SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - When a freeway shares the surface streets of a residential neighborhood, expect problems. On 19th Avenue, those problems include five fatalities in 2007. Between 2000 and 2005, there were 1,205 injuries and 12 deaths — because 19th Avenue is also seven miles of state Highway 1 connecting San Mateo and Marin counties via western San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. Most fatalities were pedestrians hit while crossing the wide and confusingly marked thoroughfare.

The Examiner has consistently argued that only an aggressive, multipronged approach could halt the carnage. But complicating any efforts to improve safety is the state Department of Transportation’s final authority over the route. However, we are now pleased that elements of exactly such a multiple strategy are moving forward and in various stages of completion.

An ambitious three-phase construction program costing at least $12 million will ultimately install new pedestrian countdown signals, advanced crosswalk visibility designs and remote-controlled traffic signal coordination at the 26 most dangerous intersections on 19th Avenue. Phase I is under way for the 10 worst crossings.

And at the end of March, Caltrans finally recommended lowering the 19th Avenue speed limit from 35 mph to 30 mph for 2½ miles of the Sunset district between Lincoln Way and Eucalyptus Drive. Four of last year’s pedestrian deaths happened there and three victims were older than 65. The reduced speed limit is now winding its way through various agency approvals, and signs can hopefully be installed this month.

The latest news is that state Sen. Leland Yee’s fourth attempt to create a 19th Avenue double-fine zone passed the California Senate on May 1. Still ahead are the Assembly’s committee hearings and floor vote before the legislation goes to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for signing. The governor vetoed this once, and Caltrans resistance helped kill it twice in committee. But now both Schwarzenegger and Caltrans are on board and chances for passage seem bright.

The differences in Yee’s current bill are that it is a five-year test and also assigns double-fine zone status to the dangerous Van Ness Avenue-Lombard Street corridor to the Golden Gate Bridge, which is part of U.S. Route 101. Caltrain wanted this as a test of its official position that double fines are ineffectual without additional safety enhancements — such as the pedestrian countdown signals and highly visible crosswalks being installed on 19th Avenue.

So tickets in the new double-fine zones will soon range from $137.50 (15 mph above the speed limit) to $2,750 (reckless driving causing great bodily injury). Hopefully, this threat to the wallets of reckless speeders will prove helpful in making The City’s pedestrians safer.

Comments from Examiner Readers

12:24 AM MST on Thu., May. 15, 2008 re: "SoMa�s risky $34 million windfall"

Examiner Reader said:
Ha! Good Luck controlling this money. I fear most of it will go to poverty pimps like Randy Shaw. they use money to maintain homelessness. Mr. Shaw and others have become very wealthy off this industry. Watch for Daly to get a job as a $250K/year consultant to one of Mr. Shaw's 'non profits' after he is termed out.

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12:20 PM MST on Wed., May. 14, 2008 re: "SoMa�s risky $34 million windfall"

Examiner Reader said:
There is an community oversight board for the SOMA Stabilization Fund. That board is administered by Gavin Newsom's Mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development. Does the Examiner have a problem with Gavin Newsom's administration overseeing these dollars, is there a fear that Newsom might fund Daly's base?

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11:55 AM MST on Mon., May. 12, 2008 re: "Congestion-based toll a sound idea"

Examiner Reader said:
YES YES!! Finally someone gets it! We all need to understand our role as motorists to improve congestion. Carpooling or changing what time we drive is what we can do! I can't believe how people/media are knee-jerking against congestion tolling-- do they really want 12-lane freeways everywhere instead?!

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12:01 AM MST on Tue., May. 6, 2008 re: "Care Not Cash on road to success"

Examiner Reader said:
Most homeless in the City are from outside the City originally. SF cannot be expected to take care of the Bay region's homeless. How about a regional approach, a fair share approach. Now we have a homeless industry that has made this a political cause pits one faction against the other. Almost everyone has compassion for people less fortunate, but when politicians use the homeless to further their careers, its not right. Daly says he has the answer to the homeless, to provide housing, period. Well there will never be enough housing for all the homeless drift to the City, never has and never will be. In the mean time a whole homeless industry (not infrastructure) has been setup which huge overhead cost added to each unit of housing.

