February 08, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Luke Bornheimer, Sustainable Transportation Advocate, LukeBornheimer@gmail.com, 617-899-4487 (cell)
Luke Bornheimer, on behalf of 10+ Slow Streets-related groups and organizations, sent the below letter to SFMTA Board Chair Amanda Eaken, the Board of Directors, and Directors Jeffrey Tumlin, Tom Maguire, and Jamie Parks calling for critical infrastructure on all Slow Streets to ensure safety, success, and permitted use. Related threads with historical context, examples, and photos can be found on Twitter and on Mastodon.
People wanting to support the letter can send an email to SFMTA using the link: tinyurl.com/SlowStreetsInfra
Slow Streets Mayors and Advocates Call for Critical Infrastructure on all Slow Streets to Ensure Safety, Success, and Permitted Use
Dear Chair Eaken, Board of Directors, and Directors Tumlin, Maguire, and Parks,
I write to you on behalf of more than 10 groups and organizations who activate, care for, and make use of Slow Streets to call for critical infrastructure on all Slow Streets to ensure safety, success, and permitted use. We would like SFMTA to respond by installing signage at every intersection with the current — or more explicit — language, committing to install physical infrastructure — like traffic diverters — on Slow Streets as soon as possible, and considering the other treatments / campaigns outlined below. We would like the SFMTA Board of Directors to legislate signage and infrastructure requirements for Slow Streets, so as to make it unambiguous to staff and the public what should be installed.
In December, the SFMTA Board of Directors made history by unanimously approving the Slow Streets Program, making this transformative initiative a permanent part of our city’s transportation future. The Board also took the opportunity to enhance the Program and improve safety on our Slow Streets by lowering the vehicle volume and speed criteria for Slow Streets, metrics which will make these streets safer and lower stress for people who rely on Slow Streets, especially children, seniors, and people with disabilities. We are grateful to the Board for its unanimous support and SFMTA staff for their tireless work on the Program.
Following the vote, Slow Lake Street received delineators and signs only at every other intersection and did not receive the ‘Local Traffic Only’ signs that are standard on Slow Streets. More recently on Page Slow Street, the ‘Local Traffic Only’ text was covered up on the associated signs before those signs were removed entirely and SFMTA’s Slow Streets webpage was updated to state that the Agency is “moving away from ‘Local Traffic Only’ signs.” This was done without public process or community engagement, and these signs and their connected delineators serve as critical infrastructure for setting rules and expectations on the proper use of Slow Streets. The delineators and signs make Slow Streets safer and lower stress for people walking, biking, and using mobility devices in the street, especially children, seniors, and people with disabilities. Having signage and delineators at every intersection is critical for making drivers aware of Slow Streets and their use, so they are taking care while driving on one block for their local trips.
As such, we implore SFMTA to keep the ‘Local Traffic Only’ signs — and their connected delineators — installed and visible on all Slow Streets and to install signs and delineators at every intersection. Removal or covering up of these signs — or failure to install them — will lead to more confusion over the use of Slow Streets by drivers, creating more conflict and detracting from the safe, welcoming atmosphere that we all have created, benefited from, and come to expect on Slow Streets. If the language is to be changed, we suggest that it be changed to one of the following messages that are compliant with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and communicate the appropriate use of Slow Streets and ensure the safety of all people using Slow Streets:
- ‘No Thru Traffic’ (MUTCD R-95)
- ‘Road Closed to Thru Traffic’ (MUTCD R11-4)
- ‘Road Closed — Local Traffic Only’ (MUTCD R11-3)
In addition to being MUTCD-compliant, these signs and their wording inform drivers of the Slow Streets Program’s guideline to “keep driving on Slow Streets reserved for local trips.” Such signs will also decrease speeding and dangerous driving on Slow Streets, further ensuring the safety of people using Slow Streets.
Furthermore, the placement of these signs and their connected delineators should remain where they are — in the roadway and driving lanes — in order to ensure that drivers see the signs, understand the permitted use of Slow Streets, and take care when entering a block so as to ensure the safety of people walking, biking, and using mobility devices on the Slow Street. Ideally, larger signs would be installed closer to the intersection, so drivers more easily see the signs and understand what usage and trips are permitted.
We heard at the SFMTA Board meeting that there is a desire for more education and awareness around the intent and expectations for the usage of Slow Streets. We applaud SFMTA staff on their ‘How To Use Slow Streets’ webpage and fact sheet and encourage more work on this front to make more people aware of Slow Streets and how they are intended to function.
On that note, we suggest that SFMTA consider the following additional treatments and campaigns to make people aware of Slow Streets, how to use them, and what to expect when on a Slow Street:
- Roadway markings — Adding pavement markings with images of children/families, people using bikes, scooters, and mobility devices, and the word “SLOW” will help make all users of the Slow Street aware that people walking, biking, and using mobility devices can use the roadway for those purposes.
- Shared street signage at intersections — Adding signage at intersections with the words “Shared Street”, “Shared Space”, or “Shared Zone” and images of people walking, people biking, people using mobility devices, children playing with a ball, children playing with a ball, and a car will help educate Slow Streets users of what they should expect to see and interact with on the Slow Street.
- Slow Street signage on cross-streets — Adding signage along cross-streets — like is currently installed on cross-streets of Slow Shotwell — with “Slow Street” and a bidirectional arrow will help to make people driver on cross-streets aware that they are approaching a Slow Street and will help make other people aware that the Slow Street exists and may be of use to them as a safe, lower-stress street for walking, biking, and using mobility devices.
- Awareness/marketing campaign — Creating an educational campaign around Slow Streets — including mailings, posted signs, emails, Muni ads, and a webpage — would help raise awareness of Slow Streets, their locations, and how to use them. Messaging could also encourage residents to use Slow Streets, get more involved in their local Slow Street, and participate in community-building events that occur on Slow Streets.
SFMTA has transformed a number of streets with the Slow Streets Program, and we look forward to a future where more people can use and benefit from Slow Streets, especially those in underserved communities and Equity Priority Communities.
While we continue to support you in that work, we urge that you keep the current ‘Local Traffic Only’ language, signs, and posts on all Slow Streets and install delineators and signs at every intersection while focusing your education and awareness efforts on treatments and campaigns that will enhance Slow Streets and increase the safety and effectiveness of the growing Slow Streets network. Ultimately, the goal here should not be to do the bare minimum to differentiate a Slow Street from other streets. It should be to set up the Slow Street network for success. The more inviting and safe it is, the more people will use it and the better we can assure that Slow Streets thrive.
Thank you,
Luke Bornheimer
Slow Streets Advocate
Email: LukeBornheimer@gmail.com
Cell: 617-899-4487
Twitter: @LukeBornheimer
Co-signed by:
CabriSLOW
Friends of Slow Shotwell
Golden Gate Ave Slow Street
MinneSLOWta
Page Slow Street
SF Bike Bus
Slow Cayuga
Slow Clay Street
Slow Lake Street
Slow Lyon Street
Slow Sanchez