Supervisor Carmen Chu: Pedestrian/Traffic Safety

New Traffic Medians Along Yorba Street
Pedestrian and traffic safety continues to be one of the top concerns we hear about in our office. To address this issue, our office has been working with the community, SF Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT) and the SF Department of Public Works (DPW) to come up with ways to mitigate accidents in our neighborhood.

Most recently, we completed a project along Yorba Street at both 36th and 37th avenues after a series of complaints regarding safety within these large and oftentimes confusing intersections. New medians were installed at the intersections to help guide drivers and prevent potential collisions due to the lack of visibility for vehicles coming from certain directions.

Our office worked with DPW, neighbors and volunteers from Abraham Lincoln High School on May 8 to complete the project by planting within these two medians. In addition, the MTA will be exploring the possibility of an eastbound stop sign at Yorba and 37th Avenue.

Safety Improvements for N-Judah Terminus
Neighbors have also raised concerns regarding safety at the N-Judah Muni streetcar turnaround at Judah Street and La Playa. Specifically, residents have expressed concerns about visibility for pedestrians, drivers and bicyclists who need to navigate this intersection while a train is parked in the middle of the intersection.

To address this, we held a neighborhood meeting on April 23 with officials from DPT to explore options for parking the N-Judah train. After careful consideration of federal disabled access requirements and the community's concerns, DPT presented findings on proposed solutions from community members, as well as their recommended solution for the intersection.

We will be holding a second community meeting to go over the recommended solution on Thursday, June 3, from 6 - 7 p.m. Please meet outside Java Beach Cafe, at Judah Street and La Playa, if you wish to attend. If you are unable to attend the meeting, please contact our office with any questions or concerns at (415) 554-7460.

West Sunset Playground Renovation Coming Soon
We are happy to announce that the SF Recreation and Park Commission recently approved plans for a new West Sunset Playground. Our office has been working with a group of dedicated parents who formed the Friends of West Sunset Playground (FOWSP) organization to ensure that our children have a safe place to play for generations to come.

We have also been working to coordinate the rebuild of the playground so that it will coincide with the re-opening of the Ortega Branch Library in 2011.

The FOWSP recently hosted its second annual Sunset soiree: "Tastes of the Sunset," on May 15, at the Janet Pomeroy Center, as a benefit for West Sunset Playground. We would like to thank FOWSP members for their hard work and dedication, and all of the community members who attended to support the rebuild effort. For more information about FOWSP, please visit www.fowsp.org.

Summer Community Events
As we enter the month of June, there are a number of community events coming up and we wanted to share this information with you. Sunset Kids Day: Join the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library as it kicks off summer reading with Sunset Kids Day on Saturday, June 5, from 1 - 3 p.m., at West Sunset Playground (38th Avenue and Ortega Street). There will be a family-style BBQ, fun prizes, stories, music, crafts, books, entertainment and more. Admission is free. For more information, contact Tamara Scheulov at (415) 626-7512, ext. 101, or send an e-mail to tscheulov@friendssfpl.org.

Stern Grove Festival: The 73rd annual Stern Grove Festival runs from June 20 through Aug. 22. We hope you will take advantage of this free activity, which will take place every Sunday, at 2 p.m., for the duration of the festival. For more information about the season calendar, please call (415) 252-6252 or visit the website at www.sterngrove.org.

For more information about community events, please visit our office's "upcoming events" page at the website www.sfgov.org/chu. You can also access our office's newsletter at this website. We can also be reached at (415) 554-7460 and via e-mail at chustaff@sfgov.org.

San Francisco Supervisor Carmen Chu represents District 4.