In a neighborhood full of traffic hazards, the intersection of 19th and Dolores Streets holds a special place in Mission residents’ anxieties.
It’s the single most complained-about crossing at See Click Fix, a website that allows residents to post and then vote on the importance of neighborhood complaints.
“Twice in two weeks cars have been rear-ended here as one stopped for a pedestrian,” writes a user named Jefferson. “The speed cars come through this section of Dolores is ridiculous. They are practically encouraged to speed past the most popular and most used park in SF.”
In a post to his blog, Uptown Almanac, titled “LET’S GET SOME [expletive] STOP SIGNS FOR 19TH AND DOLORES YALL,” Kevin Montgomery gives a less reserved analysis. “I… was crossing Dolores to go to Valencia and this total [expletive] of a lady barrels through the intersection in her stupid green Prius honking at me and not slowing down even though I’m in the middle of the road. She came within 18 inches of hitting me… close enough for me to spit on her car, scream “you crazy [expletive]” and give her rear bumper a little love tap with my bike.”
“We don’t think it’s safe at all,” said Crystal Vann Wallstrom of the nonprofit park improvement organization Dolores Park Works.
Lindsay Kefauver, a longtime neighborhood resident, agrees. Just last week she saw a red sports car that was being filmed for a commercial nearly collide with two cyclists, who swerved and fell off their bikes.
Even those who haven’t had close calls endorse making changes. “I would support a stop sign,” said Simone Lance as she walked her dog to the park. “It wouldn’t hurt.”
But Supervisor Bevan Dufty argued the opposite, saying that according to research done by the SFMTA, a stop sign at this intersection would give pedestrians a “false sense of security” — and possibly cause more accidents.
An attempt to get a stop sign installed was spearheaded in 2006 by members of SafeCleanGreen Mission Dolores. Instead, in 2009 the city installed yield line triangles known as shark teeth and “yield to pedestrian here” signs on both sides of the street.
A year later, the popularity of Dolores Park continues to increase — and so do complaints about the intersection.
On a recent windy Tuesday afternoon, cars sped through the intersection when there were no pedestrians present. Almost all slowed down when they saw pedestrians. Some drove around the pedestrians without stopping.
Some residents hope that a set of proposals to improve Mission streets, known as the Mission Streetscape Plan, will increase safety.
The plan, which has not yet been adopted, calls for the city to install special paving at the 19th and Dolores crosswalks. A median strip with bollards and extended curbs (often called bulb-outs) would further slow traffic. The project’s managers could not be reached for comment.
To Crystal Vann Wallstrom, the plan is a sound one. “It looks like these bulb-outs and the emphasized crosswalks will slow down traffic, and pedestrians will be better seen by motorists. It seems like it could be a good solution, if stop signs are out of the question.”
Dolores between 18th and 20th should be permanently closed to car traffic — end of story.
How ’bout a pedestrian ramp and something to block said pedestrians from walking in front of cars.
something like the light at the crosswalk that goes into Golden Gate park would be ideal — it only changes when pedestrians press the button.
a tunnel that goes under the street, made to look like a creepy cave, would also be cool…
hey! I’m Famous!
but really…the only way to go here is a light. It could flash yellow during non-peak hours or something like that. It has to happen. A signal and bring back the parking spot at the south side of northbound Dolores @19th is all I want. Seriously, if that happens I will stop complaining about how miserably incompetent the SFPD are for about one month.
Pushbutton-flashing-lights across the intersection are also helpful for warning road traffic of pedestrians about to cross, and their cost is probably worth it for that intersection.
I wanted to comment too on something that I, as a cyclist, noticed about this article:
“Just last week she saw a red sports car that was being filmed for a commercial nearly collide with two cyclists, who swerved and fell off their bikes.”
Cyclists have all the rights and responsibilities of motor vehicle drivers (except, of course, on certain freeways). As such, they should never ride through an intersection in a crosswalk, nor should they expect traffic with the right of way to yield to them as pedestrians. I wasn’t there, but it sounds like those cyclists were not acting responsibly. Cyclist ignorance is another big safety problem in the mission, though I damn love to see them all out on their green machines.
That picture looks awesome and I’d bet will help alot. Everytime I stop for a pedestrian I’m convinced that I’ll get rearended from some fool playing “Streets of San Francisco” coming down Dolores. I only cross at 18th and Dolores with my family because it’s much safer….
