SFist: SFist Photo: No Left Turn, No Left Turn, No Left Turn...

guest

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 14:04:58 -0800

San Francisco's NO LEFT TURNS ARE OUT OF CONTROL. They keep changing Bay Bridge entranes and the City is a huge mess. I think that it is all planned so they can make money on passing out tickets to lost confused tourists.

Belgand

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 08:19:50 -0800

I live right along 19th Ave. and yeah, it's absolutely terrible and predominantly non-local traffic. Shunting Hwy 1 onto it is the real problem and anything else that's being done will never address the fact that it's a fundamentally flawed road design that can't possibly handle the twin needs of being a local traffic artery and a portion of a greater freeway. So instead we get three or four lanes of traffic coming up from 280 and it's suddenly shoved together with all of the local traffic, lights, buses, and everything else that's fit for a city street. The non-local drivers just want to get through it as soon as possible and back to Marin or down to their jobs on the Peninsula. The problem is that there's no alternative for the local drivers. We just end up having to add to the mess, especially if we need to get through the park. If I want to hang out with a friend who lives in the Haight this means that I'm either forced to take 19th Ave. or I get to sit on a bus that takes it and then hope that my transfer shows up. That is, unless I want to take the M all the way out to where I can actually catch an N. We probably can't fix our streets. They're too badly designed to ever be resolvable. The best we can hope for is to try to make our transit functional so we can reduce load on the streets enough to make the streets parody a semblance of functionality.

guest

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:34:46 -0800

Too many people are b*tching and moaning about the City fining and ticketing to fulfill its budget costs. If our tax money that went towards the City was not misused, misspent, or misappropriated towards programs like welfare or substance abuse, then perhaps more money could be put into make roads better. Money is not just freely up for grabs. Whatever "program" or issue needs more money, then less of the budgeted share will go to roads, MUNI, and such.

accidentalist

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:04:33 -0800

Yes yes yes, cops never pull anyone over for moving violations. Until you get pulled over, then those darned cops are filling a quota..a QUOTA! How dare they??? As an aside, did you know meter feeding is illegal? It is! One is legally expected to actually MOVE the car to a different space after 2 hours or whatever the posted time limit. So be sure to check those tires for chalk.

guest

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:16:27 -0800

Please. This is not like parking tickets, which the meter maid comes around and hands out as her job. This is something that would require SF PD to actually pull people over for violations, which in turn would require them to get off their fat lazy asses, put their cappucinos down, and do some work. Not something I'm likely to see in my lifetime. In fact, I sat in a cafe just a few months ago, listening (didn't even have to eavesdrop, they were so loud) to some cops talking to people who were obviously friends of theirs about how unless you're doing something just blatantly egregious, like driving 90 down Market, they don't pull anyone over. For anything. And it's pretty obvious as you stand on Market, watching asshole after asshole blowing through red lights right in front of these chuckleheaded cops. This is more feel-good legislation that will accomplish absolutely zip.

murphstahoe

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 14:30:37 -0800

Malcove - Do you think that life would be better if we just stopped issuing parking tickets instead of punishing and taxing drivers? Come on - there are more cars here than there are parking spaces. The only way to realistically deal with that situation is to charge for that resource. You are in fact direct evidence that charging those that own cars works - you gave up your car, helping balance the availability of the resource vs the demand for the resource, at the cost of those who desire to use that resource.

guest

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 14:18:34 -0800

I take this artery every week coming from the north. I make three rights to turn, that's it. No big deal. There already are two or three red light cameras between the 101 offramp and Golden Gate Park along Park Presidio (those catch the left-hand turning violators). I wouldn't mind more of those cameras. Note however that there are several avenues (California, for instance) where vehicles turning onto Park Presidio have no dedicated lane and light. Only two vehicles usually have the time to turn as lights turn yellow then red. This is particularly dangerous for bicyclists.

RinconHillSF

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:51:26 -0800

It would be easy to lower the speed limits and put up more stop signs. That's how I remember the City of Dixon's School Road exit anyhow. Seems like it might be a good thing to try out here. I won't touch speed bumps cuz Motorcycle folks may be victims, but we do need to something to FORCE drivers to slow the heck down when driving downtown.

guest

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:43:41 -0800

Damn straight they should punish drivers if they don't follow the rules. I don't understand what the big problem with this is. I'd just love to see someone enforce the rules every once in a while :-( If I had a dollar for every time I've almost gotten rammed either in the car or on foot by someone who failed to stop at a 4-way stop or who turned left where no left is allowed I'd have a nice down payment for an overpriced condo in SOMA ;-)

fizzandpop

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:42:21 -0800

#9: We've got it easy, yes the SF driver is seen as an ATM, but compared to everywhere else in the world, we're 20 years behind the extortion curve. I'm talking about tax, road pricing, speed cameras and the like. Don't get me wrong, I live in the city and have two cars but don't really have any sympathy for drivers in CA complaining about being victimized. This is the way government policy is going and there aint nothing we can do about it. You'll look back in 20 years and remember this as the golden age of motoring freedom.

aj

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:37:54 -0800

This is all for moving violations.

