Get ready to make Slow Streets permanent

After months of rescheduling, the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is finally deciding the future of Slow Streets next Tuesday, December 6th at 1pm.

At this hearing the SFMTA Board of Directors will be voting on two things; making Slow Streets a permanent program and incorporating existing corridors into the permanent program based on 20 mile per hour speeds, 1,500 vehicle count, and connectivity to the bicycle network. 

Here are the list of streets,

We are proud members of the People’s Slow Streets, a coalition of city-wide organizations, community based organizations, and key stakeholders that have met weekly since August to create the People’s Slow Streets proposal. Outlined in the proposal are key recommendations to a successful Slow Streets program. Those recommendations are, 

  • Build on Success: Approve existing Slow Streets and install metrics and materials that improve safety. 
  • Expand with Equity: Improve onboarding, invest in Equity Priority Communities, and initiate pilot projects.
  • Connect the Network: Connect Slow Streets across the city to create a seamless citywide network.

We are so excited to see Slow Streets become a permanent part of our city. They have been instrumental during the pandemic and we’ve seen them have such great success in certain neighborhoods. The SFMTA proposal on the table is a great first step towards permanency but it still falls short on equity. The list of corridors recommended for inclusion leaves out equity priority communities, there is no process for new Slow Streets, the proposed metrics are still quite high and disqualifies certain neighborhoods whose streets are not deemed residential. We believe Slow Streets can only be successful if equity is at the center of the program, not an afterthought. 

It’s no coincidence that our low-income, predominantly Black, Indigenous, communities of color overlay with neighborhoods that have most streets on the high-injury network. Slow Streets is one tool in our tool box we can use to really slow down streets in these neighborhoods and allow communities to reclaim that space for something more people centered where anyone 8 to 80 can feel safe on them. From the Tenderloin to the Bayview to Excelsior, every neighborhood deserves the opportunity to benefit from an amazing program like Slow Streets if they want them. 

Your SF Bicycle Coalition needs you to turn out to public comment next Tuesday or write a letter in support of the permanent Slow Streets program, and for the SFMTA to adopt the People’s Slow Streets proposal to ensure the program centers equity and will serve all of San Francisco. 

Public comment: In person (first priority), or call-in at 415.655.0001, Access Code: 2498 110 6321
Meeting begins at 1pm, and the Slow Streets item will be heard around 3pm.

Write a letter today!

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