San Francisco, CA
Commentary: Let’s Do Better in 2026 – Streetsblog San Francisco
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I was on my way to dinner with friends on Christmas Eve when my westbound K Ingleside train was turned back at West Portal without explanation. I waited for the next train. It was turned back too. I asked one of the Muni drivers what was going on, and he said no M Ocean View or K Ingleside trains were running past the station.
I guessed it had something to do with the weather—the rain was coming down in sheets. I realized getting an Uber or Lyft at the station, with everybody else doing the same thing, probably wasn’t going to work. I had a good umbrella and rain coat so I started to walk down West Portal Avenue, ducking under awnings as I looked for a good spot to call a Lyft.
I didn’t get far before I saw why the trains were stopped, as seen in the lead photo.
I don’t know exactly how this blundering driver managed to bottom out his car on the barrier between the tracks. But, for me, it symbolized everything that’s wrong with San Francisco’s auto-uber-alles policies that continue to put the needs of individual drivers above buses and trains full of people. Mayor Lurie reiterated San Francisco’s supposed transit-first policy in his end-of-year directive. But if it’s a transit-first city, why are motorists still prioritized and permitted to drive on busy train tracks in the first place?
Why isn’t the barrier in West Portal positioned to keep drivers from using the tracks, as it was historically? Why do we even have pavement on the tracks? And why haven’t we banned drivers from using West Portal Avenue and Ulloa Street as thoroughfares in the first place, where they regularly interfere with and delay trains?
I should have stopped walking and summoned a Lyft. But being forced by the shitty politics of San Francisco, combined with a shitty driver, to call yet another car, pissed me off. I thought about all the people who got off those trains who can’t afford to call a ride-hail. I thought about the hundreds of people trapped inside trains that were stuck between stations. I continued walking and thinking about all the times I’ve visited Europe and been through similarly busy, vibrant merchant corridors such as West Portal with one major difference: no cars.
Yes, even on “car-free” streets in Europe, typically cars and delivery vehicles can still cross and access the shops directly for deliveries. But some streets are just not meant to be a motoring free-for-all. Anybody who doubts that merchants flourish in car-free and car-lite environments should either get a passport, or they should take a look at the merchant receipts after a Sunday Streets event. On the other hand, Papenhausen Hardware, which helped block a safety plan that prioritized transit movements through West Portal, went out of business anyway in 2024.
As I walked in the driving rain, my thoughts drifted to 2024’s tragedy, in which a reckless driver wiped out a family of four when she crashed onto a sidewalk in West Portal. San Francisco had an opportunity to finally implement a transit-first project and prevent a future tragedy by banning most drivers from the tracks and preventing them from using West Portal as a cut through. And yet, a supposedly safe-streets ally, Supervisor Myrna Melgar, aligned with a subset of the merchants in West Portal and sabotaged the project.
Since then, I’m aware of at least one other incident in West Portal where an errant driver went up on the sidewalk and hit a building. Thankfully, there wasn’t a family in the way that time. Either way, West Portal Avenue, and a whole lot of other streets that have hosted horrible tragedies, are still as dangerous as ever thanks to the lack of political commitment and an unwillingness to change.
I finally got to my friends’ house, 35 minutes later. They loaned me some dry clothes and put my jeans in the dryer. We had a lovely meal and a great time. My friend drove me to BART for an uneventful trip home (not that BART is always impervious to driver insanity).
In 2026, advocates, allies, and friends, we all need to raise the bar and find a way to make sure politicians follow through on transit first, Vision Zero, and making San Francisco safe. Because the half-assed improvements made in West Portal and elsewhere aren’t enough. And the status quo isn’t working.
On a closely related note, be sure to sign this petition, demanding that SFMTA finish the transit-only lanes on Ocean Avenue.
The San Francisco 49ers today announced they have signed DL Gracen Halton to a four-year deal. With the signing, the 49ers now have all eight of the team’s 2026 draft picks under contract.
Halton (6-3, 293) was the first of two fourth-round draft picks (107th overall) selected by the 49ers in this year’s draft out of Oklahoma. He appeared in 47 games (10 starts) over four seasons at Oklahoma (2022-25) and finished with 84 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and two passes defensed. In 2025, he appeared in 13 games (seven starts) and tallied 33 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two passes defensed and one forced fumble (returned for a TD), earning Second-Team All-SEC honors. In 2024, he appeared in 13 games (three starts) and recorded 30 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks and two forced fumbles. In 2023, he appeared in 11 games and tallied 11 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. As a true freshman in 2022, Halton appeared in 10 games and recorded 10 tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss.
A 22-year-old native of San Diego, CA, Halton attended St. Augustine (San Diego, CA) High School.
San Francisco, CA
Multiple people lose eyes, hands in illegal fireworks-related injuries in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — San Francisco emergency departments and first responders experienced a sharp increase in serious injuries over the Fourth of July weekend, with illegal fireworks and electric scooter crashes contributing to some of the busiest days in recent years.
At Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, medical teams treated a wave of patients suffering severe trauma. In one incident, bystanders rushed to help a person who was bleeding heavily after a hand injury. A 911 dispatcher described the call as “Extreme Trauma. Hand injury.”
Dr. Christopher Colwell, chief of emergency medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, said surgeons worked to treat patients with devastating injuries.
“We are able to do a lot with and sometimes save the function of the hand and eye. Unfortunately, there are injuries that exist every year where we are not able to do that even with the expertise that we have,” Colwell said.
MORE: SF police in riot gear crack down on 4th of July illegal fireworks shows: ‘It was crazy’
According to Dr. Colwell, four people lost eyes, five lost hands and at least 15 people suffered serious injuries related to electric scooters over the weekend.
“We saw a lot of electric scooter accidents. And I think part of it was that their traffic was such that that was a more efficient way of getting around town. But we also learned very clearly that the combination of electric scooters and how fast you can go in San Francisco, particularly going downhill along with not wearing a helmet and adding alcohol on board, is a really bad combination,” Colwell said.
ABC7’s data team reviewed San Francisco EMT data and found that medical incidents on July 4 and July 5 were about double the number reported during the same period in 2025.
Lt. Mariano Elias of the San Francisco Fire Department said emergency crews handled significantly more calls than usual.
“We had almost 200 more calls than we normally have so we had roughly 576 calls in a 24-hour period,” Elias said.
MORE: Over 400 people arrested during chaos at Newport Beach July 4th celebrations, police say
Illegal fireworks activity also sparked fires across the city. Firefighters responded to Telegraph Hill, where crews quickly contained a blaze.
“We did have two house fires that night on the 4th of July, due to fireworks activities,” Elias said.
City officials estimated that more than 100,000 people were in San Francisco to watch Fourth of July fireworks, creating traffic congestion that complicated ambulance response efforts.
“All the gridlock between, people coming and going from, the Golden Gate Bridge. The city was very impacted on the streets. So that was an issue. The one particular ambulance did, involve themselves in an accident. So, someone hit the ambulance. So that patient had to be transported and moved to a different ambulance,” Elias said.
First responders warned that illegal fireworks activity typically continues for days after the Fourth of July and urged the public not to take unnecessary risks.
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San Francisco, CA
Terrified passengers film Waymo autonomous vehicle driving into live fireworks in San Francisco
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Passengers in a Waymo vehicle were terrified as the car drove into lit fireworks in the middle of a San Francisco street during Independence Day celebrations over the weekend.
Video footage of the incident shows a group of passengers who were shocked as the driverless car seemingly approaches lit fireworks in the middle of a street as the explosives are about to launch.
As the car gets closer, someone on the street appears to warn the vehicle to stop by waving their hand.
DELTA FLIGHT STRUCK BY FIREWORKS WHILE LANDING IN CHICAGO ON FOURTH OF JULY, FAA INVESTIGATES
Passengers in a Waymo vehicle were terrified as the autonomous car drove into lit fireworks in the middle of a San Francisco street during Independence Day celebrations. (Rose Peterson via Storyful)
“No, no, no, don’t go, don’t go, don’t go,” one of the passengers is heard saying off-camera.
The autonomous vehicle then passes over the colorful flames and sparks.
“Our Waymo just drove into a firework,” a passenger says in the clip.
ZOOX ROBOTAXI REDESIGN BRINGS BIG RIDER UPGRADES
A Waymo vehicle sits idling at an intersection with no operating traffic lights due to power outages, in San Francisco, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (Jeff Chiu/AP Photo)
“Are we on fire, dude?” a fellow passenger asks.
A Waymo spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the company “is committed to keeping our riders safe and earning the trust of the communities where we operate.”
“We take situations like this seriously and are committed to evaluating and learning from these events,” the statement continued.
BROOKLYN BRIDGE CATCHES FIRE AMID NYC FIREWORKS DISPLAY AS TRUMP HAILS IT IN DC SPEECH
No injuries were reported to either the passengers or the vehicle, and the company reached out to the riders after their trip. The possession of fireworks, even “Safe and Sane” explosives, is illegal in San Francisco, the city’s fire department said.
One woman was killed and two other adults and a child were injured Saturday in a separate fireworks explosion, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Elsewhere in San Francisco, some Waymo vehicles were towed when their batteries died after vehicles became stuck in traffic for hours.
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“Our priority is keeping San Francisco moving safely, especially during major city celebrations,” the Waymo spokesperson said. “On the Fourth of July, extreme traffic congestion in northern San Francisco disrupted normal operations for several Waymo vehicles.”
“In coordination with local authorities and emergency services, our roadside assistance team worked quickly to clear our vehicles from the area,” the statement continued.
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