Mayor Lurie Signs Street Safety Executive Directive in Major Step to Improve Public Safety in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie today launched a citywide effort to improve public safety, unveiling and signing his Street Safety executive directive. The directive marks a new chapter in how San Francisco approaches street safety—bringing together transportation, public safety, and public health agencies under a coordinated, mayor-led strategy that will ensure every San Franciscan, no matter their age, ability, or mode of transportation, will be able to travel throughout San Francisco safely. The plan will coordinate multiple city departments that are involved in overseeing our roadways and transportation systems.  
The launch of the mayor’s Street Safety executive directive builds on the progress he has made to keep San Francisco safe and improve safety in our streets. Earlier this year, Mayor Lurie led the way—making San Francisco the first city in California to launch automated speed cameras to enforce unsafe speeding on roadways, change driver behavior, and make San Francisco’s streets safer for everyone. In addition to his work to make San Francisco’s streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, and drivers, public safety is improving citywide. Right now, crime is down nearly 30% citywide in San Francisco and down nearly 40% in busy commercial corridors like Union Square and the Financial District.  
“Too often, traffic injuries are the result of predictable patterns—and preventable conditions. Now is the moment to take what works, improve what doesn’t, and elevate this work across the entire city government. I am proud to launch the Street Safety Initiative and make one thing clear: In San Francisco, safety is non-negotiable,” said Mayor Lurie. “This initiative will make streets safer for everyone, including seniors, people with disabilities, and children, along with the nearly half of people injured in traffic collisions in San Francisco that are drivers or passengers.” 
The plan will help San Francisco advance toward a future where everyone can travel safely and with dignity. As part of the executive directive, the Mayor’s Office will create and oversee a Street Safety Initiative Working Group, led in partnership with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) and the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD). 
As part of the working group, every agency involved in the design, operation, or regulation of our transportation system or the people using it will designate a senior leader to represent the department. The working group will serve as a collaborative forum for coordinating initiatives and meeting the executive directive’s actions.  
“We’re grateful to Mayor Lurie for his leadership and for advancing a renewed, citywide focus on street safety, and we’re proud to help co-lead this effort,” said Julie Kirschbaum, SFMTA Director of Transportation. “Building on all of our work, we’ve learned that while proven tools like quick-build projects, school daylighting, and speed safety cameras make a difference, we can’t do this work alone. Meeting today’s challenges requires a coordinated, whole-of-city approach, because street safety is public safety, and we look forward to continuing this work together with our agency partners.” 
“San Francisco’s streets should be safe for everyone in our city,” said Paul Yep, SFPD Interim Chief. “Mayor Lurie’s Street Safety executive directive will ensure safe streets remain a top priority. The San Francisco Police Department will continue to vigorously enforce our traffic laws and work with our partner agencies to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities.” 
“SFDPH is proud to work with our city partners to keep all who use our streets safe and promote public health,” said Daniel Tsai, San Francisco Director of Health. “Traffic-related injuries and fatalities can be prevented, and data is a critically important tool that helps inform decision makers and the community on how to design safer streets. The Street Safety Executive Directive will go a long way towards our goal of making San Francisco a healthier place for all.” 
“The Public Works team is excited to step up and work with our city partners to identify and deliver traffic safety infrastructure,” said Carla Short, San Francisco Public Works Director. “With the potent combination of engineering, enforcement and education, Mayor Lurie's executive directive strategically moves the city in the right direction of safer streets for everyone.”  
San Francisco has achieved a 78% reduction in speeding vehicles on average across all 33 locations, resulting in 40,000 fewer speeding vehicles every day as part of the automated speed cameras program. 

“Our streets should be accessible by all—those who drive, walk, bike, and take transit. Unfortunately, each year we lose dozens of San Franciscans to avoidable crashes on our streets, including an entire family of four in West Portal last year,” said District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar. “Our most vulnerable residents—seniors, children, and people with disabilities—are most likely to walk to get around and most likely to be injured or die on our streets. The Street Safety Act and this Executive Directive help our city turn the page to a safer and stronger city for all.” 
“The time for action on real safety improvements for pedestrians, seniors, kids, people with disabilities, and families is now, and I fully support the mayor’s plan for safer streets,” said District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder.
“Our progress toward achieving Street Safety has not kept pace with our values.  I applaud Mayor Lurie’s 100-day actions to implement a strong, proactive, interdepartmental approach to safe streets,” said District 11 Supervisor Chyanne Chen. “Community safety must be at the center—so that pedestrians, transit users, cyclists, and motorists can get around to school, work, recreation, and the community safely.”
“No one should fear for their lives when crossing the street. We know it doesn't have to be this way, and that proven tools and efforts exist that can bring safety to every street across San Francisco,” said District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter. “This directive is an urgent call to action to transform the status quo of our deadly streets.” 
“In the Sunset, street safety shows up in everyday moments, from walking kids to school and crossing wide avenues to catching the bus or running a quick errand close to home. Our streets should feel predictable and safe for people of all ages,” said District 4 Supervisor Alan Wong. “This directive is an important step toward ensuring our neighborhoods support daily life.” 
The Street Safety executive directive will be organized around the Safe System Approach: 