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3:33 PM MST on Sun., May. 4, 2008 re: "Care Not Cash on road to success"

MadManMarlon. said:
I have said this a gazillion times, once during the "Forgotten People's Rally in 2005 with my poem, "Care Not Cash/Trash" and I will thus say it again for the ignorant and incompetent: How in the sheer blue bloody hell does a wealthy person and any wealthy person tell a poor person not to "Care Not Cash?!" Can you tell yourselves that? Does that explain why so many of you are forever aimed at being cheap? Jeez, people making sick! Of course Gavin Newscum's cronies are going to state those "audit and statistic numbers to keep critics like me off their rant raving radar.It's War on the Poor as usual. It wouldn't surprise me if these simpletons introduced a video game for the PS3 or XBox360 as an equivalency to the "Grand Theft Auto" series. A video game created by them on how to score points on destroying poor people's lives in cities alot worse than "Liberty City" to save the "wealth of the world." Join Gavin Newscum and his special quality of life crimes as they rid the S.F's

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2:06 PM MST on Fri., May. 2, 2008 re: "Care Not Cash on road to success"

Examiner Reader said:
Newsom's appointee as controller, Ben Rosenfield, says Newsom's "Care Not Cash" program is working - - now there's a surprise. Are we suppose to believe this is an apolitical, dispassionate, 3rd-party assessement of the program?

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8:22 AM MST on Fri., May. 2, 2008 re: "Care Not Cash on road to success"

L. Amiot said:
"Newsom also alleged that the perceived problem of San Francisco homelessness is more �visual� than real, because the majority of panhandlers on the street are not homeless." IS HE FOR REAL? The "visual" number of panhandlers and bums on our city's streets has never been higher in my lifetime. His claims are utter baloney. The streets were cleaner when we enforced vagrancy laws and held public enibriates for court. Let's help people be responible for their own behavior and encourage them to make better choices with their lives. These political patchwork giveaways, like Newsoms, strips people of their pride and dignity and ambition to help themselves. There should be no reward for apathy, sloth or disolution. The growing number of bums in town tells me that many do not want to work and sacrifice to make a better life for themselves, but they certainly will take a tax payers' handout, in any form, from an incompetent narcissistic politician. Bring back old style enforcement. It worked

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10:47 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 30, 2008 re: "Biggest solar installer dumped on"

Examiner Reader said:
So if a business asks for $3 million in subsidies and San Francisco debates it for a few months, the business is being "dumped on"? It is very likely that McGoldrick is right, this money could be better spent on a municipal solar energy project.

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9:53 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 30, 2008 re: "Biggest solar installer dumped on"

Examiner Reader said:
What this article should have noted is that those $15 to $25/hour jobs require individuals pay there way through a $1,000 training program ... it's right there on the Solar City website.

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6:39 AM MST on Mon., Apr. 28, 2008 re: "Police Academy cuts are unjustified"

BIGGUN41 said:
After our "wise" mayor gave away the store to the police by way of pay increases, days before being elected, knowing the city was in financial trouble, why should SFPD be a "sacred cow" and not have cuts just like every other department in SF? Keep believing the POA stating more officers are needed, which just fills their coffiers by way of more union dues ($1080 for 6 months) and blame the DA Harris who refuses to prosecute "small" crimes. Small crimes are the start of trouble.

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2:19 PM MST on Thu., Apr. 24, 2008 re: "Newsom�s voice gives him away"

Examiner Reader said:
Deregulation of the airlines has worked about as well as managed health care. And let's not forget about the Savings and Loan debacle, ENRON or the current housing/credit crisises. I can already hear the cry from the free-marketeers, "the market is just correcting itself!" Right. Those who get rich in the process are seldom there to pay for the losses and clean up. And if they are, a governmental bailout is often not far behind. I'm not against making a profit but lets spread out the losses other than just on the average taxpayer.

