Cesar Chavez—the street—fails to live up to the man it honors. Speeding cars terrorize its neighbors, especially the many children who must cross to schools or parks on either side. In August 2003, two Leonard Flynn School students, a brother and sister, were struck as they crossed at Harrison St. The girl was out of school for a year.

A coalition of neighbors, bicyclists, and pedestrians is working to make the street more worthy of its name. The group, named C.C. Puede in a pun on the UFW’s chant “si se puede,” has been meeting monthly since last summer to address traffic design along the entire Cesar Chavez corridor. It has circulated a petition that recommends changes similar to those made on Potrero St. last year: removal of one-car traffic lane in each direction, addition of bike lanes and left-turn pockets, and improvements to pedestrian crossings. So far, about 500 neighbors, merchants, commuters, and workers along the corridor have signed their support.

As a first step, this spring, the petitions will go to the Dept. of Parking and Traffic and the city supervisors whose districts Cesar Chavez crosses— Sophie Maxwell (Dist-10), Tom Ammiano, (Dist-9) and Bevan Duffy (Dist-8). Meanwhile, neighborhood outreach continues, and C.C. Puede is also conducting research at specific intersections. The group set out in December with surveys to analyze the stretch from Guerrero to the freeway maze.

Specific issues arose at each intersection. Turning cars from Bernal Heights made crossing at Folsom Street hazardous. A busy gas station, numerous poles and boxes obstructing the sidewalk, and lack of wheelchair cuts made the corner at South Van Ness unfriendly to pedestrians. Twice as many people were counted crossing Cesar Chavez at Valencia than at Guerrero, possibly because of more destinations like shops and restaurants, flatter topography, and slower traffic.

The freeway maze was studied from both the ground and the nearby pedestrian bridge. The complicated maze may have to be tackled separately, as it involves state highways.

Among the group doing the survey was a representative of the Day Labor Program, which recently relocated to Cesar Chavez. C.C. Puede hopes to keep the DLP involved, given that day laborers make up a visible presence on the street and are affected strongly by the traffic.

Many of the proposed changes dovetail with measures also being considered by the Flynn School as a participant in the Safe Routes to Schools program. A representative from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority administering that program attended C.C. Puede’s November meeting.

Although bike lanes are part of the proposal, and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is an active partner in C.C. Puede, the focus has been on pedestrian concerns and slowing car traffic. Frequently cited is a statistic from the U.S. Department of Transportation: A pedestrian hit by a car going 40 mph has an 85 percent chance of dying, while someone hit by a car going 20 mph has an percent chance of surviving. The limit on Cesar Chavez is 25 mph, but speeds often reaching 40 mph. Another report from the DOT just released showed that Latino and African American pedestrians nationwide are almost twice as likely as whites to be killed by cars.

Not everyone is happy with the C.C. Puede proposals. One driver has complained that his commute will be affected. And representatives of the Precita Valley Neighbors in Bernal Heights worry that reducing car lanes on Cesar Chavez would increase traffic around Precita Park. Similar changes on Potrero and San Jose/Guerrero have not significantly affected traffic on nearby streets such as Bryant or Dolores, however, and proponents argue that left-turn pockets will smooth the flow and reduce erratic lane changing rather than simply clumping or diverting traffic. This discussion is ongoing. ©



The next meeting of C.C. Puede will be Tuesday, March 14, 6:30 p.m., at the Bernal Gateway Apartments, 3101 Mission at Cesar Chavez (MUNI #12, 27, 48, 26, 67, Mission buses, walking distance from 24th St. BART). All are invited to attend. For more information, contact Fran Taylor at ftaylor@cmp.com, 947-6497 (English) or Francisco Hernández at fhdz1962@yahoo.com (Spanish).



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