New plan for police traffic enforcement to be shared at April 25 hearing
Last year, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman submitted a letter to the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) requesting a plan for how SFPD will restore traffic enforcement, which is at historically low levels.
On Thursday, April 25 at 10:00 AM, the SFPD will present its traffic enforcement plan at the Board of Supervisors’ Public Safety and Neighborhood Resources Committee.
Walk SF will be there to hear the details. Walk SF will also share during public comment that we need more frequent, consistent, and visible traffic enforcement of the most dangerous driving behaviors – especially speeding – focused strategically around the city.
How streets are designed is the most crucial piece of protecting pedestrians.
But some drivers will push the limits no matter what, and norms are at a new low in recent years. Speeding, running red lights, and reckless driving happen all too often now. Speeding is especially deadly, with risk rising exponentially with every mile above 20 MPH.
That’s why Walk SF believes there is a role for traffic enforcement if it’s done right.
Speed cameras and red light cameras are proven to be the best enforcement tools, working 24 hours a day to change behavior and with no biases. Police must also play a role, but a focused one: on the most dangerous driving behaviors rather than low-level, minor offenses.
In fact, Walk SF is part of a coalition of 65+ organizations that want to end biased, pretextual traffic stops in San Francisco that are for minor offenses that are often used as a pretext to search people, which data shows are racially-biased.
Dangerous driving, especially speeding, threatens all of us – especially as vehicles get bigger and heavier. The City must meet this real and rising threat. That includes having the SFPD do its part to keep drivers in check.
With 33 speed cameras finally coming to our streets in early 2025, the SFPD will be crucial as force-multipliers in the cameras shifting behavior in a meaningful way.
Questions about the hearing on Thursday, April 25? Contact Malena at malena@walksf.org.