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1:21 PM MST on Thu., Apr. 24, 2008 re: "Police Academy cuts are unjustified"

Examiner Reader said:
Why doesn't the SFPD hire lateral officers from other law enforcement agencies willing to transfer over? Why do lateral officers have to go through the whole testing process and the full SF police academy?

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9:37 AM MST on Thu., Apr. 24, 2008 re: "Police Academy cuts are unjustified"

Examiner Reader said:
The S.F. Police dept. needs to hire persons who already have completed a basic P.O.S.T. academy or has a Basic P.O.S.T. certificate. To consider them as lateral applicants and have them go through a short SFPD academy class. It would save the city some money.......

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9:24 AM MST on Thu., Apr. 24, 2008 re: "Police Academy cuts are unjustified"

Examiner Reader said:
It would be wise if the police dept. hires candidates which have completed their basic P.O.S.T academy training and send them through the three week excellerated class at the police academy. Then the city would be saving some money.

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9:09 AM MST on Thu., Apr. 24, 2008 re: "Police Academy cuts are unjustified"

L. Amiot said:
The Idea of cutting police academy classes in San Francisco is a misstep by our cities elected leaders. Our city has a crisis in the public safety sector. Homicides are on the rise at an alarming rate. The streets are filthy and unsafe, especially in the Bayview and Western Addition. Hundreds of SF police officers are scheduled to retire in the next 3 to 5 years. If you need to cut something to save money, it only makes sense to cut some of the fat off of the top. Mayor Newsom has a newly acquired, inflated staff of advisors and proxymen costing the city hundreds of thousands to help him do what he was elected to do. How many advisors on his staff does the mayor need? Let's get a handle on the safety of our city before pumping up the number of City Hall aides. No cuts to academy classes. We have to have safe streets in San Francisco now and in the future, when Newsom sees himself in Sacramento or Washington DC. One crucial word for young Mr. Newsom to heed: LEADERSHIP.

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1:06 PM MST on Mon., Apr. 14, 2008 re: "Two different Americas when it comes to taxes"

West Coast Liberal said:
Two Americas? One who pays to pay less and another that has to get money because the wealthy won't pay a decent wage.The guys who make money through capital pay less taxes than the workers who do everything. I do not feel sorry for the rich and I do not feel that feeding people is a waste. I do feel bombs make poor investments. Ask your grandkids if they would rather have textbooks and food or kill people living over our oil.

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9:26 AM MST on Mon., Apr. 14, 2008 re: "Two different Americas when it comes to taxes"

mr.fixer said:
oops, the headline said "news". how did an editorial get in?

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9:16 PM MST on Sun., Apr. 13, 2008 re: "Reagan was right on �Star Wars�"

Examiner Reader said:
Reagan took office in 1980 and now he is right on "Star Wars?" Its just been 28 years, 3 more presidents and how many gazillions of dollars? Are you kidding us with this stuff?

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11:13 AM MST on Sun., Apr. 13, 2008 re: "Reagan was right on �Star Wars�"

Examiner Reader said:
This editorial is a shining example of why more money needs to put towards educating the children of this nation, instead of lining the pockets of the oil companies and weapons manufacturers.

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3:18 PM MST on Sat., Apr. 12, 2008 re: "Reagan was right on �Star Wars�"

Tony L said:
My brain still hurts from reading this stupefying editorial. You're telling a system that, after 25 years and countless billions of dollars spent, manages to shoot down one of our OWN satellites proves that it's all worthwhile?? Is anybody awake down there? Liberals are right to sneer, and we will continue to do so. This country's scientists developed the nuclear bomb in about three years, the hydrogen weapon in about the same. We sent a dude TO THE MOON in less than 10. And don't forget that it was the Bush team's obsession with missile defense during their first months in office that caused them to ignore Al Qaeda and the volumes of warnings about 9/11. Ironically, if Reagan had poured billions of federal dollars on science education like President Kennedy did, rather than aligning himself with the kind of people who wage war on science, we might actually be closer to having a fully operational missile defense system than we are (although we never will). Snicker snicker.

