San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency workers install a 20 mph speed limit sign at the intersection of Ocean and Faxon avenues. Alex Mullaney/Ingleside Light
City officials and traffic safety advocates gathered at the intersection of Ocean and Faxon avenues Thursday morning for the installation of the first 20-mph speed limit sign in the neighborhood.
Ingleside’s stretch of Ocean Avenue from Geneva Avenue to Victoria Street along with Lakeside Village’s stretch from Junipero Serra Boulevard to 19th Avenue were designated new 20-mph zones in January.
“It's a very small down payment on safety,” District Seven Supervisor Myrna Melgar said. “For us in this neighborhood, it's transformational, because we really need to make the corridor safer.”
City officials gathered for the installation of the first 20-mph speed limit sign for Ocean Avenue. Alex Mullaney/Ingleside Light
Jeff Taliaferro, owner of Ocean Cyclery and traffic safety advocate, said he regularly sees motorists drive along Ocean Avenue at speeds exceeding 45 mph.
“I know there’s going to be some hurdles because 25 miles, honestly, is not very fast and we cannot enforce that,” Taliaferro said. “I don't know how we're going to enforce the 20-mile an hour zone. But it is a step in the right direction.”
Former District Seven Supervisor Norman Yee, who directed funds toward traffic safety projects and commissioned a report on traffic safety for the district, thanked the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency for pushing for the lowered speed limit on Ocean Avenue and elsewhere across the city.
Yee calculated that the new speed limit on Ocean Avenue will add 20 seconds to the time motorists spend driving along the roadway.
“I think that's worth saving a life,” Yee said.
He added that he would like to reduce the speed limit along the length of Ocean Avenue.
Tom Maguire, director of the SFMTA Streets Division, said by next year 35 retail streets in San Francisco neighborhood retail corridors will have 20-mph zones.
Pierre Smit, executive director of the Ocean Avenue Association, said safety was critical for the growing commercial corridor.
Maguire told The Ingleside Light that the 16 new signs will be installed on the avenue over the next two weeks. Motorists who drive over 20 mph will have a 30-day grace period before they can be fined for speeding by law enforcement.
New state legislation that went into effect in January 2022, grants California cities the authority to lower speeds by 5 mph in business districts. Ocean Avenue is the seventh corridor implemented so far this year.
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