Park Presidio Neighbors Complete Traffic Study

By Karen Cleek

Park Presidio Neighbors (PPN) has just completed a community outreach project on traffic calming and pedestrian safety. The 10-month project centered on Park Presidio Boulevard and two parallel streets, 14th Avenue and Funston Avenue, from Fulton Street to Lake Street.

The project began in response to neighborhood concerns over serious accidents, including pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities, and increased cut-through traffic on Funston and 14th avenues. PPN had already begun looking for ways to make significant traffic calming and pedestrian safety improvements in the area when San Francisco's Department of Public Health (DPH) announced the availability of grants for groups with just those goals.

PPN applied and received one of the grants from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. The primary objectives of the grant were community outreach to identify specific problems in the neighborhood and to organize neighbors to lobby for change. An extensive survey of residents in the area brought 405 responses, for a response rate of 53 percent of all neighbors contacted.

The survey responses formed the basis for a list of needed safety improvements along Park Presidio Boulevard. The list was presented to representatives of city and state agencies, including CalTrans, SF Department of Parking and Traffic, SF Police Department and the SF Department of Public Works. PPN will continue to work with city and state departments and agencies to implement the improvements identified during the project.

To learn more about Park Presidio Neighbors, including gardening on the greenway and its annual festival, visit www.ParkPresidioNeighbors.org.