‘Quick Build’ safety fixes are now at Mission and Geneva

We have been pushing for years for Mission Street and Geneva Avenue in the Outer Mission and Excelsior neighborhoods to get desperately-needed changes. 

The intersection of Mission and Geneva is particularly dangerous, with the second highest number of crashes involving pedestrians in the entire city. Three people have been hit and killed on Mission and Geneva in the past five years alone; hundreds have been injured.

Last fall and together with community members who spoke up for big changes, we celebrated when SFMTA committed to make major intersection improvements and to calm traffic on Mission and Geneva. Now, we’re thrilled to see these streets get some short-term “Quick Build” safety fixes before bigger changes are constructed next year. 

Using only paint, posts, and a flashing beacon, SFMTA just added important protection for pedestrians. Painted safety zones have been added at nine intersections along Mission and Geneva where corner bulb-outs will later be built. At Mission and Onondaga, there are now two painted safety zones on both sides of the street. Painted safety zones reduce how far people have to go when crossing the street, plus reduce vehicle speeds and improve visibility.

At Mission and France next to Safeway, a flashing beacon with painted safety zones was added – helping pedestrians cross safely and be seen. This helps close a three block gap between traffic signals where people had little visibility as they crossed this fast, four lane street. Just last December, a 60-year-old man was severely injured crossing Mission between France and Onondaga. 

We look forward to the bigger changes coming in 2022, including concrete bulb-outs and new traffic signals, especially for seniors who will benefit from shortened crossing distances and signals that give people a chance to start before traffic does. 

We’re grateful to SFMTA for putting Mission and Geneva on the 2020 Quick-Build list. These inexpensive improvements will make a big difference for pedestrians. And the new Quick-Build initiative, which we helped win last year, is proving a powerful Vision Zero tool.

And many thanks to the wonderful groups we partnered with to empower seniors in advocating for safe streets: Excelsior Works, Excelsior Family Connections, and Senior & Disability Action.