Safe Street Rebel
Just after last weekend's tornado warning, an SFPD officer driving too fast for conditions struck and killed a pedestrian near Bayshore & Industrial. The unnamed pedestrian is the 39th traffic fatality of the year, a victim of car-focused streets and police impunity.
#SFPol #TrafficViolence #VisionZero #visionZeroSF
Dec 19, 2024 at 6:59pmWeb
Show threadSafe Street RebelDec 19, 2024

There are still very few public details about the crash, but a few things are certain.

First, the Bayshore + Industrial intersection is incredibly unsafe by design, with 5 lanes of travel in each direction, a 35mph speed limit, slip lanes, and a short pedestrian crossing cycle.

Show threadSafe Street RebelDec 19, 2024
In fact, many pedestrians avoid the intersection altogether and cross mid-block just north of it. It makes sense: they don’t have to wait as long to cross, the street is less wide, and the (hostile) intersections are far apart. There's an obvious need for safer crossing options.
Show threadSafe Street RebelDec 19, 2024
Second, cops don't prevent traffic violence on our streets—and often contribute to it, like they did here. Cops are no substitute for safe street design that calms car traffic and concrete protection for vulnerable road users.
Show threadSafe Street RebelDec 19, 2024

So how can the city can make conditions safer and prevent more needless injury and death? Here are just a few ways:

1. Narrow the traffic lanes on Bayshore and lower the speed limit. 35mph is way too fast for a city street and completely incompatible with other road users.

2. Remove the southbound slip lane from Bayshore onto Alemany.

3. Sharpen the turning radius from Industrial onto Bayshore—ideally with concrete bulbouts—to slow cars down through the intersection.

4. Upgrade the plastic protection on the Bayshore bike lane to concrete.

5. Take the double left-turn lanes from Alemany down to one lane and shorten the light cycle.

6. Shorten the length of the traffic cycle on Bayshore so that pedestrians don't have to wait so long to cross.

Every day the city fails to act is a failure. Our safety can't wait.

Show threadDan k5sDec 19, 2024
@SafeStreetRebel those damned flexposts drive me crazy. We need traffic controls that drivers are AFRAID to hit.
Show threadPedestrianistDec 20, 2024

@SafeStreetRebel obviously the whole street and intersection need a redesign. I hope part of that would involve a center bus lane and island station immediately on the South side of Cortland.

That way the 24 could navigate its turns more quickly, and transfers to the 9/9R, 23, and Samtrans buses would be much safer and easier

Show threadAaron Brick — אהרן בריקDec 19, 2024
@SafeStreetRebel 1 mile from my home. The whole labyrinthine interchange there is a clusterfuck.
Show threadDan k5sDec 19, 2024
@SafeStreetRebel my god that intersection looks like it’s DESIGNED to kill pedestrians