San Francisco, CA

SF divided over 'Slow Streets' program: Here's what residents are saying

Published

2 years ago

July 23, 2024

SF divided over 'Slow Streets' program: Here's what residents are saying

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Hate them or love them, slow streets were first introduced in San Francisco at the beginning of the pandemic as a way get people outside while social distancing.

A portion of Sanchez street in the Noe Valley neighborhood is a Slow Street. Families share a blissful moment while in the midst of this concrete valley.

“It’s been incredible. It’s been the best way to meet neighbors, the community. You see kids learning how to ride their bicycles, you grab coffee with people you never met before,” expressed Sarah Katzen, a Noe Valley resident.

Just to refresh your memory, the SFMTA introduced the concept of Slow Streets as an way to incorporate other ways of getting around-you know, bicycling, running, walking. They’re not closed to cars, the city just wants you to drive slowly but really who wants to drive at a snail’s pace when you can drive at a normal speed on other streets. And that’s how the controversy of Slow Streets began.

“Pedestrians do not need to walk on the street. Lake Street is half a bock from more than 1,000 acres of trails and parks in the Presidio,” that was at least one opposing voice out of many who spoke at a hearing before the Board of Supervisors in 2022.

San Francisco’s highly-debated ‘Slow Streets’ program to continue. But what does it actually mean?

Huge crowds took to San Francisco City Hall Tuesday, some wanting ‘Slow Streets’ opened to normal traffic at normal speeds, others pushing for the continuation of the program.

Not every neighbor living on or near Lake Street in the inner Richmond district has embraced their slow street. In fact, some argue the program was forced upon them.

Someone even wrote “communism” on a Slow Street sign.

We heard there have been tense moments between pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers.

We wanted to see if that was true and decided to set up a chair to observe.

We found more-than-your-average number of cars insisting on driving on Lake street. Some even exceeding the suggested 15 miles per hour.

In Noe Valley, the slow street program has also been divisive.

“We see guys, they’ll yell at people on the street for being on the street, ‘get out of the street,’ right next to a sign here. So that’s the kind of response that we’re getting for the motorists,” explained a Noe Valley resident who only gave us his first name, Rich.

Some say slow streets are safe streets. So far 14 pedestrians have died in traffic accidents in the city,

MORE: Infant dies following horrific crash at SF West Portal bus station, police say

A 78-year-old female driver who crashed into a bus stop in the West Portal neighborhood over the weekend is no longer in police custody.

However, no one has ever been killed on a slow street.

A few locals have also complained that having a slow street has increased the amount of traffic on the adjacent streets.

ABC7 News was able to analyze San Francisco County transportation data available for roads adjacent to slow streets. Though data wasn’t available for all of them.

The one’s we could review actually showed little to no traffic impact on nearby streets since the program was adopted.

But even those who want to keep them, say there are STILL issues that need to be addressed.

For example, a few construction workers now double park for most of the day on this slow street.

“There’s a lot of contractors or people who feel like because it’s a slow street they can just park. They’re not pulling permits, they’re not doing things the right way. They’re just doing it because it’s easy for them. I understand that but it does make it a hazard for people who are bicycling or walking because if forces them into oncoming traffic. That is very unsafe,” said Molly Hayden, a Page Street Steward.

She told us there is little to no enforcement which is the responsibility of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation agency, the SFMTA.

“We are doing out best to allocated our limited resources in a way that we see meets the highest value for that time.,” explained Amanda Eaken, Chair of the SFMTA Board of Directors.

MORE: Valencia Street update: SFMTA looks to get alternative for controversial center bike lane approved

San Francisco is considering a replacement for a center bike lane that’s been blamed for hurting businesses on Valencia Street.

SFMTA encourages people to report all incidents to the 311 customer service center.

Neighbors and merchants were adamantly opposed to having a slow street on a section of West Portal Avenue back when it was proposed. They fought both their district supervisor and the SFTMA and were successful.

George Wooding of the Midtown Terrace Homeowners Association said the slow street would have hurt business owners.

“What you do is you end up excluding a tremendous number of potential customers in an area and just destroying the merchants,” said Wooding.

We polled every leading San Francisco mayoral candidate. Mark Farrell said he supports most slow streets. Everyone else told us they favor keeping slow streets but all believe improvements are needed.

MORE: Former SF interim Mayor Mark Farrell on why he’s running for official seat, plan for downtown

We asked Eaken how the SFMTA plans on improving things to fit the specific needs of each community.

“So through a lot of detailed outreach and engagement and listening, learning from those community members what are their unique needs, we can then design which are those particular interventions. So this is really a conversation and collaboration to make sure that each streets meets the particular needs of that place,” added Eaken.

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San Francisco, CA

Giants scratch Rafael Devers from lineup with tight hamstring

Published

53 minutes ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Giants scratch Rafael Devers from lineup with tight hamstring

Friday, February 27, 2026 9:48PM

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The San Francisco Giants scratched slugger Rafael Devers from the starting lineup because of a tight hamstring, keeping him out of a spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.

The three-time All-Star and 2018 World Series champion is starting his first full season with the Giants after they acquired him in a trade with the Boston Red Sox last year.

Devers hit 35 home runs and had 109 RBIs last season, playing 90 games with San Francisco and 73 in Boston. He signed a $313.5 million, 10-year contract in 2023 with the Red Sox.

He was 20 when he made his major league debut in Boston nine years ago, and he helped them win the World Series the following year.

Devers, who has 235 career homers and 747 RBIs, led Boston in RBIs for five straight seasons and has finished in the top 20 in voting for AL MVP five times.

