Photo: Kevin N. Hume / SFExaminer.com
San Francisco authorities are considering the possibility of making certain streets completely car-free, after a series of fatal or serious accidents involving pedestrians.
Last Friday, pedestrian activists shut down an intersection in the city’s Tenderloin District famous for the high number of such accidents. They staged a “die-in” to ring the alarm on the number of pedestrians hurt or killed by cars, and authorities seem to have gotten the message, Fox 2 KTVU reports.
“The SFMTA is committed to safe streets everywhere,” Erica Kato of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency tells the media outlet. “But, particularly in the Tenderloin where every street is on the high injury corridor network.”
City authorities are considering banning cars altogether from certain streets with intense pedestrian traffic, thus creating an environment where safety is guaranteed. It’s an idea Matt Haney, supervisor for the Tenderloin and South of Market, also fancies as a real solution to the problem of the high number of pedestrian-car accidents.
“We need to look at new solutions to not just protect people's public safety so they can walk around without getting hit,” Haney explains. “But also we need more open space in the Tenderloin.”
Pedestrian advocacy group Walk SF has also been campaigning for safer streets for pedestrians and consequently believes that banning cars from certain streets in the city would work as a permanent solution. Fox 2 KTVU did not speak with any drivers for the report, so we have no idea how they feel about a possible future ban – though they can’t be happy about it, especially if they depend on their car and that particular route for their daily commute.
A similar conversation was had last July, when a 2-vehicle crash caused 2 pedestrian fatalities in the same Tenderloin District in SF, when a speeding Tesla ran a red light and crashed into a Mini, hitting 2 pedestrians on a crossing.
“The SFMTA is committed to safe streets everywhere,” Erica Kato of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency tells the media outlet. “But, particularly in the Tenderloin where every street is on the high injury corridor network.”
City authorities are considering banning cars altogether from certain streets with intense pedestrian traffic, thus creating an environment where safety is guaranteed. It’s an idea Matt Haney, supervisor for the Tenderloin and South of Market, also fancies as a real solution to the problem of the high number of pedestrian-car accidents.
“We need to look at new solutions to not just protect people's public safety so they can walk around without getting hit,” Haney explains. “But also we need more open space in the Tenderloin.”
Pedestrian advocacy group Walk SF has also been campaigning for safer streets for pedestrians and consequently believes that banning cars from certain streets in the city would work as a permanent solution. Fox 2 KTVU did not speak with any drivers for the report, so we have no idea how they feel about a possible future ban – though they can’t be happy about it, especially if they depend on their car and that particular route for their daily commute.
A similar conversation was had last July, when a 2-vehicle crash caused 2 pedestrian fatalities in the same Tenderloin District in SF, when a speeding Tesla ran a red light and crashed into a Mini, hitting 2 pedestrians on a crossing.
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