Now is the time to win #CarsOffMarket

Yesterday, we helped organize a major, coordinated action to send a message to city leaders that the time has come to get private vehicles off of Market Street in the downtown corridor.

Right after 5:00PM, safe streets advocates held up “no right turn” signs to approaching vehicles while crowds of volunteers in yellow shirts started constantly crossing Market Street at Montgomery.

The effect? For a little more than one glorious hour, private vehicles including ridehail services like Uber and Lyft essentially couldn’t turn onto Market Street from Montgomery Street.

Already there are turn restrictions on Market from 3rd to 8th Streets (implemented in 2015 as part of the Safer Market Street plan), which reduces traffic on Market and reduces the likelihood of collisions from turns. But this doesn’t go far enough.

It’s time to fully remove private vehicles from Market Street to make it San Francisco’s “main street,” instead of one of the most dangerous streets. This will happen when the City implements turn restrictions onto Market Street from Steuart Street near the Ferry Building to Van Ness Avenue as proposed in the Better Market Street project. And we believe – along with our action partners at People Protected, San Francisco Transit Riders, and the SF Bicycle Coalition – that there’s no reason this can’t happen in 2019.

That’s why Walk SF gathered hundreds of postcards to SF Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru at yesterday’s action, urging Director Nuru to eliminate private vehicles and keep the Better Market Street project on track.

It’s also why we’re asking people to send an email to Mayor Breed, SF Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru, and SFMTA Director of Transportation Ed Reiskin. They need to hear that we want a safe, and enjoyable Market Street now!

And it’s why you’ll continue to hear from us in the upcoming months about ways you can take action for #CarsOffMarket.

We believe a landmark victory for safe streets in San Francisco is within reach with enough pressure on city leaders. We are thrilled to see some of these leaders yesterday: Supervisor Matt Haney; Cristina Rubke, SFMTA Board of Directors; and Amanda Eaken, SFMTA Board of Directors.

Let’s do this!

Special thanks to so many Walk SF volunteers for helping us gather hundreds of postcards as well as proudly holding signs. See our photos from the Market Street action, plus photos by the SF Examiner.