Changes have now been implemented at the West Portal intersection where a family of four was killed by an apparently out-of-control, speeding driver in March, but some in the neighborhood doubt these changes will make them safer.

The SFMTA held multiple public meetings earlier this year to discuss potential safety measures at the complex intersection of Ulloa Street, West Portal Avenue, and Lenox Way, adjacent to the West Portal Muni station, where the deadly crash occurred on March 16. Married couple Diego Cardoso de Oliveira and Matilde Moncada Ramos Pinto had been celebrating their wedding anniversary on a Saturday afternoon, taking their two small children to the SF Zoo, when they were struck by an SUV being driven by 79-year-old Mary Fong Lau.

The exact circumstances that led to the crash have yet to come out in court proceedings, but Lau has been charged with four counts of felony vehicular manslaughter, and she pleaded not guilty to those charges in July. Police have said that alcohol or drug impairment were not a factor in the crash.

As KRON4 reports, the design changes have been implemented at West Portal Avenue and Ulloa Street, and they are aimed at traffic calming and pedestrian safety. These include new signage, markings, a new transit lane, and speed bumps.

There are also new pedestrian crossing beacons on each of the four crosswalks at Ulloa and Wawona streets.

Map via SFMTA

The new rules around the intersection are as follows:

  • No left turns from northbound West Portal Avenue onto Ulloa Street.
  • No westbound through traffic on Ulloa Street at West Portal Avenue (only left turns onto West Portal will be permitted)
  • No left turns from southbound West Portal Avenue onto Vicente Street.

Prior to implementing these changes, the SFPD also conducted a sting operation at the intersection in April, one of a number they have been conducting across the city, using plainclothes officers as decoys to catch and ticket drivers who did not properly yield to pedestrians.

But some neighbors in West Portal are less than enthusiastic about the changes or what they will accomplish.

Says one diplomatic resident, David Miller, speaking to KRON4, "Glad the city is addressing these issues, but I’m not convinced the changes they are implementing are the ones that are needed."

Another resident, Glen Harvey, was less diplomatic. "SFMTA came out like a bunch of ghouls. Pulled this plan out of their back pocket because this is what they wanted to do, shoved it down our throat crying safety. But they didn’t address one thing that had to do with the accident," Harvey said.

It would certainly help to understand more about what happened in the March accident, or whether traffic-calming or pedestrian safety measures would have done anything to save the victims. What we do know is that Lau's car was allegedly traveling the wrong way on Ulloa Street, at excessive speed, when it crashed into the bus stop where the family of four was standing.

The SFMTA also has upcoming plans to "beautify" the West Portal Station entrance, as an aide to Supervisor Myrna Melgar told SFGate.

Previously: 78-Year-Old Woman Charged With Four Counts of Vehicular Manslaughter in West Portal Crash That Killed Family