According to streetsblog, on December 10, 2004, as Katie Liddell was walking to her Portside apartment at Harrison and Main in Ricon Hill, she noticed emergency vehicles surrounding the intersection near there. As she approached, she came upon a terrifying scene: her neighbor had been hit and killed, and lie in the middle of the street with a tarp covering her body. The force of the big rig truck had thrown 63-year-old Beverly Kees out of the cross walk so violently that the impact killed her. Kees was a SF State journalism professor who had recently retired and lived across the street from Liddell in the Bay Crest Towers. The dog she had been walking was also hit and injured. It turns out that Kee’s doctor told her that she needed to walk more, so she asked her neighbor if she could walk her dog. Her neighbor walks a lot too and feels, like most San Franciscans who enjoy walking in the city, that pedestrians are considered an inconvenience.
The intersection of Harrison and Main is the kind of place that is dangerous in the one of the city’s densest neighbor hoods. Harrison serves as a four-lane westbound thoroughfare that carries 12,600 drivers daily, most of whom are headed to the bay bridge. During peak-hour traffic, drivers are continually seen speeding and blocking the crosswalk. Three people have died there since 2003, and many others have been injured. Voters are expected to vote on a street bond measure in November. If they approve the bond measure, some of that money will be directed to pedestrian safety improvements in District 6. The SFMTA is also planning some engineering measures that they expect to improve Harrison and Main, which include:
• A head start for pedestrians crossing Harrison Street.
• The flashing red hand will now count down from 15 seconds instead of the current 9 seconds for pedestrians.
• Painting white continental crosswalks at the intersection.
• Pursuing legislation for No U-Turns for eastbound Harrison Street at Main Street.
Here at the Brod Law Firm, we fully support any effort to change a dangerous, traffic clogged neighborhood and make it better for everyone, especially the pedestrains who reside there. We hope to see some positive changes soon. Every neighborhood needs this kind of advocacy and change. For now it remains a small step in terms of improving the quality of life in San Francisco neighborhoods, but it speaks volumes in terms of city officials waking up to the need for change. If you have been injured in an accident in San Francisco, please contact our firm for a free consultation. Whether you were injured while walking, driving, or cycling, our personal injury attorney has the experience to handle any type of claim. We have over 10 years experience helping injured clients successfully settle their claims, and we will work hard to get you the compensation you deserve.