SFMTA is proposing a first-of-its-kind in San Francisco traffic calming and safety project called the 8th Avenue Neighborway. Neighborways accomplish this by lowering speeds, reducing traffic volumes, and improving the visibility of people on the sidewalk. The idea is to keep people safe by making the design of the street itself encourage calm behavior, so that everyone can get to their destinations comfortably. This is why the project includes a number of design elements aimed at improving the streetscape. We were unfortunately just reminded of the need to make streets safer in our neighborhood when someone driving hit and killed a 78-year person walking in Inner Richmond. This is a sad and unacceptable loss of life. We cannot be complacent and we have an opportunity to make our streets safer with this project.

One of the main criticisms is that it will make it harder for people who drive to get around. While we empathize, it’s imperative that we continue to move forward with plans that prioritize safety of individuals on our city streets over convenience. In addition, this makes the route more convenient for those who don’t rely on cars to navigate San Francisco. We need to start building a city that makes that a reality.

Projects much like this have been implemented in Berkeley in the past, so we have models of what success looks like. The Richmond has great resources that bound it, Golden Gate Park on the south and Lands End and the Presidio to the north, and it’s imperative we starting connecting them with each other with projects like this. For the future of our city and our world, we need to start implementing greener solutions for getting around our city. For the future of our friends and neighbors, we need to start implementing safer solutions for getting around our city. This is a step in the right direction. Sign this petition and show your support today!