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San Francisco Still Among Most Dangerous For Pedestrians
dkatana writes: The city of San Francisco averages 200 injuries per year and 30 deaths. This is almost double the number of Barcelona, Catalonia, which has about the same population. The city started a Vision Zero program, aimed at reducing and ultimately eliminate pedestrian deaths by 2024. But after a year-long Vision Zero education push called Safe Streets SF, whose key message is that pedestrians always have the right of way, the results have been modest. Now a series of banners on light poles in the South of Market neighborhood with the message: 'Slow down! We live here!' are trying to convince drivers to respect people on foot.
Peds SHOULD NOT have the right of way. people can stop on a dime. cars cannot. you dont make the oil tanker yield to the dinghy.
The crime of jaywalking didn't exist until cars came along. Streets were once shared spaces for everyone.
And then someone figured out that things with large amounts of momentum required long stopping distances, and that you were an idiot if you stepped out in front of them, and expected the laws of physics to bend to your whim.
And then someone else came up with traffic signals and road markings, which made it safe for pedestrians and cars to share the street again ...so long as everyone, including the pedestrians, obeyed the signals and road markings.
And then "jaywalking" ... not obeying the signals and road markings in a way dangerous to those sharing the road with you ... became a crime.
And everyone lived happily every after! Except the people who were jaywaking: they got splatted like birds flying into the path of a 747 (something that also can't stop on a dime, even if the birds happen to be members of an endangered species).
If only we force people to engage in a diverse, non-confrontational conversation
I know you are trying to be funny, but this is exactly what SF is failing to do. All of their effort is focused on changing driver behavior, when much of the effort should be on pedestrian behavior. When pedestrians step into traffic without even looking, the metal in my bumper isn't going to care that they "always have the right of way".
Another problem is that driving in SF can can very confusing, draining driver attention. Try to make a left turn onto Market Street on a busy day. Some streets should just be shut down and turn into pedestrian malls, such as Grant Street through Chinatown, since all the tourists are already oblivious to the cars.