• Safer People: The city will encourage safe, responsible driving and behavior by people who use our roads and prioritize conditions that allow people to reach their destinations unharmed.  
• Safer Streets: The city will design streets that mitigate human mistakes and prioritize the safety of vulnerable users.
• Safer Vehicles: The city will expand safety features in the city’s fleet and track state and federal vehicle regulations.  
• Safer Speeds: The city will promote context-appropriate speeds through design, speed setting, education, and enforcement.
• Post-Crash Care: The city will enhance the survivability of crashes through expedient access to emergency and trauma care. 

Key components of the Street Safety executive directive include: 
100-Day Actions: 

• Establish the Street Safety Initiative Working Group, led by the Mayor’s Office and co-chaired by SFMTA, SFDPH, and SFPD.
• Identify senior-level leads to join the Working Group across all relevant city agencies, including, but not limited to: SFMTA, SFDPH, SFPD, Fire Department (SFFD), Public Works (PW), Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), Planning Department (Planning), Recreation and Parks Department (RPD), Port, Office on Disability and Accessibility (ODA), San Francisco Airport (SFO), Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), Office of Small Business (OSB), Department of Emergency Management (DEM), and the Controller’s Office (CON).  
• Hold Working Group meetings regularly to identify and coordinate department initiatives and metrics that meet the goals of this directive.  
• Confirm the 2025 High Injury Network and publish current crash data, emphasizing vulnerable user groups.
• Review and update the city’s framework for identifying, categorizing, and reporting traffic-related serious injuries and fatalities.  
• Integrate traffic safety citations and crash injury data into station-level reports.  
• Ensure that any street changes result in clear lane markings and signage to reduce confusion and improve predictable behavior.
• Work with state and federal officials and elected representatives on street safety efforts outside of local authority.
• Establish a process for sharing clear and concise updates on Safe Streets initiatives to residents, merchants and stakeholders.  
• Prioritize the deployment of electronic enforcement tools, including speed and red-light cameras and explore opportunities for state legislative support to expand this authority.  
• Identify a focused list of priority quick-build projects that incorporate proven safety tools such as physical barriers, turn safety treatments, and other roadway safety features in areas where data shows it is necessary.  
• Identify and implement priority daylighting locations, continuing with the 2025 High Injury Network and other locations with vulnerable populations.
• Begin and maintain monthly High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) in priority locations, including High Injury Network (HIN) corridors. 

6-Month Actions:

• Develop a plan to promote and enforce safe e-device (electric scooters, bikes, etc.) operations and parking.  
• Draft a Street Safety Initiative Dashboard framework in collaboration with the Controller's office, outlining metrics, data sources, and reporting cadence.
• Define a process for evaluating safety infrastructure improvements when repaving or conducting other street-level work and implement as funding permits.  
• Publish the joint SFMTA and SFFD Street Design Review Manual clarifying traffic-calming tools and design parameters across street types along with project review standards.
• Develop a process and prototypes to allow residents or community groups to install protected murals or other infrastructure enhancements to reinforce established daylit zones.
• Continue to coordinate safe pedestrian and bicycle detours during construction.
• Develop and release a Traffic Enforcement Strategy Report identifying top crash-causing behaviors and corresponding enforcement focus.
• Work with the San Francisco City Administrator to ensure consistent vehicle driver training for city employees and the installation of telematics that further the goals of this Executive Directive. 

1-Year and Beyond Actions: 

• Release a 2025 High Injury Network draft plan to enhance safety with tools such as providing separation, signal timing optimization, physical barriers, and additional deployment of turn and traffic calming tools.
• Release an updated Residential Traffic Calming Program that is data driven and agreed to by SFMTA, Public Works, and Fire Department.
• Continue to collect, analyze, and publish data on crash fatalities and injuries.  
• Proactively address high-stress corridors and intersections with safety interventions, as identified by data, residents, and existing plans, such as the Biking and Rolling Plan.
• Amend the Better Streets plan and related code to standardize street improvements across street types, align safety standards between agencies, and streamline project review.  
• Update the annual traffic enforcement plan that includes data-driven warnings, and citations on the behaviors that are most likely to result in severe injury and death, including, but not limited to, speeding, recklessness, inattention, failure to yield, and intentional disregard of traffic control devices.
• Review and update Street Safety Initiative initiatives for the following 12+ months.