Join Zoom Meeting Tonight on SFMTA/Melgar Refusing to Install Stop Sign at Intersection Where Family Killed
Zoom Meeting tonight at 6pm on the status of West Portal with District 7 candidates (sign up):
Matt Boschetto – candidate for District 7 Supervisor, small business owner
Stephen Martin Pinto – candidate for District 7 Supervisor, firefighter
Pat Dunbar - twenty year greater West Portal resident, frequent user of the WP shopping district and Muni transport hub. Retired product designer.
Michael Farrah, Legislative Aide to D7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar, and
Me, Lou Barberini a bicyclist.
Zoom meeting sign up:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAtfu-hpjkqGt1Dw94XhPhF1pcCMPgXr7H6#/registration
As you all know, on March 16, 2024, a driver going eastbound on Ulloa– for unknown reasons– drove up on the sidewalk on the northside of Ulloa and tragically killed a family of four. There are no stop signs for the several blocks preceding the site of the tragedy.
Immediately, the San Francisco MTA, run by Jeffrey Tumlin, resuscitated a design from 2019 for West Portal Station a block away from the accident, which included severely restricting vehicle traffic on West Portal Avenue. Despite Muni’s projected $12.7 million deficit for next year, Tumlin has not disclosed the costs of his decoration plans for West Portal.
Tumlin, with his utopian vision, believes he can solve the entire universe’s global warming crisis by making it more difficult for San Franciscans to drive– even if the elderly and families have no alternative. He famously created a center bike lane on Valencia Street that both the merchants and bicycle advocates are united in agreement that Tumlin’s product is both dangerous and dysfunctional. But Tumlin knows what’s best for us.
District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar fully supports Tumlin's grand design for West Portal, saying “If it were up to me, it would take all of the cars off West Portal.” Melgar then weakened when members of the community vehemently protested. Melgar set up three, then four, meetings of a newly-formed Welcoming West Portal Committee, as announced in a press release: “We recognize the importance of transparent communication, active engagement and inclusive decision-making processes throughout the duration of the project. That’s why, together we announce the formation of a new joint committee to analyze the proposal and identify both areas of consensus and areas for improving the proposal.” Supervisor Melgar and Deidre Von Rock, President of the merchants association handpicked the merchants and residents that were allowed to attend and provide their input.
At the three meetings, SFMTA limited merchants and residents to five choices that SFMTA deemed was best for our community. The status quo was not an option. MTA’s proposed changes even impacted Vicente and Wawona Streets– over a half-mile from the accident. Yet, at the intersection closest to the tragedy, Wawona and Ulloa Streets, MTA will not consider the simplest solution of a stop sign. MTA’s rationalization, “We want a consistent experience going down the (Ulloa Street) corridor.” Huh?
Muni’s resistance to a stop sign at Wawona and Ulloa was insightful. A family perished because a car accelerated eastbound on Ulloa Street that was absent any stop signs for several blocks. Has the SFMTA resisted a stop sign all along, because they wanted a “consistent experience” for their street cars? Did that “consistent experience” contribute to the family’s demise? And even after the accident, Tumlin is still fighting a simple stop sign because Muni’s “constant flow” takes priority over the safety of our citizens?
By my calculation, 10 of the 11 merchants and residents in Melgar’s meetings voiced their desire for the stop sign at Wawona and Ulloa. SFMTA’s solution: completely eliminate eastbound vehicle traffic on Ulloa. SFMTA, you’re not listening!!
Tonight is your opportunity to hear how the candidates for District 7 will represent our community’s interests with regards to the future of our district.
If you agree with the points I have raised, (there are numerous other issues I will raise tonight), you can either register for the zoom meeting tonight (click the “Zoom” below):
Please join Connected SF on Tuesday, June 11 – from 6 to 7pm – via Zoom for a panel discussion on SFMTA's plans to redesign the traffic patterns in West Portal.
Or get involved here:
https://form.jotform.com/230107236636147
Be safe,
Lou