Traffic calming has been a big topic among ASNA members as well as our friends at NOPNA. The pandemic has shifted the way many San Franciscans think about certain aspects of urban environments like parks, parklets, and mass transit. Support for pedestrian-friendly spaces has been gaining support as people start to prioritize people over cars in an effort to improve the quality of life in cities. Many supporters claim that expanding space for people and reimagining many existing pieces of infrastructure is the only way San Francisco will be able to move closer to achieving its very ambitious net zero carbon goals.
With this in mind, residents are making block-by-block efforts to reduce traffic speeds and calm drivers who frantically race from one errand to the next. Reducing traffic speeds also has the effect of providing neighbors with a greater sense of safety, peace, and calm when moving through their daily activities on foot or bike.
The SFMTA’s Traffic Calming Program is a resident-driven, application-based program to address mid-block speeding on residential streets in San Francisco. The program seeks to enhance neighborhood livability by reducing the adverse impacts of vehicular traffic on residential streets and creating safer and more comfortable streets for people walking, bicycling, and driving alike.
The SFMTA's residential traffic calming program works on funding cycles with the current application deadline of June 30th slated for evaluation and implementation in FY 2023-24.