Advancing Traffic Safety

Transit safety means making our streets safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders and motorists. Advancing transit safety is paramount to creating a safe and accessible neighborhood for everyone. Since our time in office, we have been working on a number of transit-safety projects with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) for the Richmond District. 

Pedestrian Flashing Beacon on Geary Boulevard

In December 2020, before I was sworn in as your supervisor, a tragic accident at 38th Avenue and Geary Boulevard took the life of Lawrence “Larry” Holman. Since then, I have been pushing the SFMTA to install a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) at the intersection. Finally, this week, the RRFB which includes a pedestrian push button, flashing lights, and better signage will be activated, allowing pedestrians to safely cross Geary at 38th. It is terrible that it took a tragedy to add this safety precaution, and more frustrating that it took the department almost four years to finally install the beacon, but hopefully this installation will prevent future tragedies. 

Safety Improvements on Fulton Street

We can do more to prevent the tragic collisions we have experienced on our thoroughfares. We hear from neighbors regularly about the unsafe speeds motorists use along Geary Boulevard and Fulton Street. Working with state Assemblymember Phil Ting’s office, we secured funding for three speed cameras to be installed along these corridors. They will be placed on Fulton Street at 42nd Avenue and  Arguello Boulevard and on Geary Boulevard at Seventh Avenue. These cameras will begin operation in early 2025. Fulton will also see a speed limit decrease from 30 to 25 mph thanks to a new state law (AB-43) allowing cities to reduce posted speed limits on certain high-injury corridors. 

New Stop Signs on Clement Street

We have also received entreaties from neighbors to install stop signs along the Clement Street corridor. After working with residents to identify the unsafe intersections, we pushed SFMTA to install stop signs along Clement at 24th, 26th and 28th avenues to help prevent future collisions. They agreed to two of the stop signs, one to be placed at Clement and 24th and another at Clement and 26th. This will create two new four-way stops at these two intersections and create safer crossings for pedestrians and motorists along Clement.

Tour Bus Restrictions on Eighth Avenue

Our office was also contacted by neighbors living on Eighth Avenue for possible solutions to mitigate chaos and traffic challenges on Eighth Avenue between Cabrillo and Fulton streets. After working with the neighbors and consulting with the city attorney’s office and the SFMTA, we finally have a solution. 

Earlier this month the SFMTA’s Board of Directors voted to amend the Transportation Code to restrict commercial tour buses on Eighth Avenue between Cabrillo and Fulton streets. SFMTA will notify the tour bus companies and install new signage in the area. The high traffic on this block of Eighth Avenue, including Safeway’s loading dock and multiple bus lines (44-O’Shaughnessy, 5-Fulton and the 21-Hayes), was exacerbated by the tour buses which added additional noise and congestion. This restriction will hopefully solve the issue of tour buses along the avenues, but our office will actively monitor the situation and be ready to utilize any legislative tools available to mitigate any new issues that may arise. 

More Parking for Bikes and Cars on Clement Street

Lastly, the District 1 office has been working on re-imagining Inner Clement Street to better utilize the 2-Clement bus stops. Since the onset of the pandemic, our segment of the 2-Clement has not been operational and SFMTA has not identified funding for it in the future. Given the large amount of space taken up by these bus stops, we asked SFMTA to do more to support the neighborhood corridor. We helped connect with merchants and residents to better understand how to best utilize this space. We have created a plan based on this outreach to convert the 2-Clement bus stops into parking and public spaces, adding bike corrals for safer bicycle parking, space for more parklets and more than 30 new parking spaces on Clement between Arguello and Funston as requested by merchants. This plan must now be reviewed by SFMTA later this fall. If approved, these changes will take place in early 2025. 

Working together we can do more to advance transit safety in the Richmond. If you have areas of concern, please reach out. We are here to help. 

Connie Chan represents District 1 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She can be reached at 415-554-7410 or chanstaff@sfgov.org.