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These are the 7 San Francisco streets poised to have lowered velocity limits in January

Seven busy corridors in San Francisco are likely to lower their speed limits to 20 mph in early January as the city uses its newfound power to reduce speeds under a new state law.

The announcement of the first speed limit changes the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is planning under AB43 comes less than a month after Governor Gavin Newsom signed the law. It reflects the urgency of the city to achieve its self-imposed goal of eliminating the death toll of pedestrians by 2024.

Seven corridors would reduce their speed limits according to the proposal that the Agency’s Board of Directors will vote on December 7th:

• Mission Valencia Street from Cesar Chavez to Market Street and sections of 24th Street between Diamond Street and San Bruno Avenue.

• Sections of Haight Street from Stanyan to Steiner Street.

• Polk Street from Filbert to Sutter Street.

• Sections of Fillmore Street between Chestnut and McAllister Streets.

• San Bruno Avenue from Silver to Paul Avenue.

• Segments of Ocean Avenue between Geneva and 19th Avenue.

Pedestrians and vehicles are seen near a 20 mph speed limit sign in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco. The reduced speed limits are part of the city’s goal of avoiding fatal pedestrians.

Nick Otto / Special to The Chronicle

For years, traffic officials and advocates have viewed speed reduction as an effective tool in making city streets more pedestrian-friendly and safer for pedestrians. Research has shown that even reducing speed by 5 mph increases the likelihood of someone surviving a vehicle accident.

But until now, at least, San Francisco and other California cities that wanted to reduce the speed limits on their streets said they were prevented from doing so because of the state’s bureaucratic process of setting speed limits, which historically was based on the average speed of most cars were traveling along a certain corridor.

Most of the city’s road sections have speed limits of 25 mph, and some proponents have called for the city to recognize 20 mph as a de facto speed limit, as San Francisco did on a smaller scale than a 20-quarter speed km / h limits introduced in the tenderloin this spring.

Don’t expect this to happen on AB43. The final version of the bill limited eligible road corridors to those belonging to business districts – including the first seven corridors – or the road network of cities where the greatest number of serious injuries and deaths occur. Cities cannot speed reductions on roads in the latter category until June 2024, and the state Department of Transportation is still in the process of rewriting road eligibility rules.

“We are delighted that the SFMTA is moving so fast to come up with a list of roads that will be speeded down on the AB43,” said Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk San Francisco. “Submitting seven corridors for immediate approval is a step in the right direction.”

Several other commercial corridors will be eligible for speed limit reductions under the new law, according to the transport authority. These include Irving, Noriega and Taraval streets at sunset; much of Mission Street; and Clement and Balboa Streets in Richmond.

The city is also looking into reducing speed limits in other neighborhoods such as Fisherman’s Wharf, Chinatown, South of Market, Mission Bay, and the Financial District. Erica Kato, a spokeswoman for the agency, said several streets in these neighborhoods are eligible for speed reductions and the agency’s staff plan to make further recommendations to the board over the next year.

The speed reductions are part of the city’s wider efforts as part of its Vision Zero target to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists and prevent deaths within the next three years.

Progress has been persistent. Despite restrictions on on-site housing during the pandemic, San Francisco recorded 30 deaths in 2020, up from 29 deaths in 2019.

The San Francisco Transportation Authority is promising a more aggressive approach to road improvement as part of a strategic plan that the board will discuss Tuesday. The agency’s Vision Zero plan calls for the construction of more protected cycle paths, speed limits and measures to calm traffic and reduce lanes.

While the agency has not yet decided on the finer details, many of these changes would come as part of the “quick build process” that the MTA relied on to create a 20-mile network of transit-only lanes during the pandemic. This process aims to reduce bureaucracy that has hindered previous road change efforts by giving the city’s traffic engineer more power to make changes unilaterally.

If the city moves forward on the strategic plan, “we should see and reduce overall serious injuries, collisions and deaths,” Medeiros said. “This is what we asked for.”

Ricardo Cano is a contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: ricardo.cano@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByRicardoCano

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