Pedestrian stings for infractions like this at Divisadero and Fell streets
Motorists who ignore crosswalk right-of- ways might get more than a few seconds shaved off their daily travels as SFPD's Park Station undertakes pedestrian stings at the district's worst intersections for the offense. Officers posing as pedestrians will target and ticket motorists who enter a crosswalk ahead of pedestrians, try to nudge the strollers to move faster, or nearly clip them from the rear. The Fell/Masonic and the Divisadero/Fell intersections will get special attention following complaints. The renewed operations will begin this week.
SFPD periodically monitors the crosswalk connecting the western and eastern parts of the Panhandle Path at Fell and Masonic, but anyone using the path or the streets observes intrusions at the crosswalks throughout the day and night. Problems occur at the east-west Divisadero and Fell crosswalks when motorists partly or completely block pedestrians while they await signal changes.
Park Station Captain Teresa Barrett explained to BIKE NOPA that the pedestrian stings are sometimes interrupted when traffic cops assigned to the district get directed to other operations. Recent diversions include crime trends in Golden Gate Park, robberies, and the all-district alert leading up to the verdict in the Johann Mehserle trial. Barrett said she expected the pedestrian stings to continue on an ongoing basis.
