SF: Public Transportation: Great, Until It Runs You Over
MUNI may complain about reduced passengers on its buses these days, but administrators are frustratingly quiet about passengers trapped underneath. On Dec. 27, a high school girl was killed by MUNI at the intersection of Bacon St and San Bruno Ave. That same day, a 50 year old man was struck (not fatally, but injured) at the same intersection. On New Year’s Eve (just 4 days later), a 70 year old man was killed by a train in Ingelside. Not a great way to end the year, nor a great way to start the new one, since in my very own neighborhood, right outside the Fireside bar where I was warming my winter-chilled bones a little before 6pm this Monday, a 90 year old woman was struck and seriously injured by the N-Judah (at Irving St. and 9th Ave.).
The Examiner reports this last accident as MUNI’s first for the year, which does not bode well coming so soon in the year’s beginning. After all, the Examiner also points to a steady increase in MUNI accidents each year:
In 2005, there were 34 collisions resulting in three deaths, according to Muni. There were 50 collisions in 2006, and four pedestrians died. In 2007, pedestrians and vehicles collided 62 times, killing seven people.
This might not look like “a lot” to some people. But if we compare these stats to New York City ( a more heavily populated city and much more a walking city that San Francisco, so more people are on the streets in general, all the time), we can find that as of November, 2007, 6 people had been killed by buses. In other words, with a month to go, New York was tied with the much less densely peopled SF. The Village Voice, an NY paper, reports that “The number of people killed by buses is a small percentage of total motor-vehicle deaths.” Now, the same is true of SF, and many people might point out that such dangers are inherent in city living, regardless of the city. But why can’t MUNI make some concessions for public safety? All drivers, walkers, and bikers that I know look upon MUNI in fear. Buses and trains do what they want, veering out into traffic, running yellow lights, straddling two lanes, stopping and turning without warning. We’ve all learned to watch out for MUNI, because MUNI isn’t watching for us.
But most frustrating of all is the fact that people in SF have long noted the dangers of these intersections where pedestrians are being struck. In the case of 9th and Irving, residents have been clamoring– loudly– for safety measures for at least a year. The N-Judah Chronicles recounts a tale of trying to rally Mayor Newsom and SF Supervisors around safety measures that MUNI has balked at.
Loyal readers will recall that we have tried, with marginal success, to try and improve safety at 9th and Irving, both here and at the Mayor’s “blog” with mixed results. MUNI, in its imitable bureaucratic style, promised to “study” the “issue” and promised to do something.
Problem is, we were promised a “solution” (scramble signals that would give pedestrians their turn to cross the street, then keep them OFF THE ROAD when cars and LRVs and buses were in the intersection) that should have happened sometime in Spring 2007, but of course, after making promises to fix the problem they since have offered nothing but excuses and bull—-[censoring is mine].
Not sure if things will have to change now with 4 pedestrian hits in less than 2 weeks. I do know that if you are a resident of the city (or plan to be one) and you look to public transportation for your commute, you also better look at public transportation: I mean, look where it’s going, and make damn sure you aren’t anywhere near in the way.
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Fred Fullerton said:
you’ll note the people hurt are most often teens (who ignore traffic laws) or old people (who move slowly). If anyone is an menace on the streets, it is these groups: the very young and the very old
January 9, 2008 8:38 PM
Ron said:
Fred;
It is my sincere hope that as you reach those years that deem you a menace you have the services of chauffeur. Please wave as you past the rest of us attempting to get across the street.
January 9, 2008 9:30 PM
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January 9, 2008 11:46 PM
Lula said:
Yes, I completely agree with Fred. Let’s let Muni’s natural selection take its course so we can have our lovely streets populated with svelte 20-40 year olds. In no time we’ll be rid of the those annoying kids and those burdensome oldsters. And let’s not forget the handicapped as well as those darned pasty-faced, distracted tourists. “Oh look honey, the Haight and Ashbury street signs. Stand out in the street and take a picture!” Shoot, I’m almost tempted to take a swipe at them myself. I say we limit the streets to only healthy, adults of a certain age. And since we’re at it, why stop there? Let’s take it a step furher and beautify our streets. Let’s try to limit unattractive and poor folks from walking on our streets, the streets we, the young urban professionals so proudly claim as our own.
January 10, 2008 9:49 AM
Gogo said:
I see you didn’t include cable cars as part of the problem. Although they are slow moving, there is no clear crossing for boarding or disembarking. I ride them everyday and I can tell you that I have been almost hit by a car getting on and off. I know that there have been accidents with the cable cars as well.
All I can say, is be careful. Whether you are being mowed down Muni or eaten by a Tiger, it’s rough out there.
