The city is collapsing and slow street t citizens who driving their car want street lights synchronized, so they can go faster, without stopping. In San Fran that have major streets, like Market Street, closed off to cars. Then they have “slow streets”, where the government puts up roadblocks sand other stuff to slow the cars down—for the purpose of getting the drivers so frustrated they either stop using their cars—or, as what is happening in San Fran, no longer coming into this crime infested, dirty, homeless everywhere, city. Literally they are telling visitors and tourists to stay away—and they are.
“The SFMTA introduced a plan Monday that would scale back some of the measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic meant to reduce car traffic and make Lake Street a pedestrian paradise between Arguello Boulevard and 28th Avenue.
The idea is to keep Lake Street safe for cyclists and pedestrians, according to SFMTA spokesperson Erica Kato, but “we also recognize that with no parallel street to the north, that the frequency of the existing Slow Streets barricades has exacerbated neighborhood circulation in some cases.”
Can you see the manager of a bank, a significant attorney or executive at a tech firm riding their bike to court, a business meeting or a very expensive restaurant with a client? This city is shutting down. Soon you will see it in the history books and on the Discovery Channel.
San Francisco transportation agency has a new Lake Street design, draws ire of advocates
By Adam Shanks, SF Examiner, 6/17/22
A planned redesign of Slow Lake Street would make Lake Street, well, not so slow.
It’s a compromise that aims to please everyone and, in doing so, the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency risks satisfying no one.
The SFMTA introduced a plan Monday that would scale back some of the measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic meant to reduce car traffic and make Lake Street a pedestrian paradise between Arguello Boulevard and 28th Avenue.
The idea is to keep Lake Street safe for cyclists and pedestrians, according to SFMTA spokesperson Erica Kato, but “we also recognize that with no parallel street to the north, that the frequency of the existing Slow Streets barricades has exacerbated neighborhood circulation in some cases.”
In other words, a shake-up is necessary because the significant number of existing traffic diverters forces cars to circle surrounding blocks.
Advocates on both sides of the issue expressed displeasure with the design to The Examiner this week.
It’s the latest iteration in a raging debate over the future of San Francisco’s streets. The new Lake Street design comes on the heels of the Board of Supervisors’ controversial decision to permanently close a portion of JFK Drive to cars in Golden Gate Park, and the release of a compromise proposal that would leave the Great Highway as-is.
Now, the argument will re-center on a relatively sleepy stretch of San Francisco, and the result may portend what will become of other slow streets.
The City is grappling with the future of its streets following unprecedented pandemic-induced experimentation with reducing car traffic, and a changing balance between working-from-home and commuting downtown for many residents. The City has also seen a spate of pedestrian deaths in recent weeks, casting a cloud over its ongoing efforts to eliminate traffic deaths.
The Lake Street proposal quickly drew the ire of bicycling and pedestrian advocates, who felt the proposed changes would amount to a reversal of the SFMTA Board of Director’s decision last August to enshrine Lake Street as one of four permanent post-pandemic slow streets.
One need look no further than the title to differentiate between past designs and the new proposal: SFMTA’s web page dedicated to the project is now labeled “Lake Street Design,” a departure from its previous description as “Lake Slow Street.”
The SFMTA disagrees that the new design is an abandonment of past promises, arguing that the new design is the product of a long community outreach process that began last summer.
Under the proposed redesign, released after SFMTA solicited feedback on four proposed designs, larger sections of the street would be passable for motorists compared to the current setup.
To compensate for those changes, SFMTA would install raised sidewalks and concrete traffic diverters — which limit traffic to one direction — at several points on the street.
The diverters would be installed at 2nd Ave, Funston, 14th Ave and 24th Ave.
All-way stop signs would be located at 3rd, 8th, 11th, 17th, 21st and 24th avenues, positioned as such to ensure cars never travel more than two blocks before meeting a stop sign. Along the way, there would be eight raised crosswalks or speed cushions installed, posing an additional impediment to cars.
The SFMTA is now soliciting public opinion on the design, and is sure to receive an earful. It’s also committed to continuing to track data on the road’s usage and refine the design if necessary, according to Kato.
Last year, SFMTA issued a public survey to solicit feedback on four designs, three of which maintained a slow street in some form. The fourth option was to return to the pre-pandemic normal.
Of respondents, 84% chose one of the three slow-street options as their favorite. But of those who live adjacent to Lake Street, 54% favored a slow street option.
The thrust of the argument to reopen Lake Street is that it’s not easy to live in the Richmond or Sea Cliff without being somewhat car dependent — just try getting a five-year-old on a Muni bus to a school two miles away.
But Slow Streets, their advocates counter, allow more families to safely take sustainable modes of transportation to get around.
Those who want a reopened Lake Street contend pushing neighborhood traffic onto adjacent California Street isn’t a viable solution, and argue traffic has backed up. According SFMTA, travel times from 32nd Avenue to Arguello have increased by less than a minute compared to pre-pandemic norms, but some residents worry that will only worsen as more people return to work, and their commute.
The SFMTA has yet to restore express service along the 1 California line during the pandemic, citing low ridership, thus making it even harder get around by bus.
To those who advocate for Lake Street to remain in its current state, it’s almost the Platonic ideal of a slow street — the wide sidewalks, bike lanes, and abundant trees give it the natural feeling of a shared roadway.
To those who wish to reopen Lake Street, those same features are why they believe Lake Street was always friendly to pedestrians and cyclists — and it need not be restricted as a slow street.
Robin Pam, an organizer with KidSafe SF, which has advocated for slow streets, said Lake Street should be engineered to keep cars below a maximum speed of 20 mph.
“We don’t think that the current design, as laid out, is going to prevent that cut through, speeding traffic,” Pam said.
If the city wants to reach its goal of having 80% of trips be on sustainable modes of transportation by 2030, Pam argued, it needs to expand its network of slow and safe streets, not cut back.
Luke Bornheimer, an organizer with Community Spaces SF, argued that Slow Lake Street has been incredibly successful at building community, and has the support of a vast majority of nearby residents.
“What’s important to highlight here is that there is and always has been 100% access for people who need to drive cars on Lake Street. It has never been closed to cars. It is and likely always will be open to cars,” Bornheimer said.
Appeasing those calling for Lake Street’s full reopening is futile, he added.
“We can choose to try to satisfy an insatiable desire to be able to drive everywhere…or we can see that this is creating a positive community resource and is helping our city move toward climate, sustainability and safety goals,” Bornheimer said.
To those pushing for a reopening, the design planned by SFMTA hasn’t mollified either side and felt like a surprise to both.
“Cement barriers, traffic diverters, were never shown to us as a possible design option,” said Alison Fong, a nearby resident and advocate for fully reopening Lake Street. “What it ultimately does is divert traffic to drive even further to get to their destination.”
It’s unclear whether Supervisor Connie Chan, who represents the Richmond District, will weigh in on the design.
In a statement to The Examiner, her office wrote that she asks the SFMTA to listen to the “diverse input from constituents and incorporates street safety improvements to Lake Street. Generally speaking, Supervisor Chan demands SFMTA to prioritize infrastructure that increase road safety and equitable access for everyone.”
Whatever happens, SFMTA appears committed to changing this up on Lake Street.
“While there have been strong feelings for and against Slow Lake Street, there is broad agreement that the status quo needs to change to reflect 2022 conditions,” Kato said.