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2:04 PM MST on Thu., Apr. 10, 2008 re: "City did fine for Olympic peace"

ms jackson said:
what a pointless excercise in confusion that was! i guess we can all flick our bics and pretend(?)... let's just hope there is not a roast-peace-dove redux as happened at the opening ceremonies at the Seoul Olympics!

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9:35 AM MST on Thu., Apr. 10, 2008 re: "Patrol Special needs re-evaluation"

Co. B said:
Patrol Special Police Officers are not police officers in the eyes of the state of California. You'll have to research California Penal Code 830 and its various subsections but in the end, you will see that they have no arrest authority other than what a law abiding citizen can make. They do not patrol, this is a misnomer. They inspect the security of buildings, homes and structures they have been contracted privately to ensure are locked and secure. They are not City employees. They often drive personal cars that look like unmarked police cars, often while wearing a uniform that is against the regulations set for them so they can be recognized. Some of these patrol specials have been observed with emergency lights installed in their private vehicles, a big no no. If they pull someone over, it constitutes an illegal detention among other problems. Warner has a lot of explaining to do, so watch the police commission meeting on April 23rd and see what happens to her.

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7:06 AM MST on Thu., Apr. 10, 2008 re: "Patrol Special needs re-evaluation"

some of us asked him and read his badge said:
I must remain anon to avoid possible departmental backlash for saying this. Some of us copers asked Willie about his status, different uniform and badge. He was forthcoming regarding his public relations role, he described it as a sorta gofer admin role that mainly makes sure their clients are happy. I thought Patrol Special was a private business, if so, does it matter whether the department recognizes the position or not. The badge had public relations not Patrol Special like others, and it looked like any security officer badge. My observations of willie while out in the district, was that he knew his stuff, maybe that why some copers assumed that he was a special????? I had to give credit where it was due, I also heard that the badges in his home were collectables, and all of the guns were registered, except for one which he supposed to have purchased at a flea market. The ID's apparently were recovered from minors trying to get into clubs where he worked security ?smell a ra

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7:40 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 9, 2008 re: "U.S. casualties in Iraq need perspective"

oliv' said:
what a shame... what about the hundred thousands irakies which died because of the LIES (not bad intelligence) from the gvt ? "brave americans", yeah, probably, but they are more puppets than brave. Send for false reasons at the other side of the word... One thing I'm ready to bet on is that the US will leave irak before the job is finished. The price (human, economic...) will be much too high. Even the best equipped soldiers can lose a war...

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7:14 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 9, 2008 re: "Patrol Special needs re-evaluation"

Dont think so said:
I am shocked to find out that your article is referring to willie who has been working in the Castro for years, this guy can always be found mediating on-behalf of someone from the LGBT community. I recall an incident where the police were about to take a guy to jail who was angry after a fight with his boyfriend, but because willie was able to get him to calm down, the situation ended without jail. I know that a lot of gay boys and lesbians can attest to his intervention over the years. I think only people who dont know Jane and Willie will buy into this smearing tactic.

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1:00 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 9, 2008 re: "Patrol Special needs re-evaluation"

Examiner Reader said:
Final:. It�s difficult to see how there can be �little point for the anachronistic Patrol Special�to exist� today, with both �spontaneous violence� and �fatal stabbings� up by 10 incidents as of July 2007 as opposed to 8 in total in 2006. This article and editorial is just another assault upon a vital, unique, and trained community policing force that San Franciscans have utilized and enjoyed as an addition to the SFPD to keep their communities safe since the Gold Rush. The Examiner�s use of yellow journalism is unbecoming and libelous.

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6:27 PM MST on Tue., Apr. 8, 2008 re: "City retailers ignoring millions"

Examiner Reader said:
How many of these uncounted are illegals?