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San Francisco, CA

San Francisco court clerks strike for better staffing, training

Published

13 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

San Francisco court clerks strike for better staffing, training

The people cheering and banging drums on the front steps of San Francisco’s Hall of Justice are usually quietly keeping the calendars and paperwork on track for the city’s courts.

Those court clerks are now hitting the picket lines, citing the need for better staffing and more training. It’s the second time the group has gone on strike since 2024, and this strike may last a lot longer than the last one.

Defense attorneys, prosecutors and judges agree that court clerks are the engines that keep the justice system running. Without them, it all grinds to a slow crawl.

“You all run this ship like the Navy,” District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder said to a group of city clerks.

The strike is essentially a continuation of an averted strike that occurred in October 2025.

“We’re not asking for private jets or unicorns,” Superior Court clerk employee Ben Thompson said. “We’re just asking for effective tools with which we can do our job and training and just more of us.”

Thompson said the training is needed to bring current employees up to speed on occasional changes in laws.

Another big issue is staffing, something that clerks said has been an ongoing issue since October 2024, the last time they went on a one-day strike.

Court management issued their latest statement on Wednesday, in which the court’s executive officer, Brandon Riley, said they have been at an impasse with the union since December.

The statement also said Riley and his team has been negotiating with the union in good faith. He pointed out the tentative agreement the union came to with the courts in October 2025, but it fell apart when union members rejected it.

California’s superior courts are all funded by the state. In 2024, Sacramento cut back on court money by $97 million statewide due to overall budget concerns.

While there have been efforts to backfill those funds, they’ve never been fully restored.

Inside court on Thursday, the clerk’s office was closed, leaving the public with lots of unanswered questions. Attorneys and bailiffs described a slightly chaotic day in court.

Arraignments were all funneled to one courtroom and most other court procedures were funneled to another one. Most of those procedures were quickly continued.

At the civil courthouse, while workers rallied outside, a date-stamping machine was set up inside so people could stamp their own documents and place them in locked bins.

Notices were also posted at the family law clinic and small claims courts, noting limited available services while the strike is in progress.

According to a union spokesperson, there has been no date set for negotiations to resume, meaning the courthouse logjams could stretch for days, weeks or more.

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San Francisco, CA

Which San Francisco Giants Prospects Are Real Depth vs. Marketing Names

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Which San Francisco Giants Prospects Are Real Depth vs. Marketing Names

The San Francisco Giants are likely to break camp with one of their top prospects on the 26-man roster. But they’re all getting plenty of work in camp.

The thing is, just because a prospect doesn’t make a 26-man opening day roster doesn’t mean they can’t help a Major League team at some point in the season. Others, for now, are working on developing talent.

In this exercise, five prospects that are part of Major League camp were selected to determine if they’re real depth this season or if they’re marketing names — for now. Marketing names can become real depth before one knows it, such as the first Giants prospect listed.

Bryce Eldridge: Real Depth

San Francisco Giants Bryce Eldridge | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Eldridge has nothing left to prove at the minor league level after he was selected in the first round in the 2023 MLB draft. Back then, he was the classic example of a marketing name, one that creates buzz in the organization and with fans.

But, after more than two years of development and a taste of the Majors, he’s real depth. He’s expected to make the opening day roster and share time at first base and designated hitter with Rafael Devers, one of the game’s most established sluggers.

On Wednesday, he hit his first spring training home run, one of three in the 13-12 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Blake Tidwell: Real Depth

Tennessee pitcher Blake Tidwell | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tidwell was acquired from the New York Mets in July in the Tyler Rogers trade. He only pitched in four games for the Mets, so he still has prospect status. But that MLB service time, combined with his early impressions in camp, make him real depth for a team that only has one or two spots available on the pitching staff.

Tidwell may not make the team out of camp for opening day. But he’s one of those prospects that could make his way to San Francisco during the season due to injury or underperformance. It’s an example of using the time in spring training wisely and paving the way for a future promotion.

Will Bednar: Real Depth

Mississippi St. Bulldogs pitcher Will Bednar. | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

The Giants have been waiting for their first-round pick in the 2021 MLB draft to pay off, and this might be the year that Will Bednar finally makes the jump to the Majors. He’s in Major League camp and he’s been converted into a reliever in the past couple of seasons.

He went 2-3 with a 5.68 ERA in 38 games, his full season as a reliever. But he’s impressed the new coaching staff during camp and there’s enough buzz around him to consider him a potential call-up during the season. He’s in his fifth professional season so the Rule 5 draft is a consideration this coming offseason.

Parks Harber: Marketing Name

For now, the young third baseman is going to create a lot of buzz in the farm system in 2026, but he isn’t a threat to anyone’s job yet. Picked up in the Camilo Doval trade, he only has 102 minor league games under his belt after he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Yankees. He got his first spring training hit on Wednesday. His career slash of .312/.413/.528 is encouraging but he hasn’t played higher than High-A Eugene.

Bo Davidson: Marketing Name

San Francisco Giants left fielder Bo Davidson. | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

The Giants signed Davidson as an undrafted free agent and he’s starting to generate real buzz in spring training as a non-roster invitee. He’s not quite real depth yet because he has yet to play above Double-A Richmond. But the way he’s playing in the spring he should be at Sacramento sometime this season, which puts him in the position to be real depth.

He’s hit well at every stop, but he showed off more power than ever last season. He hit a career-best 18 home runs and 70 RBI as he slashed .281/.376/.468. He played 42 games at Richmond last season.

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