SAN FRANCISCO—Mayor Edwin Lee has implemented new safety measures to protect pedestrians on Sixth Street. The Mayor along with District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), and the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) activated a new traffic signal at Sixth and Minna Streets.
Eight newly-painted safety zones were also installed at various Sixth Street intersections in the South of Market neighborhood. According to a press release from the SFPD, new design measures will also feature an increased presence of SFPD traffic enforcement on Sixth Street in an effort to reduce traffic accidents in the region.
More than 50 pedestrian injuries and two pedestrian fatalities have occurred on Sixth Street between Market and Howard streets in the past seven years. The Sixth Street corridor has some of the largest numbers of pedestrian collisions in San Francisco. The region between Sixth and Minna Streets are large concerns for residents as vehicles rarely stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk.
“These tragic statistics are simply unacceptable, and we are working towards our new Vision Zero goal: zero traffic fatalities in the next 10 years,” said Mayor Lee. “Building safer, better streets is a critical part in saving lives. Tomorrow, San Francisco voters have the opportunity to approve a $500 million transportation bond that will provide critical infrastructure improvements, including $142 million dedicated to making our streets safer for everyone.”
“This is more than a Vision Zero commitment, it is a testament to the power of neighborhood advocacy,” said Supervisor Kim. “Our families and seniors on Sixth Street know that mid-block crossings, turn restrictions and sidewalk bulbouts can actually save lives. This is just the beginning of the long-term safety improvements the City is committed to implementing along Sixth Street, which has the number one and three highest collision intersections in San Francisco.”
The City’s Vision Zero projects include a new signal at Sixth and Minna Streets that will allows pedestrians to push a button. It will signal someone in the middle of the crosswalk, visible crosswalk paint, pedestrian countdown signals and accessible pedestrian signals which will be installed in January 2015.
“The SFMTA has undertaken a comprehensive analysis to understand not only where and why people are being injured or killed while walking, but what we can do to prevent these collisions from happening,” said SFMTA Director of Transportation Ed Reiskin. “We know that just six percent of our City streets account for 60 percent of severe and fatal pedestrian injuries, and we are implementing proven safety measures at these high-injury locations, such as the new traffic signal and painted safety zones on Sixth Street.”
The SFMTA recently launched a comprehensive education and high-visibility enforcement campaign to heighten pedestrian safety. Safe Streets SF is the new campaign with Muni and radio ads that are focused at helping drivers understand how to use SF streets in a safe manner. A social media campaign has been launched over Facebook and Twitter and the SFPD to heighten traffic enforcement at high-injury corridors, including Sixth, Kearny, and Mission Streets and Geary Boulevard.
The cost for the new traffic signal system is approximately $300,000 and was funded by Proposition K local sales tax dollars provided by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. The cost for installing the painted safety zones are about $60,000 and funding from add-back dollars from the offices of Mayor Lee and Supervisor Jane Kim. The Safe Streets SF initiative cost around $850,000 and is the start of more educational campaigns to support Vision Zero.
By LaDale Anderson
