After a strong showing for a safer Fulton Street, California Street is next

At the SFMTA’s open house for Fulton Street last Saturday, Walk SF supporters sent a clear message: intersections need serious help to keep people safe when crossing and improvements need to be aggressive. Many people spoke out for SFMTA to not only daylight all intersections (remove parking spaces directly around the crosswalk), but to add paint and posts to physically narrow the street and slow vehicles. Walk SF agrees! 

But Fulton Street isn’t the only street in the Richmond neighborhood with frequent traffic crashes and subpar safety for pedestrians. The California Street Safety Project is moving forward, and we know these improvements are urgently needed on a street where two people lost their lives in crashes last year.

Back in November, Walk SF supporters helped shape plans to bring urgent safety improvements to California Street. Some are already happening. These include: 

• Daylighting intersections along the entire corridor
• Changing signal timing to give people more time to cross, which is especially important for those who move slower, like seniors and parents with children
• Painting continental crosswalks and advance limit lines so drivers see and respect pedestrians – and give them more space

But what’s planned for next with California Street is even bigger. Supervisor Fewer and SFMTA want to reduce the number of lanes  from four lanes to three. This change, called a “road diet” is a proven way to make the streets safer for everyone. It will reduce vehicle speeds (a big issue on California Street), plus create more space for people walking and biking.

Join us March 12 to support getting big fixes for California over the finish line

**Update: following the City and Country of San Francisco’s guidance on non-essential public events, this town hall has been canceled. The SFMTA will implement these safety improvements, and Walk SF will track this project to ensure it moves forward as planned.**

Next Thursday evening, March 12, Walk SF will join Supervisor Fewer to learn from SFMTA about the next safety steps for California Street. Because reducing California from four to three lanes is a hugely important step, we hope you’ll stand with us in cheering it onward ASAP.  

RSVP if you can make it and we’ll share talking points – or if you just want to stay in the loop on Richmond street projects. 

California Street Safety Project Town Hall

Thursday, March 12 

6:00 – 8:00 pm 

St. James Preschool

4620 California Street 

Banner image: SFMTA