Excuse me ?!?!?…..pedestrians need to be AS aware as drivers?!?!? When WE’RE in the CROSSWALK?!?!? what the hell is wrong with you automobile drivers,are you so completely so self absorbed that you think that the LAWS do not apply to you ???? get over your air polluting selves and have SOME concideration for people NOT in cars or face a lawsuit that will take your precious gas guzzler away from you.BTW, stop signs are now just a suggestion, not a command.
I agree with Brooke. The pillars on the car give me a blind spot on my left side but I can usually see fine on my right side. Pedestrians need to be just as aware or drivers. Just because they’re walking in the middle doesn’t mean a car can see them and stop in time. With that said I’ve stopped on Lincoln to allow pedestrians to cross and the speed limit on that street is 35 MPH but visibility can be poor between parked cars. Drivers also risk being rear ended by braking suddenly.
I ride my scooter through that intersection on my way to work and back home almost every day and the largest issue for me riding through the intersection is seeing pedestrians at the corner ready to cross. For instance, as I come down Dolores from 20th I usually only see them as I am at the intersection, especially if the pedestrians are standing in front of a large SUV parked right at the crosswalks or behind the light posts. And I sit higher than most passengers in cars do. I often thought if the city peeled back parking spaces at this intersection the visibility of pedestrians would be improved. If I have to jam on the breaks at the point of seeing a pedestrian, I will most likely get rear-ended by the vehicle behind me. Not safe for anyone. I am also weary as a pedestrian crossing this intersection too.
I’ve seen stoplights in some towns that are only activated at certain times of day. How about we stick a couple of stoplights in there that only turn on from 12 to 5 on weekends, and and put on some flashing yellow “watch for pedestrian” lights all other times?
I’m a conscientious driver, but I’ve missed seeing pedestrians at this crosswalk — until I’ve driven right by them! It’s scared the heck out of me, and I’m sure them too!! I’m perfectly happy to stop when someone needs to cross, but for some reason the visibility is unreliable. It probably differs from car to car — the front pillars can block a pedestrian right out of view.
Something needs to happen. A stop sign, a pedestrian yield sign right in the crosswalk (there are some of those around the city). Something!
Why do we have to wait until more people get hit or killed? I use this crosswalk every day. Some drivers are courteus and some are not. A stop ligt would end the deadly daily game of Chicken and save injuries and lives. Bevan is seriously dropping the ball on this one. In a Post automotive city why are our public servants risking our our lives by catering to a bunch of maniacs in cars?
The thing about that intersection is drivers believe they can zip right through it because there are no stop signs. The OTHER thing about that intersection is that pedestrians and bicyclists will just start crossing whenever they feel like it. It really is a huge game of chicken.
A three-way stop sign? I don’t think that would work.
A stop light with scramble/diagonal crossing for pedestrians? That would probably be a better solution. I also think that scramble crossing needs to be introduced at 18th and Dolores. That intersection is also a total mess for pedestrians and drivers.
The City introduced scramble crossing along Stockton Street in Chinatown. I don’t think that I’ve ever seen traffic move more efficiently through that neighborhood–while also making it safer for pedestrians (I’ve also seen lots of near misses).
How about another sting op with fake pedestrians? Clean up the problem and generate some revenue at the same time.
I’ve been an observer/participant (admittedly not a leader) in two campaigns to get stop signs near schools — both of them ultimately successful. (Neither was in the Mission.) So I learned that if you write a letter requesting a stop sign, you get an automatic form letter from a guy named Bond Yee, and that’s what talks about stop signs creating a false sense of security and all that. There could be blood running in the streets and wrecked car parts everywhere, and they would still generate that letter. I understand that the city probably gets endless requests for totally unworkable stop signs from clueless residents, but I personally think it’s a mistake that the default response is that a stop sign is a bad idea. The response was the same when my block requested that our worn-down speed bumps be restored, and that was also ultimately successful.
Putting on my newsroom veteran/media critic hat, the reporter should have contacted Bevan Dufty to confirm whether that was his response, not reported it based on hearsay without checking.
Thank your for comment. I indeed contacted Supervisor Bevan Dufty. He told me he stands with the SFMTA on this one. The word Reportedly was added in the editing process.