Neighbors Across Town Share NOPA's Traffic Speed Problems

The North of the Panhandle seems a bit far away from Monterey Boulevard: on the other side of both Mt. Sutro and Mt. Davidson. But neighbors in both areas are dealing with at least one similar problem: the impact of speeding traffic. Many NOPA residents focus on the Masonic, Fell & Oak, and Turk Street corridors while our neighbors to the south have their hands full with Monterey Boulevard.

Not quite today's scene on Monterey Blvd.

Recently Friends of Monterey Blvd (FOMB) started a "SLOW DOWN" window sign campaign to try to get the message to drivers. Now the group is pushing to lower the speed limit from 30 to 25 mph. And the group has launched a blog to focus on achieving a more livable -- and safer -- street and community. Perhaps FIX MASONIC, the North Panhandle's grassroots advocacy group, could advise the FOMB of the impact of posting lower speed signs along Masonic, also from 30 to 25, in July of 2008. Does Masonic traffic seem slower to anyone as a result?

FOMB is also looking at changes in street design to lower risks and increase livability; they cite Dangerous by Design: Solving the Epidemic of Preventable Pedestrian Deaths (and Making Great Neighborhoods), a report from the Transportation for America campaign that is well worth a read.

Window sign in Monterey Blvd. campaign

Adrienne Johnson and Jon Winston, the founders of FOMB, wrote in a post, "Why We Do This," that they started their new campaign on Dec. 3rd after seeing the Fell Street memorial to Melissa Dennison, the NOPA neighbor struck and killed by a motorist on Sept. 15th. "We do not want the next memorial to be on Monterey Blvd.," they wrote. "The chances of it being a memorial for someone we know, someone in our own homes is too high."

BIKE NOPA tries to be "all about bicycling AND livability" in our 30 square block neighborhood. We look forward to comparing strategies and building momentum for more livable streets with our neighbors to the south.