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In this edition:

Note the "1" pasted over the "2" to take the speed limit down 10mph!

Huge step forward today for safer streets!

This morning, Walk San Francisco, Mayor Ed Lee, and city department heads announced an initiative to help kids walk to school: New 15-mile-per-hour speed zones going up ... Read More]]>

Note the "1" pasted over the "2" to take the speed limit down 10mph!

Huge step forward today for safer streets!

This morning, Walk San Francisco, Mayor Ed Lee, and city department heads announced an initiative to help kids walk to school: New 15-mile-per-hour speed zones going up around all city schools this fall.

For Walk San Francisco and all its members, this is a victory in a long campaign. Throughout the year, Walk SF has kept up a drumbeat of attention on pedestrian safety and calmer streets, starting with new speed zones around schools.

Putting up the first new 15-mph sign on 7th Ave near George Peabody School! Photo courtesy Bryan Goebel, Streetsblog

Why? Because speed matters. Just a small reduction in vehicle speed makes the difference between life and death.

These school zones are an important step toward calming traffic throughout the city and helping to reclaim our streets as safe, pleasant public space that we can all enjoy.

San Francisco is the first big city in the state to adopt these 15-mph zones, and Walk SF is looking forward to safer streets and calmer traffic around over 200 schools.

Walk SF is also working with the Police Department and MTA on a clear plan to enforce every single one of these new speed limits, to really make sure they’re effective.

These new speed zones will help create a more safe and sustainable city, helping kids get to school safely and calming traffic in neighborhoods throughout the city.

This is a big step forward for everyone who walks in San Francisco.

Peak2Peak, our signature walk, is coming up September 24: Save the date and vote on this year’s route!

Read more about a troubling development on Cesar Chavez (update on Streetsblog), victories ... Read More]]> Our summer newsletter is hot off the e-presses!

Peak2Peak, our signature walk, is coming up September 24: Save the date and vote on this year’s route!

Read more about a troubling development on Cesar Chavez (update on Streetsblog), victories on our Safer Speeds Around Schools campaign, and upcoming walks and Sunday Streets events — all in the Walk SF summer newsletter.

Plus, volunteer opportunities abound: Walk SF is looking for volunteers to table at Sunday Streets on July 10 and also seeking membership and outreach interns. Email us to volunteer.

More good news from the statewide election: Prop 23, which Walk SF opposed, failed with only 39% of the vote. This leaves California’s landmark climate-change-fighting bill untouched, allowing the state ... Read More]]> Great news! San Francisco’s Prop AA passed, which will raise $1.25 million for street improvements for pedestrians, and another $1.25 million for transit reliability improvements.

More good news from the statewide election: Prop 23, which Walk SF opposed, failed with only 39% of the vote. This leaves California’s landmark climate-change-fighting bill untouched, allowing the state to continue moving forward on supporting sustainable transportation options–like walking!

And some bad news: Prop 26, which Walk SF also opposed, passed. This means that new fees will now, like taxes, require a 2/3 vote, and so raising revenue for public improvements and services will now become much more difficult.

We Walk to Work on Wednesdays (and other days too) by ... Read More]]> You may have read Meredith May’s article about Thomas Vogl in the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, January 3, 2010 as part of the Ultra-Commuters issue. The following is a write-up that Thomas prepared for Walk San Francisco about his Walk to Work advocacy.

We Walk to Work on Wednesdays (and other days too)
by Thomas Vogl

I live in the Outer Sunset neighborhood and usually cycle to work, but one day I decided to try walking to work instead. It felt great, it was simple, and it made me really want to share the experience with others. So I told my housemates about my “walk to work” day, they liked the idea, and decided to give it a try. Entire streets we hadn’t noticed before revealed themselves to us, we met and conversed with new and interesting people along the way, it energized us, and we all agreed it felt good to just walk. We were grateful for having a healthy pair of legs and that gratitude flowed into our work day.

Because of these initial experiences I decided to walk to work more often and reached out to more people to join us. Since we started two months ago a mini movement has emerged: We’ve made a tradition of walking on Wednesday mornings. Some of start the day by meeting in a café and others join us enroute. We make our way towards City Hall where we split up because some of us have reached our destination while others must continue on.

…And So… (aka The Mission Statement)
I want to share the love of walking and inspire more people to consider walking as an innate right and a viable and enjoyable alternative to transport oneself to work. Walking is enjoyable, free, and healthy, and is even more fun when we walk to work together as “walking buddies”. Walking to work should be encouraged and promoted as an effective and efficient commuting alternative.

… There is More
Apart from the obvious benefits (it is free, good for the environment, an excellent work-out, and very reliable) I would like to share some of the other up-sides that I have experienced when I walk to work:

· Social Connections. Walking to work has given me a chance to spend some quality time chatting face to face with buddies, and making new friends. It’s been a pleasant surprise to see how many people have given me warm greetings and smiles for simply walking by
· Fresh Perspectives. Walking to work has allowed me to see new streets and pathways I would never have noticed before. Commuting in this fashion has given me a new way of seeing how other people live, work, and generally get around and in general is a great way to appreciate San Francisco even more

My Dream
· I see a multitude of Walk to Work neighborhood groups, greeting each other as they cross paths.
· I see an occasional Walk to Work celebration complete with marching band to help further inspire participants and to recruit new individuals to join us.
· I see Walk to Work becoming hip and cool, in the same way bicycling has.
· I see yearly “Walk to Work” Days in San Francisco, like the Bike-to-Work, with lots of people commuting by foot, and pausing at energizer stations for some fluids, encouragement, and camaraderie.
· I see a great increase in the membership of Walk SF as more citizens learn about the organization and its importance to the city.

What Next
I will be setting up an information booth in my office building (the old Hamm’s Brewery Building in Protero Hill) to let people know about my little mini movement. I will give them the opportunity to put their email and neighborhood onto a list so I can help them connect with one another and find walking buddies.

I wish you a happy Walk to Work Day!
Thomas Vogl

If you want to learn more about Walk to Work drop me a line at thomasvogl@hotmail.com