Results tagged “pedestrian”

A pedestrian was killed early this morning at around 4:30 a.m. after being struck while walking on a connector ramp between two highways. According to reports, the fatal incident happened on a connector ramp between northbound Interstate Highway 280 and southbound state Highway 1. The unidentified victim died at the scene.

Oh, sure, you've seen all the coverage of Jan Gehl's plan to turn Fisherman's Wharf into something tolerable. But wouldn't you like to know more? The excellent SPUR is holding a forum TODAY about the city's plan to alleviate pedestrian-congestion by updating the neighborhood's 1950s-style freeway-inspired urban design: widening sidewalks, installing benches, and adding bike lanes, injunction be damned. After all, be honest: when's the last time you went to Fisherman's Wharf? Probably when you had out-of-town guests.

Early this morning at 8:24 a.m., an "adult female" was struck a 60-foot 71-Haight-Noriega bus on Market and Sixth Streets. She was transported to SF General Hospital, where she later died. According to San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's press release:

This morning we ran north on Arguello to the Presidio. When we reached California Street, it struck us that there were no pedestrian signals at that intersection, which is rife with pedestrians, on a crowded bus line, and right near a couple of schools and a huge synagogue.

-- Really? At Union Square? Where we sit and enjoy our Border's-bought cream cheese stuffed pretzel? Let's back up a bit: according to SF Crime, a 16-year-old boy was shot while kicking it in the Union Square area at around 9:30 p.m. on Friday night. "A bullet struck the teen in the ankle and he was transported to San Francisco General Hospital in stable condition" just 30 minutes after SFPD responded to yet another...

Similar to the fatal accident that happened in November, another pedestrian -- engrossed in a phone call, ignorant as to what was happening around him -- was stuck and killed by a train in San Leandro. According to the Chronicle, it seems that: The victim, a man who was not immediately identified, was struck at 12:30 p.m. by a northbound Capitol Corridor train at the Alvarado Street crossing, about 8 miles south of the...

San Francisco is America's most "walkable" city

We caught the symphony on Thursday for a really cool program: Mostly Ives, with a Mendelssohn violin concerto squeezed in between for good measure. Those quicker than us with their opinions found the concerto rather pedestrian. But it's such a delicious yet cloying confection that even under the the jurisdiction of a particularly uninspired interpretation, is still satisfying. And the soloist, 22yo Sergey Khachatryan, did spark some fireworks in the final movement.

It was with absolutely zero shock that we read yesterday's article in the Examiner about a police sting aimed at drivers who cruise through the crosswalk when people are trying to cross the street at Taraval and 21st. The sting continues, as

San Francisco police are conducting undercover pedestrian sting operations to cite drivers “blatantly violating the pedestrian right of way.” On Wednesday, officers at Taraval Street and 21st Avenue cited 45 drivers in just two and a half hours from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., according to police.

We were bicycling out in Parkside today, and we stopped to admire the new traffic signals at 19th and Sloat. It's still extraordinarily dangerous, and perhaps worse. The sign telling cars to yield on green for a left turn is still up, so drivers edge out in to the intersection, begging to get creamed by traffic coming the other way on Sloat. That left-turn signal? It lasts for precisely two seconds, at the end...

Ah, beautiful Diviz. Is there no boulevard more perfect, more blissful? When we think "nice places to take an afternoon constitutional," we are drawn instantly to its divine charm. It is, simply put, an Eden. To alter it would be to play God.

Five people were sent to the hospital today after two cars crashed into each other at 19th Avenue and Sloat, shutting down the Sunset District intersection.

Last night -- according to fredsharples, who took these shots, found on SFist Contribute -- a pedestrian was (reportedly) hit by a MUNI bus at around 7 p.m. on 24th Street between Harrison and Treat. Do any of you know what happened? If so, do tell. We've played Frogger on that strip many times, and those cars and buses cut it damn close.

So the Chronicle says not that many people took advantage of free public transportation today for the first Spare The Air day of the season, but the BART train we were on was certainly pretty crowded. We love Spare The Air days, where all of a sudden the kids that everyone always says they never see in San Francisco materialize out of nowhere and ride the rails all day. (Or for today, until 1 p.m., when the BART gates slam shut.) We almost asked a group of giggling youth on the platform "shouldn't you be in school?" but didn't want to go all Principal Ed Rooney from Ferris Bueller's Day Off on them. Watch out for Ferraris falling from garages later today!

