San Francisco residents worried city rushing to a decision in making West Portal area safer
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco is in the process of making the area near the deadly West Portal crash safer, but residents are worried the city may be rushing to a decision.
Long-time West Portal resident Cynthia Skinner wants the city to pump the brakes on the proposed traffic safety plan so her and her neighbors have more time to gather information.
"I wanted to know who's in charge, who made the decisions. I haven't received that information. How did this come about so quickly," said Skinner.
Pat Dunbar, who has called West Portal home for two decades, fears the city is rushing to a decision, spurred by the tragic death of a family of four.
"The accident happened right there. It's very sad, and it's a horrible accident. But changing that is not going to change this. They haven't even released a report yet on why the accident happened. So SFMTA hasn't finished their report on the accident and yet they're putting this proposal," said Pat Dunbar.
A spokesperson for San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said the agency hasn't made any decisions yet, and this is just an opportunity to hear from the public.
"We are in the process of collecting feedback from members of the community, and based on that feedback we're going to take a look at the proposal and see that there might be some things that we should change that we didn't know about or maybe that they're sharing with us," said Victoria Wise, chief of staff SFMTA.
A key aspect of the project is the elimination of all left turns in the intersections defined by West Portal Avenue, Ulloa Street, Lenox Way and Claremont Boulevard in order to protect pedestrian.
Loui and Megan, who frequent the area daily despite living in the Sunset District, believe the changes will enhance safety.
"I support the proposal which I see as a compromise to full on closing West Portal to cars. That main drag, which would be an ideal scenario, but I think this is a compromise to make it safer for everyone who uses West Portal," said Megan Warner.
In the meantime, Skinner said West Portal is a neighborhood still navigating the shock and grief of the family's death, while trying to understand if the city's plan would, in fact, make them safer.