J

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:34:40 -0800

Are we talking parking or moving violations. I thought it was the latter. Making it a 2x fine zone doesn't do dick unless it is enforced. I say install left turn cameras and just start issuing fines, if that is the issue. I think more of the issue is what jwb touched on...countdown pedestrian lights might do a world of good here.

guest

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:34:24 -0800

i live on 14th ave. There is an accident once a week on Park Presidio and my block. PPBis a 6-lane freeway through a residential neighborhood. They should triple the fines instead of doubling them - I have seen countless red light runners and other idiots gunning for pedestrians trying to cross the too short red light. Something has to be done...

MalcoveMagnesia

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:21:52 -0800

#2/#7, last time I got a street cleaning parking ticket was somewhere circa 1999 or 2000. My original point was that the city balances too much of its bloated budget on confiscating citizens' money via tickets and fees. But yes, I can easily admit to being lazy. And you might admit to the same thing.... if you spent an hour circling around your neighborhood hunting for a parking spot, most human beings will check for signs only between their parking spot and their front door. S.F.'s parking situation is designed to punish (and tax) drivers and push them onto crummy public transit.

rzu

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:19:59 -0800

Back in March, didn't a similar bill pass only to get vetoed by Arnold? In his veto statement, the governor claimed that, according to a 2002 Department of Transportation report, double-fine zones without additional safety measures “do not have any statistically significant effect on traffic safety.” What changed the Terminator's mind, some agreement to look at what criteria to use for double fine zones? And if it is true that double fine zones don't do much, can we expect that we'll get some additional safety measures to help make sure Hwy 1 is no longer the serial killer of San Francisco?

guest

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:01:23 -0800

this is guest #2. nope, do not rent a parking space. DO own a car, sadly, and it's necessary for me to do so. DO get frustrated daily, as my lovely neighborhood has a huge parking space deficit. but it's not the end of the world to go down a half a block to check out the street cleaning day on another sign. admit it, you're just lazy, and you want that to be an excuse.

fizzandpop

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:59:09 -0800

It doesn't matter how much the raise the fines. All you need to do is request a court date, take the morning off work and watch all your problems disappear when the nice lady calls your name and dismisses your ticket. I swear I was in trafic court the other day and 100% of the people who turned up were on the dismiss list (including two Muni drivers in uniform). Now if I ruled the world every double parker would get 90 days in jail, but that's my 2c. Oh and don't get me started on the new craze for twenty-something hipster chicks riding scootters and mopeds. Ladies, it is not a bicycle, you are not allowed to ride your scooter on the sidewalk, on the bike path or in the park on Sundays. Ask your DJ boyfriend, I'm sure he'll put down his PBR and set you straight.

Ciaran

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:58:21 -0800

Even if left's were allowed, you'd never get a break in the traffic to turn. And you can take three rights to get off Park Presidio onto Geary. In fact it's specifically set up for that. Drivers on 19th are horrible. Fine the lot of them.

jwb

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:44:49 -0800

A lot of the people passing through 19th Ave are not citizens, they are passers-through headed from Marin down to 280. And a lot of them drive like unredeemed assholes. I only wish Yee would earmark the funds generated for some countdown pedestrian signals along this route.

MalcoveMagnesia

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:44:27 -0800

spoken like somebody who rents a parking space, #2. I can also act holier-than-thou also, as I don't own a car anymore. It's one thing to attempt to follow every little law, every obstructed-by-tree-branches (or graffiti'd over, or missing) sign and faded/invisible red zone, but when it comes to parking in this town, I'm sure most drivers (who park on the street) would admit to sharing in the frustration.

guest

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:33:20 -0800

there's a simple solution to this, malcove. feed your meter, pay attention to street cleaning signs so that the machines can do their work, and don't park in the red zone. :)

MalcoveMagnesia

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:27:44 -0800

I'm all for tickets for dangerous moving violations (reckless driving, moving 2 - 3 lanes over at a time, etc.), but San Fran is way too dependent on socking fines to its citizens (street cleaning, expired meters, parked two inches into the red zone of a driveway, etc.). Contrary to whatever DPT & city government believes, people who live here are not bottomless ATM machines. For the DPT aggravation factor alone, I gave up my car years ago and only rent cars on special occasions. (and endure craptacular MUNI the rest of the time).