SF Supervisor pushing for change after another bus kills pedestrian in Tenderloin

Vehicles and pedestrians co-existing on the streets of San Francisco is a fact of life in, but with it there is the inherent risk of pedestrians stepping into danger as they traverse the city. 

The danger was highlighted on Saturday night when a bus stuck and killed a man who was crossing the street in the Tenderloin. 

“It (was) a Golden Gate Transit Bus turning right onto Hyde off of one fast moving one way street unto another fast moving one way street,” said Matt Haney, the San Francisco supervisor who represents the area where the incident took place. 

The man’s death is the third pedestrian death this year in the Tenderloin and eighth city-wide.

Haney says the building on the corner of Golden Gate Avenue can block the view of vehicles making a ride onto Hyde Street, which is creating a danger for pedestrians. 

“We’ve had a lot of problems here in the Tenderloin where we have very fast moving traffic and also a lot of people who are crossing the streets here,” said Haney.

Coincidentally, the incident took place one block from an intersection which underwent changes two weeks ago that is designed to bring all traffic converging on the intersection of Golden Gate and Leavenworth to a stop while pedestrians cross. 

“No Turn on Red” signage and green turn arrow lights were installed on the traffic signal to alert drivers to the changes, although we witnessed a driver ignoring the new rule. 

Haney believes that drivers will eventually get use to the changes once their use becomes more common and he’s asking SFMTA to make the same changes to the intersection where the man was killed on Saturday night. 

The supervisor said that he will attend a vigil set to be held at Golden Gate Avenue and Hyde Street to remember the man who was killed crossing the street and to highlight the need for safer streets in the Tenderloin and throughout San Francisco.