January 10, 2008 10:14 AM
Bahn said:
I was witness to a major accident on the N Judah last year when the train t-boned a taxi at an intersection. A 30-something female who boarded the train had yet to hold onto a grab handle and JUST went flying down the wet floor about two car lengths. In true cartoon fashion she slid past everyone, got up and dusted herself off like nothing happened. Sadly, the cab driver and his passengers fared much worse.
No one is immune!
January 10, 2008 10:48 AM
njudah said:
I think it’s not asking too much for everyone who uses urban streets in SF: buses, LRVs, cars, bikes and pedestrians : to follow the rules and make sure they’re doing their best to not do something stupid.
I also don’t think it’s too much to ask that MUNI run a system effectively and safely, and stop balancing the budget by cutting the things that make it safer.
If everyone does their part in a congested urban area, we minimize the risk for all. The Stalinist “kill all who aren’t wealthy hipsters” stuff though, is bogus.
January 10, 2008 10:52 AM
anna said:
Njudah: I was thinking Lula’s as kind of Johnathan Swift-like (satire at its best! Thanks Lula!), because you’re right that the problem is not teens not the elderly but something with MUNI if basic safety requests are repeatedly ignored.
Gogo: You’re right: I did forget about cable cars, because I never ride them, but you’re absolutely correct that they too present problems and now that you mention it, I’ve noticed that dangerous disembarking situation.
Fred, I appreciate that you would comment here; my response to you was said better by Ron than anything I could say myself.
January 10, 2008 11:37 AM
Karen said:
I have to say that I agree with Anna and Ron and I hope that Fred was making an attempt at humor. We need to feel safe on our streets. Accidents happen, but they should not be “expected”. Life is not a vidio game. As our populaton grows we need to slow down and be responsible for the safety of all of our citizens. Lets work together on our problesms. Encourage our government offiicals to work on this problem for all of us. Thank you.
January 10, 2008 12:54 PM
David said:
Muni is a joke. A horrible mass transit system, the worst accident record in the country, coupled with the highest costs. Gee, let’s throw more money at it, it’s doing so well!
It’s another patronage system and dumping ground for sub-moronic bureaucrats who don’t care about little things like running people over and actually showing up on time.
If San Franciscans would get their collective heads out of their behinds, they’d wake up and find out that their “lovely” city is a wasted old harlot. Muni’s just another wart.
January 10, 2008 3:10 PM
Corey L said:
“…if you are a resident of the city (or plan to be one) and you look to public transportation for your commute, you also better look at public transportation: I mean, look where it’s going, and make damn sure you aren’t anywhere near in the way.”
That’s the problem. Pedestrians need to pay equal attention for other vehicles, be it MUNI, bicycles, motorcycles or cars. I’m sure for everyone bad vehicle operator story, there’s one for bikers, pedestrians, etc.
Personal responsibility went out the door as soon as there’s an easy target to blame.
January 10, 2008 3:16 PM
David said:
Are pedestrians here more wasted than other cities?
Muni has the highest accident rate in the country. I’m all for personal responsibility; it’d be better for all of us if the muni drivers faced some consequences.
January 10, 2008 8:50 PM
Usually Named said:
Was the MUNI at fault or the taxi? Given how taxi’s drive around here, I wouldn’t be surprised if the taxi were trying to beat the train.
January 11, 2008 9:55 AM
njudah said:
oh I kinda figured that Fred’s post was satirical, I was (unsuccessfully) referring to the sewage that is the SFgate.com comments section for their news stories…always a bit stalinist over there.
MUNI can be whatever it is you want it to be. People in San Francisco are more than happy to accept mediocrity from their government, and accept high taxes as well. People in San Francisco do not demand much of their public servants, and don’t really care too much how often they screw things up (the fact that the murder and crime rate is spiraling upwards and yet we had no one bother to challenge the Mayor or DA in 2007 is an example), so really, while I do my best with my goofy little blog to provide a forum for folks to vent, the sad fact is that San Franciscans love to pay more and get less, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
January 11, 2008 12:41 PM
David said:
Yeah, Njudah. What I find particularly perplexing is that a substantial portion of SF residents “come from somewhere else.” In other words, they’ve seen better-run places (excepting the portion from California) with lower taxes/budgets.
Again, I bring up Chicago, a city with 4X the residents of San Francisco, but with about the same budget. Despite the massive Democrat machine/patronage system that exists in Chicago, it’s run much more efficiently despite having 4X the population, significantly more school-age kids, more parks, more upkeep (snow removal, a more extensive transit system, etc), a larger land area, etc. etc.
I don’t get why there isn’t more agitation for change, except that SFtransplants figure that their stay is temporary so why bother (of course long-time natives have completely bought into “the best place in the world” propaganda). Or if they do stay, that means they’ve struck gold, so who cares (not taking the bus anymore when you’re a Googlionaire, kids are in private schools, etc).
January 11, 2008 1:03 PM