PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 19, 2025

CONTACT: Jodie Medeiros, Executive Director, Walk San Francisco, (415) 596-1580 (cell), jodie@walksf.org; Marta Lindsey, Communications Director, Walk San Francisco, (617) 833-7654 (cell), marta@walksf.org

California’s first speed cameras launch in San Francisco tomorrow morning

Advocates will celebrate and ask leaders for more solutions to prevent speeding

WHEN: Thursday, March 20, 9:30-10:30 AM

WHERE: Joe DiMaggio Playground in North Beach (651 Lombard Street) and the nearby new speed camera at Columbus Avenue and Greenwich

WHAT: Press conference and ribbon-cutting ceremony with Mayor Lurie, district supervisors, City officials, safe streets advocates, and crash victims and loved ones.

When speed cameras launch in San Francisco tomorrow, these will be the first ever used in the state of California. 

Walk San Francisco (Walk SF) and traffic victims worked for eight years to pass legislation allowing speed cameras to be legal in California. 

This is a major milestone for bringing more aggressive solutions to San Francisco’s streets to prevent crashes and protect communities. Speeding is the #1 cause of severe and fatal traffic crashes. Speed cameras are a proven technology that save lives by changing driver behavior. 

Walk SF is asking City leaders to commit to a suite of additional actions to reduce dangerous speeds citywide. These include: lowering speed limits by 5 MPH on every eligible high-injury street and commercial street; creating a proactive program for installing speed humps and cushions across neighborhoods; redesigning the widest, one-way streets with the deadliest speeds; and installing ‘turn calming’ at all eligible high-injury intersections.     

VISUALS:   

• Ribbon-cutting at the intersection of Columbus Ave and Greenwich Street where one of the speed cameras is located.
• Homemade signs celebrating speed cameras and urging drivers to ‘Go slow to save lives.’ 

ATTENDING: 

• Mayor Daniel Lurie. 
• District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter, whose district will have three speed cameras. 
• District 8 Supervisor and Board President Rafael Mandelman, whose district will have three cameras.
• City Attorney David Chiu.
• SFMTA Director of Transportation Julie Kirschbaum.
• Jodie Medeiros, executive director, Walk San Francisco
• Jenny Yu, whose mother was hit by a speeding driver while crossing Park Presidio in the Richmond neighborhood. Jenny is a founding member of San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets. Jenny Yu personally met with dozens of state legislators asking for their support of speed camera legislation to prevent other families from going through what hers has. 
• Other members of San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets, a group of people who have been directly affected by a traffic crash either as a victim or as a loved one
• North Beach residents.
• Walk SF members.

BACKGROUND: 

Speeding is the #1 cause of severe and fatal traffic crashes in San Francisco and statewide. 

The faster a driver is going, the more likely a crash is to occur. A driver has a smaller scope of vision, less time to react, and can’t stop the vehicle as quickly. And the human body can’t withstand the additional force as speeds rise.

In 2024, 42 people were killed in traffic crashes in San Francisco, the highest number since 2007. More than 500 were severely injured in traffic crashes. Dangerous speeding is the leading cause of these crashes.

Assembly Bill 645, signed into law on October 13, 2023, allows San Francisco (plus Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, Glendale, and Long Beach) to pilot the use of speed cameras. 

AB 645 was a thoughtfully-written bill with strong privacy protections and equity considerations. AB 645 doesn’t allow any facial recognition with the cameras. Only the rear license plate of a speeding vehicle will be captured as part of the program. The data will be stored for SFMTA use only and will not be shared with any other agency, unless court ordered to do so. 

Speed camera violations have no criminal penalties and don’t add points against a driver’s license at the state Department of Motor Vehicles. San Francisco will reduce fines for those under the poverty line by 80% or offer community service, and reduce fines by 50% for individuals 200% above the poverty level.

Walk San Francisco and traffic victims worked for eight years to pass legislation allowing speed cameras to be made legal in California. With the significant role speeding plays in traffic crashes, it is a major milestone for safe streets that San Francisco can now use the proven solution of speed cameras at 33 locations.

California joins 21 states in allowing the use of speed cameras to enforce one of the deadliest driver behaviors. Speed cameras dramatically shift behavior and can reduce the number of severe and fatal crashes by as much as 58%. In New York City, the speed camera program has resulted in a 94 percent reduction in speeding at speed camera locations, a stunning reduction in reckless speeding since the program began.

San Francisco is the first city in California to launch speed cameras on its streets. Speed cameras will begin operation at 33 locations in San Francisco by April 2025. The cameras will be piloted for a five-year period on streets with the highest crash rates. Learn more about San Francisco’s speed camera program.

Pedestrians are at the greatest risk from speeding drivers, and it’s increasingly dangerous as vehicles are bigger, heavier, and are able to reach very high speeds in seconds. 

The automobile industry continues to design vehicles that are dramatically faster than in previous generations. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2022 Automotive Trends Report, the average American vehicle from model year 2021 could reach 60 mph in 7.7 seconds. This is about twice as fast as cars purchased in the early 1980s. Electric vehicles are even faster than the average American vehicle, with many reaching 60 MPH in only a few seconds.

Vehicles are also getting significantly bigger and heavier, raising the stakes for speeding. The average American passenger vehicle is now 8 inches taller and 1,000 pounds heavier than it was three decades ago. SUVs and trucks are now the dominant type of vehicle, making up almost 75% of the market share.

SOCIAL MEDIA

#SlowOurStreets #VisionZeroSF @walksf 

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Walk San Francisco (‘Walk SF’) advocates for safe streets for everyone who walks, which is everyone. Since our founding in 1998, Walk SF has been leading the way to make San Francisco a pedestrian-first city where people of every age and ability can walk safely. Learn more.

San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets is a group of people who have been directly affected by traffic crashes, including crash survivors and people whose loved ones have been killed or injured in traffic crashes. Learn more.