Remember the Jamba Juice hepatitis A scare? And remember how we said there were gymnasts competing in a national meet in San Jose a few weeks ago? Well -- you guessed it -- it turns out the gymnasts might have been exposed to the virus. The hepatitis A carrier made smoothies for the gymnasts during the meet and in the trade shows outside. She claims she used good hygiene and food safety practices throughout (wearing gloves, for instance), so the chance of infection is fairly low, but they're warning gymnasts anyways. Hey, while we're on the topic of gymnasts, does anyone else remember the movie ? So good.

Yet another pedestrian hit by yet another MUNI bus in the Richmond -- this time, the 1 California at 22nd Ave. Plus, Caltrain hit a car this morning too.

Did you see (video footage) all that smoke (pictures) yesterday? A fire at 17th and Noe Street between the Mission and the Castro at around 6:30 yesterday evening displaced at least 14 people, and sent seven to the hospital for smoke inhalation. One man had to be rescued off the roof. The fire spread to the building next door too, but firefighters managed to put it out before that building was too damaged. The SFFD is still investigating the cause of the fire, though one witness said she'd been repeatedly complaining to her landlord about pot smokers in the building.

-- Will Harper has it that Chris Daly might run for mayor now that Gonzalez is out. Whoa, a real contender! Interesting. [The Snitch (SF Weekly)]

Oooh, we love surveys! Interactive, easy to do, fun to click on things, and plus you get that feeling of having Let Your Voice Count. Like jury duty, only you can do it at home and they won't issue a warrant for your arrest if you don't complete it.

--Turns out rescuers totally missed the car of the missing Alameda County woman and her priest friend, even though they got exact directions from 911. [Chron.]

Well, that was a grim Daily Californian homepage yesterday. The top six stories: pedestrian hit by car on Telegraph; Berkeley summer camp evacuated due to Tahoe fire, body found near the Berkeley Marina, beloved local activist hit by train, Cal student to be tried for killing David Halberstam, and memorials for the local murder-suicide family. On the bright side, the other article on the home page is that Cal basketball star DeVon Hardin has decided not to enter the NBA draft.

June is busting out all over! With lawsuits, we mean. Added to the total from a few weeks ago, we're up to $456,565.92 in Muni claims since February. Wow, that's a lot of money. Sure would've gone a long way toward hiring a few more drivers, or repairing a few more buses, or buying a few more NextMuni signs. Oh well.

Transportation issues covered at Assemblywoman Fiona Ma's First Town Hall Meeting

A lot of weird car accidents in the news yesterday: an impatient guy trying to pass around congestion on the road killed a pedestrian on 19th Avenue in San Francisco, a drunk off-duty cop killed a pedestrian on Solano Avenue in Berkeley, and a man was killed in Sausalito by a garbage truck backing up, a truck filled with hay tipped over and jammed up I-80 this morning.

We're sorry to pass along the news that a pedestrian is near death after having been hit by a car in the Nob Hill/Polk Gulch area at around 5:30 this morning.

Uh oh.

We were skeptical about the plan to open the Panhandle DMV lot for public parking. But Lisa Zahner, the city's Divisadero Corridor Manager, reassured us that the Planning Department doesn't anticipate a rise in traffic levels, since the surrounding streets are already so busy. And in fact, traffic might , since drivers won't have to circle the block to find parking. Not only that, but the city's hope is that people will use the lots to come into SF, and then use public transit to mosey on down to Golden Gate Park for the pedestrian-friendly weekends. (Note to city: shuttle buses might make that hope more likely to materialize.) The lot will only be open for public parking during the DMV's off hours and weekends; the rest of the time, it'll be dedicated for DMV use only. Well, that sounds alright then.

Belmont (the Utica to our Manhattan, if we may make such a daring analogy) is an on-the-go suburb, in love with its cars and asphalt, and with no time for such frivolities as . Mayor Coralin Feierbach is one of the only Bay Area mayors to refuse to sign the Sierra Club's Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement, objecting to the pledge to "reduce sprawl, preserve open space, and create compact, walkable urban communities." Those crazy Al Gore environmentalists want us to WALK? What next!

If good web design gets you all weak in the knees, take a look at the SFCTA's new website. (The SFCTA is like the MTA's little cousin; they handle interesting transit projects rather than the big day-to-day stuff.) It's all orange and pretty and infinitely easier to use than the old version. Meeting agendas! Pedestrian safety maps! Geary committees! It's all right there. (Although friendlier URLs would be nice.)

Nancy Pelosi is sticking up for her constituents, amidst all the recent news that San Francisco has the highest gas prices in the nation.