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6:17 PM MST on Tue., Apr. 8, 2008 re: "Patrol Special needs re-evaluation"

Examiner Reader said:
Dear Mr. Pimentel, In your March 12 issue Brent Begin reported on my hearing before the San Francisco Police Commission for disciplinary actions related to Willie Adams� employment [�The City�s Patrol Special force under the gun�] and then Monday, March 17, following Begin�s article, you wrote an inflammatory editorial [�Patrol Special needs re-evaluation,�]. There were inaccuracies in the article that I want to address and clarify, but your editorial is straight out of the late-1800s and the Examiner�s then owner, William Randolph Hearst�s, unethical practices. Using phrases such as: �strange anachronism of The City�s rowdy Barbary Coast era,� �generally looking noticeably dumpier than a genuine SFPD officer,� �odd remnants of direct interaction with the Police Commission,� �things began to slip,� �minimal exposure to police training,� �still carry out the quaint practice of �owning� and selling or bequeathing their revenue-producing beats,� �an old-fashioned privilege somewhat

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4:39 PM MST on Tue., Apr. 8, 2008 re: "Home Depot forfeit hurts The City"

Examiner Reader said:
Home Desprate is no great shakes; but it is better than NOTHING, which is what Tom Ammiano offers the community of the Bayview. But then again, how many blacks from the Bayview support the Gay Bars in the Castro? That is what it is all about for Tom.

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10:58 AM MST on Sat., Apr. 5, 2008 re: "The City's new big-ticket museum"

Examiner Reader said:
Someone at your paper doesn't do their research. There are free days at Cal Academy when it reopens. Is the Examiner another case of "you get what you pay for?" Free paper, low-cost reporting. If that is the case, I'll gladly pay more to go to the best science museum in the country, right in my own back yard, instead of lower-priced, smaller places that charge less and deliver far less, too. Show me where the Exploratorium or BADM has living collections to maintain, and compare the annual operating budgets of these organizations. Maybe then you'll understand what the real story is.

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1:25 PM MST on Fri., Apr. 4, 2008 re: "Home Depot forfeit hurts The City"

Examiner Reader said:
I'm sorry, but HOME DEPOTS corporate profile has been called into question on a number of levels, from requesting tax breaks which make anemic the local tax base to informally directing employees to seek county medical services from the counties they previously secured tax breaks. Their employee/management policies have been found wanting, including employee-promotion practices which have been legally reviewed and have not passed muster. Do some research and you'll see the list goes on. I find it entertaining somehow HOME DEPOT has been wronged by this process. For whatever part the economy played in HOME DEPOT's final decision, apparently the review process (flawed as it migh be?) has spoken and it concluded HOME DEPOT was not the best store for the Bayshore location.

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10:03 AM MST on Fri., Apr. 4, 2008 re: "Home Depot forfeit hurts The City"

Examiner Reader said:
That smacks more of jealousy than hard-earned work. Independent shop owners finagling the government to save a struggling business rather than coming up with a good business plan on their own to service more than the upper-class wealthy single or childless Caucasian sector. Boutiques can only appeal to a certain few.

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9:10 AM MST on Fri., Apr. 4, 2008 re: "Home Depot forfeit hurts The City"

Gaza George said:
The major industries(WalMart Home Depor McDonald's) get much more protection and tax breaks and employ less people. Why is evryone so anxious to defend the big box stores? The majors have done a damn good job of selling us that they are the only game intown. Where do the savings go? to their home office not to the community where the store is. I don't consider the Gap a "success" BTW. Big boxes are so last century. Wake up people 4$ gas means death for suburban lying lifestyles of the warloving and ugly Amerikkkan.

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8:56 AM MST on Fri., Apr. 4, 2008 re: "Home Depot forfeit hurts The City"

Examiner Reader said:
I suppose Home Depot, Starbucks, The Gap and the major nationwide chain stores earned their success with good business planning and employing good people. As much as it is nice to root for the underdog small independent shops to succeed, it is hard to be sympathetic towards them if they have to rely on government protectionism or obstructing free enterprise most of the time rather than coming up with an imaginative marketing plan to compete with or outgrow the "big boys". That sounds like fostering laziness and arrogance rather than enticing customers to patronize their businesses...not to mention leaving some properties fallow and deteriorating from lack of care and use.

