Slow Streets

12th Avenue became a Slow Street in April 2021 and has not seen a crash since signs discouraging through-traffic were installed. 12th Avenue typically experiences 1 to 2 crashes a year and has had 23 vehicle crashes since 2005. 12th Avenue is the only remaining Slow Street in the Sunset District after four other Slow Streets were removed due to complaints from impatient motorists who didn't like driving slowly on them on the way to dropping their kids off at school.

23rd Avenue became a Slow Street in June 2020 and like nearby Cabrillo Street, enjoys broad community support throughout the Richmond District due the organizing efforts of Richmond Family SF and a militia of neighbors who install and maintain art works and planters that discourage through-traffic along the corridor. 23rd Avenue is an important north / south connector to Slow Lake and Slow Cabrillo Streets and provides safe access to Alamo Elementary, St. Monica School and the Clement Street Corridor.

Arlington Street is the second safest Slow Street (after Hearst Avenue) and has not experienced a vehicle crash since 2016. Arlington Street officially became a Slow Street in August 2020.

Cabrillo Street has seen a dramatic 85% reduction in vehicle crashes since it became a Slow Street in August 2020. This is largely due to residents along the corridor installing and maintaining planters and art works at intersections that force drivers to slow down. The SFMTA has also been particularly diligent at maintaining official signage along Cabrillo Street that discourages cut-through traffic. Cabrillo Street provides a safe path of travel to nearby schools on Anza St. and Balboa St. as well as Fulton and Cabrillo Playgrounds and is the only Slow Street with a view of the Pacific Ocean.

Clay Street became a Slow Street in August 2020. Unlike nearly all other Slow Streets, Clay unfortunately has not seen a decrease in motor vehicle crashes in the 22 months since signs discouraging through traffic were installed. This is likely due to the lack of community organizing around Slow Clay Street and construction that has plagued the corridor over the past two years. Despite the relatively high frequency of vehicle crashes on Clay, it remains an important east / west corridor for active transportation on the north side of the city due to very little elevation change over its 2 miles. Of the six crashes that occurred on Clay since it was a designated a Slow Street, 1/2 of them were at major intersections, 2 were at Divisadero Street and 1 was at Presidio Avenue.

Golden Gate Avenue became a Slow Street in June 2020 and hasn't seen a vehicle crash between Masonic Ave and Broderick St since November 2019. The proposed 7 block extension to Parker Avenue however has experienced 4 crashes in the past 4 years and should immediately become part of the Golden Gate Avenue Slow Street. In July 2020, neighbors began installing planters and other furnishings, including a table and chairs, at intersections to help calm the corridor and created a very robust and “official looking” intersection barrier that has significantly reduced east bound vehicle traffic at Masonic Ave. Organizers for Slow Golden Gate Avenue also convinced the SFMTA to increase the number of flexposts from 3 to 4 to cover the width of the street and discourage cut-through traffic. Golden Gate Avenue provides safe access to San Francisco Day School and should be expanded east to Gough Street to include Gateway Middle School, the Buchanan Street Mall and Margaret Hayward Playground and west to Parker Ave to include the University of San Francisco.

Hearst Avenue is the safest Slow Street in San Francisco as it has not experienced a vehicle crash since 2014. It officially became a Slow Street in April 2021 with the first traffic diverters installed in July. Hearst Avenue is a quiet residential street with many young families and two schools and is a critical link in San Francisco's bicycle network. Residents on Hearst have organized several events over the past 18 months which have helped galvanize community support for reducing vehicle traffic along the corridor. Google Maps has also been instrumental in reducing cut-through traffic on Hearst by redirecting vehicles to adjacent streets. Learn more about the community led efforts to make Hearst Avenue safer, healthier and more enjoyable for everyone. Learn more about the community led efforts to make Hearst Avenue safer, healthier and more enjoyable for everyone.

Lake Street was designated a Slow Street by the SFMTA in April 2020. In the 26 months since signs were first installed discouraging through traffic, Lake saw a 50% drop in motor vehicle crashes compared to the 26 months prior. Lake is a particularly controversial Slow Street as it's a beautiful street that motorists love to drive on with little to no regard for the safety of the children who live on Lake and the thousands of pedestrians & cyclists who use Lake as an important east / west corridor. Learn more about the community led efforts to make Lake Street safer, healthier and more enjoyable for everyone. Learn more about the community led efforts to make Lake Street safer, healthier and more enjoyable for everyone.

