life. The company that is managing the program, Alta, and the SFMTA recently released a series of infographics containing a wealth of information about the system including information about the bikes, the pricing and the structure of the stations.
Section of Market Street to Receive Much Needed Repair this Weekend
This weekend starting today, Friday June 7, at 7:00pm the Department of Public Works will re-pave a section of Market Street between Van Ness Avenue and Sixth Street. The DPW estimates that the work will last 24 hours.
This much-needed repaving, the first in about 30 years, is the first in a series of re-pavings on Market Street.
Bike to Work and Improve Your Health and Well-Being
Biking to work has numerous health benefits. Most people are aware of this fact, but few people can visualize what this really means. America Bikes, the nationwide cycling advocacy group, has compiled a series of graphics to really put biking into perspective. Here are a few of the most powerful (for the full article and all of the infographics go to AmericaBikes.org
Support Pedestrian Safety Projects at Today’s Land Use and Economic Development Committee Meeting
In April we blogged about Mayor Ed Lee’s new plan to support pedestrian safety in San Francisco in our New Pedestrian Safety Plan Outlined on Walk to Work Day post. It is the unfortunate truth however than many of the promised projects and improvements will be tied up in bureaucratic red tape for years and that those that are lucky enough to make it through the maze even partially intact end up costing much more than expected.
Muni’s Shortfalls Cost the City and Encourage Private Services
A new study of Muni’s shortcomings, conducted by the City Controller’s office, shows that Muni delays and disruptions caused by breakdowns and maintenance repairs during peak commute hours cost the City (and its people) approximately 4.2 million dollars in April alone and an approximate 50 million dollars a year.
BART Approves Additional Test Period for Bikes
Thursday night the BART Board of Directors shied away from lifting the ban on bikes during rush-hour, voting 6-3 to instead implement a 5 month testing period starting July 1. The vote means that between July 1 and December 1 bikes will once again be allowed on all but the first 3 BART cars during rush hours.
Safe Routes to School on the Chopping Block!
Last week Governor Brown released his budget for the 2013-2014 fiscal year and one of the programs getting cut is California’s Safe Routes to School.
A Little Background on ‘Safe Routes to School’:
California’ Safe Routes to School program began in 1999 and has since become a model for the Federal Prgram and for State-Wide initiatives across the country.
