Weigh in now on designs for two Slow Streets: Lake and Golden Gate Avenue

Last week, Supervisor Dean Preston tweeted something that caught our attention.

“SF has no citywide plan for a network of safe streets for cyclists/pedestrians. That’s unacceptable. My office is working on legislation to create a framework and timeline to move this forward.”

We’re glad that Supervisor Preston is bringing attention to this. Last year, we worked with the Vision Zero Coalition to successfully push for the City to commit to creating a citywide active transportation network. And now later this year, the SFMTA will launch outreach on an Active Communities Plan.

Car-free and car-lite spaces are essential for a great active transportation network – which is why decisions happening now around Slow Streets are so important.

Key decisions happening with Lake Street and Golden Gate Avenue

Right now SFMTA is determining the designs of two permanent Slow Streets: Lake Street and Golden Gate Avenue.

On Golden Gate Avenue, the SFMTA is proposing diverting traffic at Masonic, new Slow Streets delineator posts at most intersections, and other traffic calming tools like raised crosswalks and speed cushions.

View the full designs, and be sure to share your public comment in support of these traffic calming elements and let them know what else you want to see through the Golden Gate Avenue survey before it closes on Wednesday, June 22.

On Lake Street, new designs include partial traffic diverters at four intersections, new stop signs, and similar raised crosswalks and speed cushions. But while Golden Gate Avenue’s Slow Street is less than 10 blocks long, Lake Slow Street is about three times as long and nearby residents report that Lake Street could continue to be an attractive cut-through route for drivers without further design changes.

Take a look at the proposed designs, and before Friday, June 24, spend two minutes to take the Lake Street survey and share your support for the proposed diverters and traffic calming – but also ask for more traffic diverters to limit traffic.

For significantly more people to be able to walk and bike for more trips, creating a network of truly safe streets citywide is a must. Because there is still some traffic on Slow Streets, designs need to be really strong to ensure safety so this bigger goal is achieved. Your voice can help make this happen, so thank you for chiming in on the City’s surveys!

Banner image by Oliver Walter