The Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee of San Francisco

It is unfortunately a well-known fact for the residents of San Francisco who regularly walk that it can be a rather dangerous place for pedestrians. Our city continues to have one of the highest rates of pedestrian related accidents and deaths in the U.S., which is truly a tragedy when considering that San Francisco is one of the most easily navigated places to travel on foot.

The Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) is the official agency that the citizens of San Francisco can participate in to inform and educate the Board of Supervisors regarding concerns to assist in ensuring that our city is a safer place for those who walk the streets.  The committee meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month to review proposed city plans and to research possible avenues to further increase the safety of pedestrians. The public is encouraged to attend.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is attempting to strategize and implement policies that will increase pedestrian safety, education, convenience in transportation and future city planning.  The Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee was created with the objective to further these goals.

The stated objectives of the Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee are as follows:

“Make pedestrian safety recommendations to the Board of Supervisors and other City departments to:

Develop concepts and review policies and planning efforts for pedestrians, such as safety, traffic calming, and sidewalk and crosswalk treatments;

Make recommendations on funding opportunities and priorities to the Board of Supervisors, the Municipal Transportation Agency, the Citizens Advisory Committee of the Transportation Authority, and other departments, commissions, boards and agencies;

Review and make recommendations to the Planning Commission on policies and programs related to pedestrians in the Master Plan of the City and County of San Francisco;

Report to the Board of Supervisors on an annual basis, with quarterly appearances before the Board as needed, on statistics on pedestrian injury and fatality statistics, causes of pedestrian injuries and fatalities, recommendations for changes in policies, funding and enforcement, and other pertinent issues;

Support development of the Better Streets Plan, in conjunction with City agencies and community input, which will offer a comprehensive review of the policies, procedures, practices and physical infrastructure of the City that affect pedestrians, and will also provide recommendations to make walking safer and more convenient through sidewalk improvements, new City policies, educational programs, promotional efforts and transit access.”

I strongly urge the people of our community to get involved in voicing your concerns and ideas to further our goal of making San Francisco a safer place for pedestrians. If we join together with our fellow community in a public forum we will make great strides in our effort to influence public policy surrounding this important issue that affects us all.

If you are interested in applying to the PSAC to represent one of the vacancies on the committee, submit an application to the Board of Supervisors Clerk of Rules committee. More information on applying to the PSAC.

You do not need to be an official representative to attend the meetings and voice your concerns and ideas to help improve our goal of making San Francisco a safer place for all who walk our streets.

By Jennifer Nicoletto, Esq.