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12:26 PM MST on Tue., Apr. 1, 2008 re: "Public housing repairs backed up"

Examiner Reader said:
I pay 1500.00 per month rent and am certainly not entitled to free 24/7 plumbing/window break/electrical problem correction (free of charge). Can some of the 100,000,000.00 be spent on the crack in the ceiling, the crack in my window and to improve hot water service? My landlord is certainly not going to pony up any time soon. The more people sit around doing nothing all day but wallowing in self pity (see public housing) and abusing their surroundings the more the same people want others to hand over. One hundred million!!!!!

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8:35 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 1, 2008 re: "Proven police strategies welcome"

Examiner Reader said:
Reducing crime is about deterrence. Deterrence is achieved when 3 things happen to criminals: 1) They're caught, 2) They're convicted, and 3) They're severely punished. It does no good to boost 1) if you're not going to follow through with 2) and 3). And SF is notorious for coddling its criminals while actively shackling the law abiding citizens with draconian measures that sound good to the know-nothing liberals, but only manage to make things easier for criminals.

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2:40 PM MST on Mon., Mar. 31, 2008 re: "BART�s clean agenda is welcome"

Examiner Reader said:
also without BART we would never know how rude, obnoxious and lazy their booth workers are......do you have to have a sour attituude to get a job with B. (be) A. (always) R. (repeatedly) T. (tardy)

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6:44 AM MST on Sun., Mar. 30, 2008 re: "U.S. casualties in Iraq need perspective"

Tired of Chickenhawks said:
If the losses are so low and the cause so noble, I invite the editorial board and their loved ones to put on uniforms and go over there themselves. Somehow I think that, if the our commander-in-chief were to ship the editor-in-chief's children overseas on a "romantic" military adventure, this "persepective" given to the "astonishingly low" number of dead and wounded would suddenly change.

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8:14 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 28, 2008 re: "Holiday week furlough sensible"

Examiner Reader said:
When considering options such as this, it is important to also think about the practical implications. What will happen if you require time off between holidays? Having worked on the City's OT and Leave reports, and observed some of the behavior over the years, my prediction is that you would actually see a spike in sick time and vacation over that week, which would net the City hardly any actual savings. Further, how "non-essential" employees are classified has become a matter of much debate during the Mayor's "hiring freeze." As we encounter one recessionary cycle after another, we will eventually have to realize that we cannot indefintely postphone the decision of our priorities. What services should the City provide - and should we not? How can we develop a more stable, sustainable tax base? Are we forever destined to a crisis of lowered expectations? Yes, these are hard decisions, but we cannot continue to use band-aid solutions in hopes these crises will mend themselves

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1:00 PM MST on Tue., Mar. 25, 2008 re: "Pay more fees, get more hassle"

Conscientious Observer said:
If B.S. was likened to asphaltic concrete San Francisco City Hall produces enough daily to fill and fix all the potholes within city limits for all the bicycles and cars combined.

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11:42 AM MST on Mon., Mar. 24, 2008 re: "Proven police strategies welcome"

Examiner Reader said:
Get rid of the current chief - or better yet, pur her in charge of HR or parking.

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11:39 AM MST on Mon., Mar. 24, 2008 re: "Slumlords should be punished"

Examiner Reader said:
Punish the City of San Francisco - They (The City Housing Authority) is the biggest slumlord in the City. I dare say I would bet the conditions in publicly owned housing is worse than anything the building inspectors can come up with!

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7:29 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 21, 2008 re: "Congress blind to four guilty pleas"

Examiner Reader said:
The Examiner is a nutter right-wing paper. The reason this case has been ignored is that it is a trump-up scheme to get the most successfull consumer lawyers out off the playing field, so that the Corporate America, which has ripped-off the American public in scandal after scandal from Enron on down, won't have to answer for their crimes and can keep stealing billions from ordinary people ten cents at at time without fear of consequence.

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