Lyon Street is a relatively new Slow Street that was approved by the SFMTA in April of 2021. Despite Lyon being without official traffic diverters for 80% of the past year due to heavy construction, the corridor has not seen a crash resulting in injury since November 2020. This is largely due to an organized coalition of neighbors installing make-shift signs out of concrete buckets alongside an understanding throughout the neighborhood that Lyon should only be driven on when absolutely necessary. Slow Lyon enjoys widespread community support and has hosted several block parties over the past 18 months which would not have been possible if weren't a designated Slow Street.

MinneSLOWta, as the local community fondly calls it, became a Slow Street in August 2020. MinneSLOWta enjoys broad community support and is endorsed by all of the nearby neighborhood associations including Dogpatch, Potrero Boosters, South Beach, Rincon Hill and Mission Bay. Key to MinneSLOWta’s success in reducing cut-through traffic and vehicle crashes has been community installed planters, benches, and other bespoke furnishings at intersections that force motorists to slow down including a mid block planter at the top of a blind rise in the road between 20th and 22nd streets where crashes had frequently occurred. MinneSLOWta has a very strong community of volunteers organizing to improve the safety and livability of Minnesota Street and surrounding neighborhood. Learn more about their work and how you can get involved. Learn more about the community led efforts to make Minnesota Street safer, healthier and more enjoyable for everyone.

Noe Street became a Slow Street in August 2020 and has only experienced 1 vehicle crash since June 2019. “Slowy Noe” enjoys broad community support anchored by the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association (DTNA) who have been organizing to calm streets throughout the neighborhood via their Slow Triangle initiative which was inspired by the Slow Streets program. DTNA organizers say that not only has the Slow Streets program significantly reduced through-traffic on Noe Street, it has really helped bring neighbors together to collaborate on improving the safety and livability of the neighborhood. DTNA has successfully reduced 14th Street to one lane of traffic in each direction and is working to improve pedestrian visibility at Steiner St. and Duboce Ave. and expand the commercial zone at Market and Noe streets to include better signage, tree plantings, green spaces and bulbouts. Slowy Noe is supported by the Castro Merchants Association and has received community development funding from WAMO, Cruise and the SFCTA. Learn more about the volunteers working to improve the safety and livability of Duboce Triangle and how you can get involved.

Page Street is one of the most popular Slow Streets in San Francisco, enjoying broad support well beyond Haight Ashbury and District 5. It is a major east / west corridor for people cycling & scooting across the city and is wildly popular in large part due to an incredible community of volunteers who have installed & maintained signs and traffic calming measures while organizing numerous events over the past two years. In response to Page Slow Street's popularity, the SFMTA recently installed barriers at Stanyan and Masonic that discourage east bound vehicle traffic. These have significantly helped calm Page Street on those two blocks and the community is working to have similar treatments installed at Divisadero Street. While crashes are down on Page Street since traffic calming measures were first installed, there is still much more work to do to secure the corridor as the community gathering space and safe passageway it yearns to be. Learn more about the community led efforts to make Page Street safer, healthier and more enjoyable for everyone. Learn more about the community led efforts to make Page Street safer, healthier and more enjoyable for everyone.

Sanchez Street became a Slow Street in June 2020 and has since enjoyed broad community support across Noe Valley in large part due to a team of dedicated volunteers who have organized block parties and community art installations that encourage people to pause and rethink how the street is used. Read this fantastic op-ed by one of the organizers of Slow Sanchez and learn more about the community led efforts to make Sanchez Street safer, healthier and more enjoyable for everyone. Learn more about the community led efforts to make Sanchez Street safer, healthier and more enjoyable for everyone.

Shotwell Street became a Slow Street in June 2020 and has seen an astonishing 89% drop in crashes since signs discouraging through-traffic were first installed. We attribute this to a combination of Google Maps redirecting through-traffic away from Shotwell and recognizing the turn restrictions at 16th, 20th and 25th streets in addition to community led efforts to pedestrianize the street via popup events along the corridor. Slow Shotwell Street is bookended by 14th Street and Precita Avenue, both of which are one-way streets that would benefit from the addition of contraflow bike lanes which would encourage more people using healthy modes of transportation to utilize Shotwell.

Somerset Street became a Slow Street in June 2020 and, alongside Clay Street, is the only other street that has seen an increase in vehicle crashes over the past two years. Slow Somerset Street provides access to multiple day care facilities, parks, schools and churches within just six blocks. Organizers for Slow Somerset say the neighborhood struggles with reckless driving, sideshows and large delivery vehicles and have been trying to get stop signs installed throughout the neighborhood for years. Somerset’s most recent crash at Silliman St. was around the corner from the popular Palega Recreation Center where organizers are also trying to get the city to install traffic calming measures including a lighted crosswalk at Holyoke and Felton streets.