San Francisco-Oakland Attorney Comments on Dangerous Intersections in San Francisco

According The Bay Citizen, earlier this week seniors were protesting at a dangerous intersection in San Francisco, the intersction at Third Street and Yosmite Street. On Wednesday of this week, a group of seniors stood at the intersection and held protest signs, demanding more senior-friendly crossings in all of San Francisco, not just that one. In fact, that intersection they protested has been the site of just one accident in the last five years, but that does not change the fact that seniors feel many intersections in the city, like that one, do not allow enough time for seniors to cross. All along Third Street it is dangerous to cross. Most seniors who cross third street only make it to the median, which is just a cement sliver in between tow sets of Muni tacks where the T-Train travels.

The protest comes on the heels of a national report that found seniors and minorities were the most likely to be hit and killed while walking on the strets. The study found that ove the past decade there were nearly 7,000 pedestrian deaths in California, and nearly 700 in San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont. A spokesman for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency says that crosswalk times are set by federal guidelines based on the length of the crosswalk and the type of intersection. He said that the agency has no plans to change the signal time. The signal at the Third Street intersection gives 20 seconds for pedestrians to cross five lanes of traffic, not an easy task for some seniors. Needless to say, many seniors are aftraid of crossing the street, regardless of the statistics and federal guidelines. Simply put, it is dangerous for them to cross large, busy intersections, and they risk their lives when they do.

If you or a loved one suffered an injury due to crossing at an unsafe intersection, please contact our qualified pedestrian accident attorney for a free consultation. Our firm has over 10 years experience representing injured pedestrians of all ages and helping them receive the compensation they deserve.