By Erik Honda, Paige Rausser, and David Troup (DTNA Board members who live on Henry, Beaver, and 15th Streets)

A large and boisterous crowd of over fifty people turned out for our June General Meeting to hear from supervisor Rafael Mandelman and representatives from the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency (SFMTA) about proposed changes to the Noe Slow Street. MTA had placed flyers in the neighborhood about some proposed changes, along with a link to their website that described various proposals, but prior to this meeting had held no public discussions of the matter, so DTNA pressed them to comeand take questions. DTNA Vision 2030 co-chair Hans Galland explained that these changes were not initiated or pushed by DTNA – we supported Noe Slow Street during the pandemic but in response to neighbor surveys Vision 2030 has recently been focused on pedestrian danger and traffic flow problems at intersections on the north side of the Triangle – at Sanchez, Steiner and Duboce, and at 14th and Sanchez.

The MTA Representatives, transportation planner Julia Malmo and associate engineer Ellen Robinson, gave a history of the nineteen Slow Streets approved by the city starting in 2021, and the mandates the city has put in place to make those streets truly slow. The number of vehicles must not exceed 1,000 per day, and the average speed cannot top 15 mph. MTA clocked speeds and made vehicle counts on Noe Street, and while speeds 

were close to the goal (16 mph), average traffic was well over the goal (1,700 vehicles a day). As a result they looked at “volume management tools” – different forms of diversions to turn cars away from the Slow Street; you can see the options (a traffic diverter at 15

thto reduce northbound traffic, changing the loading zone there to a painted safety zone, and adding speed bumps between Beaver and 15th) athttps://www.sfmta.com/projects/noe-slow-street and settled on the traffic diverter option. Many attendees felt that this change would make Noe Streetonly marginally safer, while making surrounding blocks significantly less safe.

Neighbors expressed concerns that these changes will negatively affect traffic on other streets in the Triangle (primarily 15th, as cars will turn off Noe onto 15th) and suggested other options like allowing a left turn off Market onto Castro (since Castro is the major north/south artery in the area). MTA is still taking feedback (you can provide yours on the website above) and will hold a public hearing on the matter (you should be able to sign up to get a text or email about the meeting on the same website). Supervisor Mandelman also asked folks to reach out to him by emailing or calling his office. He is supportive of the Vision 2030 plan to reduce traffic speeds and increase pedestrian safety throughout the Triangle as a whole, and opined that MTA should be looking at the broader picture rather than focusing on single streets. DTNA concurs – at its July meeting the DTNA Board approved a resolution to ask MTA to consider the impacts of their implementation on the rest of the neighborhood before considering paths to move forward, and to consider the viability of an option which adds guidance signs to the current configuration of barriers. Stay tuned!