Masonic Avenue was built for speed, which is exactly what many cars and trucks do as they drive the half-mile or so between Geary Boulevard and the Panhandle, ignoring the 25 mph limit posted on signs and painted on the pavement. A new plan for Masonic aims to slow traffic and make the street safer by installing a median strip, widening sidewalks, adding protected lanes for bikes and creating boarding areas for Muni. [...] it makes room for all those changes by eliminating — or, in the words of transportation planners, “repurposing” — 167 parking spaces and squeezing three lanes of rush-hour traffic into two. Neighbors either love or hate the changes, which have been in discussion or design since 2008 after more than 500 neighborhood residents signed a petition demanding the Municipal Transportation Agency do something about the street. At a community open house Wednesday night, many neighbors said the plan would bring some peace and order to Masonic, which is mainly lined with homes. The community outcry for a safer Masonic preceded the city’s Vision Zero commitment, which aims to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2024, but still the street is a poster child for the program. [...] the emphasis, transportation agency officials say, is on safety — for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians. The stretch of Masonic due for the overhaul carries two lanes of traffic in each direction for most of the day with cars parked along the curbs. Under the new plan, parking will be eliminated on both sides and green-painted bike lanes, raised 2 inches above the traffic lanes, will be installed. Michael Helquist, 67, a writer who lives on Masonic near Golden Gate Avenue, has been an active participant in the planning process for about 10 years. Some drivers and residents accustomed to parking on Masonic wondered where delivery trucks, garbage trucks and construction workers would park and predicted they would double park, which would create chaos when combined with just two lanes of traffic.

BING NEWS:
  • After years of mounting deaths, SF police unfurl ‘wave’ of traffic enforcement
    The San Francisco Police Department, scrutinized by city supervisors and pedestrian safety advocates for the lack of traffic enforcement in recent years, unveiled its new enforcement plan that ...
    05/5/2024 - 9:07 am | View Link
  • SF West Portal traffic safety planning process slows, will include input from the community
    A group of West Portal business owners and neighbors have successfully slowed the planning process for a traffic safety project that was fast-tracked by the city following a deadly collision last ...
    05/1/2024 - 7:00 am | View Link
  • SF police to crack down on speeding, ramp up traffic enforcement after historic lows
    After a massive decline in citations in the past decade, SFPD plans to crack down on speeding and other traffic violations.
    04/30/2024 - 12:10 pm | View Link
  • SF parking officers don't want to give out more tickets, object to new plan
    The parking ticket crackdown came also as a way to further accomplish the goals of Vision Zero SF ... a plan at a Public Safety and Neighborhood Services hearing to increase its traffic enforcement.
    04/26/2024 - 1:00 pm | View Link
  • Outrage over proposed SFMTA traffic safety plan in SF's West Portal after family killed
    "This was a knee-jerk reaction to a terrible tragedy. It needs a little more thought," one resident said in response to proposed traffic changes after an entire family was killed at a bus stop. Local ...
    04/25/2024 - 3:55 am | View Link
  • More

 

Welcome to Wopular!

Welcome to Wopular

Wopular is an online newspaper rack, giving you a summary view of the top headlines from the top news sites.

Senh Duong (Founder)
Wopular, MWB, RottenTomatoes

Subscribe to Wopular's RSS Fan Wopular on Facebook Follow Wopular on Twitter Follow Wopular on Google Plus

MoviesWithButter : Our Sister Site

More U.s. News