Complaints regarding e-scooters, e-bikes, e-motos, and non-electric bicycles riding, speeding, and blocking sidewalks have spiked dramatically across San Francisco.
While e-bikes and e-scooters remain vital, low-emission pillars of the city’s eco-friendly transportation grid, community trust is rapidly eroding because rules aren’t enforced. “Pedestrians in San Francisco are sick of bicycles and scooters on sidewalks”- ABC7 segment.
Seniors on Van Ness Avenue express a growing sense of confinement within their homes
Van Ness Avenue has become a major hotspot for illegal sidewalk riding because it lacks dedicated bicycle or micromobility lanes. Riders fear mixing with heavy traffic and rapid transit buses on the main roadway; many retreat to the sidewalks.
Van Ness Avenue is home to senior living facilities such as Coterie and SF Towers, many of whose residents use walkers, canes, or wheelchairs. Another senior living facility is opening on Van Ness Avenue by the end of the year. Swords to Plowshares acquired 1035 Van Ness Avenue, which was the Avenue Assisted Living, to be converted into 124 Affordable Permanent Supportive Housing units for veterans. It’s a model that combines affordable housing with supportive services to help individuals with disabilities.
Navigating crowded sidewalks with fast-moving e-scooters, or sidewalks cluttered with e-scooters left lying across them, can make even a short walk feel stressful and unsafe for senior citizens. They are at real risk of collisions and trip-and-fall injuries.
Hotspots for illicit drug use along the Van Ness corridor
While the city has increased law enforcement sweeps and added outreach teams to clear public sidewalks and steer individuals toward treatment, open-air drug markets are still thriving in the city, including along Van Ness Avenue.
A man injects a substance in front of his dog near Coterie Senior Living on Van Ness Ave
Drug users on Myrtle Alley between Van Ness Ave. and Franklin St.
A drug user on Larch Alley between Van Ness Ave. and Franklin St.
A man passes out in front of Burger King on Van Ness Ave.
Many senior residents complain about open drug use, discarded needles and paraphernalia, feces, and individuals in distress in the alleys along Van Ness Avenue, which makes them feel unsafe walking in the neighborhood alone and with pets and discourages them from going outside.
These 2 major issues on Van Ness Avenue- public safety being compromised by dangerous e-scooter riding and rampant sidewalk drug activity- prompted Marlayne Morgan and Jim Warshell, the co-founders of Van Ness Corridor Neighborhoods Council (VNCNC), to sponsor a forum with District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill, the Northern District Police Captain Parick McCormick, and SFMTA Street Safety Lead Christy Osorio on October 26 at SF Towers, 1661 Pine Street.
Representatives from all the neighborhoods bordering Van Ness Avenue (Golden Gate Valley, Russian Hill, Pacific Heights, Middle and Lower Polk Streets, Cathedral Hill, Civic Center, and Hayes Valley), serving as a unified voice for the residential pockets flanking the major arterial transit spine, are invited to the forum, according to Morgan.
ConnectedSF Institute, which has been advocating for safe sidewalks for pedestrians, and D2 Unite co-sponsor the forum. Forum attendees are looking to city officials for plans to restrict e-scooters on sidewalks, especially as the city continues its long-standing struggle to eliminate drug activity on sidewalks.
Supervisor Stephen Sherrill says that public safety is his top priority. He believes in a firm, smart, and humane approach: holding drug dealers accountable, getting people into recovery, and ensuring every block in District 2 feels safe.
During a recent interview with CNN, Mayor Daniel Lurie said that prior to his administration, the city “got so entrapped in our progressive values” that it stopped “taking stock of what was happening on our streets.”- The SF Chronicle.
Details regarding the October 26th Public Safety Forum at SF Towers: https://form.jotform.com/262795349297173
