San Francisco, CA
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.
Copyright © 2024 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.
After Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Washington Nationals, the San Francisco Giants headed back to the West Coast. They’re going back to the Bay Area, too.
The Giants have a date with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game series at Oracle Park starting Tuesday night.
Advertisement
So, San Francisco probably wanted to get out of Washington, D.C., with a win. That didn’t happen at Nationals Park on Sunday afternoon.
Nationals reliever Andrew Alvarez, the third pitcher used by the team on Sunday, picked up the victory with 4 1/3 innings of work. Giants starter Robbie Ray absorbed the loss, falling to 2-3 this season.
Ray worked six innings, giving up seven hits, three runs (all earned), walking one, and striking out seven Nationals. If the Giants’ offense had found a way to tack on some runs, then Ray’s outing wouldn’t have looked so bad.
The Giants’ bats, though, had eight hits. The big number for Giants manager Tony Vitello to look at in the box score after this one was, well, pretty big. San Francisco left 10 runners on base on Sunday, going 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. This indicates that San Francisco had plenty of opportunities to score some runs.
Advertisement
They just didn’t get the job done.
Let’s go to the bottom of the fifth with the Giants and Nationals in a scoreless tie. With nobody out, the Nationals’ Keibert Ruiz connected for his third double this season. Nasim Nuñez scored to put Washington up 1-0.
With one out, Curtis Mead sent a Ray pitch over the left-field wall, a two-run blast that gave the Nationals a 3-0 lead.
San Francisco had a scoring threat in the top of the eighth inning. With runners at first and second base and nobody out, Casey Schmitt grounded into a double play. Matt Chapman, who was on second base, went to third. But the Giants were unable to bring him home.
Advertisement
Rafael Devers and Drew Gilbert went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Giants, producing half of the Giants’ hits.
The Giants fall to 9-13 this season, sitting in fourth place in the National League West Division. The Nationals’ record goes to 10-12, good enough for third place in the National League East Division.
All eyes now turn toward Oracle on Tuesday night. It’ll be a chance for two longtime rivals to renew their rivalry.
Baseball fans know that the Giants-Dodgers matchups usually are must-see TV.
That’s probably going to be the case once again as Giants fans watch their team battle the Dodgers. Those lucky to have tickets to the three-game series at Oracle Park will show up in Giants colors, hoping to see Los Angeles head back to Southern California with either a series loss or a Giants’ sweep.
Advertisement
Buckle up, Giants fans. It’s about to get rowdy at Oracle Park.
Don’t miss out on our ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news!
It’s completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.
Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!
The 4,140-sq-km bay is the largest estuary on the west coast of the US. Before 2018, this species of whales wasn’t known to stop seasonally or consistently in the bay, bypassing it on their migration route down to Baja California and back up the Arctic, said Josephine Slaathaug, who led a recent study on gray whale mortality in the bay.
One of San Francisco’s busiest freeways remained shut down Saturday, creating major traffic delays and dampening business for some local restaurants and shops.
All eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 just before the Bay Bridge are closed as crews work around the clock to rehabilitate the roadway. The 55-hour shutdown, which began on Friday night, is scheduled to last until Monday morning in time for the commute.
The closure has forced drivers onto detour routes, leading to heavy congestion for those trying to reach the East Bay, including Oakland and Berkeley.
The impact is being felt beyond the roadways.
At MoMo’s, a restaurant across from Oracle Park, staff found business noticeably slower.
“A little bit more mellow than usual. We usually see a little bit more foot traffic, a little bit more people on Saturdays,” said Daniel Bermudez, executive chef at MoMo’s.
Bermudez believes the freeway closure may be discouraging visitors from coming into the city this weekend, despite favorable weather.
“The weather is beautiful today. It’s nice and sunny. So we have plenty of tables outside,” he said.
With the San Francisco Giants playing an away game, the restaurant had hoped fans would still gather to watch, but turnout during game time remained light.
“This is kind of like our off-season Saturday. A lot slower than our baseball weekend,” said Casandra Alarcon, general manager at MoMo’s.
Other small businesses in the Mission Bay and South of Market neighborhoods reported similar trends, saying most of their customers are regulars who live nearby rather than visitors.
“A little bit slower for sure. Before, we had tourists come and walk to the baseball park,” said Ajaree Safron, manager at Brickhouse Cafe & Bar.
Caltrans has shut down eastbound lanes between 17th and 4th streets to repave the 71-year-old roadway. The goal is to extend the life of the Bayshore Freeway by another decade.
City and transportation officials said the timing of the closure was intentional, noting fewer major events scheduled in San Francisco this weekend, aside from the Cherry Blossom Festival.
Westbound lanes remain open, and officials said traffic heading into San Francisco from the East Bay has not been significantly affected.
“Getting into the city, it wasn’t too bad. Regular [traffic], what we expect on a Saturday morning,” said visitor Andrea Inouye.
While the closure has posed challenges for businesses, some workers said they are taking it in stride.
“Hopefully, it’s not for too long and we get past it, and get back to our normal routine,” Bermudez said.
Despite early concerns about widespread gridlock, transportation officials said the region has avoided the worst-case scenario. Traffic remains heavy in areas near detours, but the anticipated “carmageddon” has not materialized, in part because many drivers chose to avoid the area or take public transit.
-
World6 minutes agoWho is Rumen Radev, the former pilot who wants to give Bulgaria wings?
-
News36 minutes agoTehran says ‘no plans’ for new talks after US seizes Iranian cargo ship
-
New York2 hours agoInside the NYC Power Stations That Keep Trains Moving — or Bring Them to a Halt
-
Detroit, MI3 hours agoDetroit Pistons already facing must-win Game 2 vs Orlando Magic
-
San Francisco, CA3 hours agoGiants Head Home to San Francisco After Shutout Loss
-
Dallas, TX3 hours agoNew video of Lake Dallas explosion draws focus on order decades ago to remove old plastic pipes
-
Miami, FL3 hours ago
Ty Simpson considered staying in college for $6.5 million offer from Miami
-
Boston, MA3 hours agoTools for Your To Do List with Spot and Gemini Robotics | Boston Dynamics
