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If San Francisco leaders care about tourism, they are going to shield Sluggish Streets

Every weekend along Marina Green I see tourists on foot or on rental bikes as they cross the Golden Gate Bridge. Lately, however, I’ve seen more of them on car-free weekends at the Presidio, on Slow Lake Street, on the JFK Promenade, and out on the Great Highway.

You’re already setting out to explore San Francisco on your own, and we should make it a more enjoyable, safer, and easier experience by creating a safer road network.

A new People’s Slow Streets plan, supported by dozens of organizations, is urging the city to start building that network. The plan aims to connect all neighborhoods via safe, intuitive and pleasant slow roads by 2024.

This web of interconnected routes would be perfect for allowing tourists to explore our neighborhoods and helping residents more easily access all of their day-to-day amenities, such as parks and grocery stores.

That’s why the upcoming December 6 meeting of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency board of directors to discuss the future of Slow Streets is so important. Please speak out not only for the children, the elderly, and everyone who is now using these safe havens — but also for the many visitors to San Francisco who would prefer not to compound our local traffic problems by walking down safe corridors who have to explore it.

I’ve spoken to a few of these visitors, and they’re always excited to explore the area beyond the usual tourist attractions without having to worry about parking hassles. Seniors love the way rental e-bikes flatter our city’s famous hills, but visitors don’t always know the best or safest route. Sometimes even an up-to-date “recommended route” leads you into bad traffic situations.

What if they could follow safer, clearly marked circular routes throughout the city, each of which makes a great day trip with places to have coffee, lunch, sightseeing or shop along the way?

The key word is “safer”.

Despite the city’s much-vaunted Vision Zero commitments, there have been at least 30 road fatalities so far in 2022, most of which involved people not in motor vehicles. As documented in a recent Walk San Francisco report, car speeds on many of the city’s streets put pedestrians and cyclists at great risk. Speed ​​limits on the two- and three-lane roads surveyed by Walk San Francisco averaged more than 34 miles per hour, leading to more serious injuries and fatalities in a collision with a cyclist or pedestrian.

A person is about 70% more likely to be killed when struck by a vehicle traveling at 30 mph compared to 25 mph. At 40 mph, about 75% of pedestrians struck by cars suffer one life-threatening injury or death. If we’re welcoming tourists to branch further into the city, they need to feel (and deserve to) feel safer.

We don’t need another study to prove the local popularity of such streets. The landslide vote for car-free JFK Drive and against reopening the Great Highway for full-time cars shows this. But it’s not just about locals.

A safer road network could be a key factor in reviving San Francisco’s tourism industry. A network of connected streets across the city, where pedestrians and cyclists are truly prioritized as street users and cars are restricted to local transit only a few blocks, could be a magnet for visitors. Many of these areas in European cities – once congested by car traffic – are now very popular with tourists. And San Francisco’s compactness, diversity of neighborhoods, and scenic beauty make it the perfect candidate to show that it can be done in the US too.

Imagine a series of intersecting circular paths demarcated by a wide, colour-coded sidewalk – as easy to follow as airport pavement markings. These loops begin at current major tourist areas and some or all of them intersect at the JFK Boardwalk and are linked to allow tourists to safely and easily explore many areas of the city by bike. Imagine a rainbow paved loop leading through the Castro, or a golden loop leading to Golden Gate Park.

It doesn’t have to be expensive: paint on the road and some effective traffic diversions. Instead of the small, inadequate, hard-to-see bike route signage we have now, riders could just follow the colored pavement.

We have a unique opportunity to expand San Francisco’s tourist base at a time when other sectors are faltering. Globally, the cycle tourism market is expected to grow significantly in the near future. The research forecasts a 14.78% compound annual growth rate in the bicycle touring market between 2021 and 2030. Sales of e-bikes in the US surpassed sales of electric cars last year.

In the European Union, a €3 billion fund aims to capitalize on the growth of cycle tourism by developing safe cycling infrastructure.

It always takes visionary leadership to think differently and change the status quo. With political will and foresight, San Francisco could create a city-wide network of safer bike and walking routes, creating a whole new tourist attraction.

Ruth E. Malone is Professor Emeritus of Nursing and Health Policy at UCSF and a car-free e-bike senior.

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