CVC 21950(a)

SF Citizen poses a question for those of you who travel through SF behind a windshield: What do you do when you approach an intersection - no stoplight - with some poor abuelita waiting, stranded on the median for a chance to cross the street?

This is hardly an academic issue; there are hundreds, if not thousands of intersections in this city where at least one direction of traffic has no signal or sign. What do you do? No stop sign, no stop light, no stop - right? No.

California Vehicle Code (that thing you had to pretend to have read when you were 15) Section 21950 (a) states unambiguously:

The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.

So, since you like totally knew that, you stop.

But these uncontrolled intersections usually occur at broad, multi-lane expressways. What, then, asks SF Citizen, of the cars that just keep on cruising past, preventing the pedestrian from crossing? Law of the jungle? My car is bigger and faster so I crush you if you try to slow me down? Once again we can turn to that obscure tome, the CVC. This time Section 21951:

Whenever any vehicle has stopped at a marked crosswalk or at any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to permit a pedestrian to cross the roadway the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass the stopped vehicle.

I suppose it's unreasonable to hold drivers to the rules of the CVC. We certainly don't enforce it's provisions to any reasonable extent. Since there's almost no chance of getting a ticket for violating CVC 21950 (a) or 21951, it's to be expected that nobody abides by them.

Well that's not okay! Enforcement of these and other laws protecting pedestrians has to be some kind of a priority.

SF Citizen suggests signalizing these intersections, at least the most dangerous of them. I completely support that idea. Good street design works as a compliment to law enforcement. It's past time to get some action from our civic leaders on this issue. Since our lovely mayor actively violates the vehicle code I suggest contacting your member of the Board of Supervisors, or writing a letter to the editor of the Chronicle, Examiner, Guardian, or other newspaper of choice.

Utah St Sidewalk Parking

Clearly it's street-sweeping day:
To report sidewalk parking in SF, call DPT at (415) 553-1200
Hit 1 for English
4 for "more options"
3 for "sidewalk parking"

You'll need to catch the address in front of which the car is parked. It's stupid and unnecessary, but DPT won't send someone out unless you give them the exact address. Local activist Carleigh notes that this is a blatant violation of ADA laws, so maybe mention that if you're given a hard time.

Also, it's worth going back a few days later to everyblock.com, which lists police reports by location, to check on how your report was resolved. And if you like, take a picture and upload it to Flickr with "pedestrianist" as a tag. I'll post it here along with any resolution or notes in the comment section.

Forgive them, they know not what they do?

I ran across this gem while looking through the draft of the Better Streets Plan:

The California motor vehicle code requires drivers to yield to
pedestrians in marked or unmarked crosswalks, but many drivers
are unfamiliar with the details of the vehicle code.

Awesome. Part of creating a safer, more pedestrian-friendly street environment rests on infrastructure and policy making, but I really hope we can also re-develop a culture of personal responsibility. Driving is a privilege, not a right. Everyone behind the wheel of a car was required to take a test of their knowledge of the CVC, and they need to be held responsible for violating the code.