Author: Rahman Law PC

Safe Routes to School on the Chopping Block!

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Last week Governor Brown released his budget for the 2013-2014 fiscal year and one of the programs getting cut is California’s Safe Routes to School.

A Little Background on ‘Safe Routes to School’:

California’ Safe Routes to School program began in 1999 and has since become a model for the Federal Prgram and for State-Wide initiatives across the country. The program targets the crosswalks, sidewalks and bike lanes in school zones. Its goal is to make these areas safer for the children who frequent them, to increase the number of children who bike and walk to school.  In its more than 10 years of implementation the program has proven to be a success. “During a time of rising childhood obesity nationwide, obesity rates have started to reverse in California, and children in California are walking at ten percent higher rates than they did in 2001. Safe Routes to School is helping kids across California stay safe and get healthy on their way to school.”

How YOU Can Help:

Cutting the program will stop the progress that has been made. Schools will not receive the funding they desperately need to make their streets safer and traffic safety education in these schools will also decrease substantially. Protecting our children as they travel to and from school is one of the most important initiatives the state can fund. Do not let it fall between the cracks now.

1) Call the Governor’s Office: (916) 445-2841

  • Ask to speak to a representative
  • When someone answers, state your name and the city or town where you live, then tell the Governor’s aide that you urge Governor Brown to support dedicated funding for Safe Routes to School to ensure that kids can get safely to school on foot or by bicycle.

2) Email the Governor’s Office: http://govnews.ca.gov/gov39mail/mail.php

  • State your name and the city or town where you live, then tell the Governor’s aide that you urge Governor Brown to support dedicated funding for Safe Routes to School to ensure that kids can get safely to school on foot or by bicycle.

3) Send a Letter in Support of AB 1194 (Ammiano): http://saferoutescalifornia.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/action-alert-two-letters-of-support-for-active-transportation-and-safe-routes-to-school-today/, which will ensure funding for the Safe Routes program.

If you ever need a pedestrian accident attorney in San Francisco, Paso Robles, or the surrounding Central California Coast area, contact us for a free consultation.

Source: Marin County Bicycle Coalition

Drivers Who Kill Pedestrians Rarely Face Consequences

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Accidents happen. It is an unfortunate truth. But accidents that happen as a result of a person carelessly wielding a dangerous weapon are punishable by law. People who are charged and convicted in accidental shooting deaths face severe consequences and often serve jail time. Yet, in the Bay Area, drivers who are charged in accidental pedestrian deaths often walk away without any consequences. Cars can be as dangerous as guns, oftentimes more so. 3,000 pounds of metal traveling 25-60 miles an hour is a undoubtedly deadly weapon. The broken bodies of the people struck by vehicles can attest to that. Unfortunately, the Bay Area has one of the highest pedestrian casualty rates in the entire nation. In the last 10 years pedestrians have accounted for more than 25% of the traffic-related fatalities in the Bay Area. Only the notorious New York and Los Angeles areas outpace us in pedestrian fatalities. Of these 434 pedestrian fatalities, 1/3 were in crosswalks when they were killed. That’s nearly 144 people killed while crossing in a safe zone, nearly three times the national average.

Adding insult to injury (or death), 60% of the 238 motorists found to be at fault or suspected of a crime in the death of a pedestrian faced no criminal charges. When drivers did face criminal charges, punishment was often light. Even more confounding, licenses were rarely suspended. Of those few people who were charged with a crime, less than 60% had their driving privileges suspended or revoked for even one day. 40% of those convicted faced no more than a day in jail. “If there isn’t a penalty, the message is that it’s all right to run people over and kill them,” said Elizabeth Stampe, executive director and the sole paid employee of nonprofit advocacy group Walk San Francisco on whose Board of Directors Shaana Rahman sits. “There’s a joke from New York that maybe isn’t very funny: If you want to kill someone and get away with it, use a car – and that’s true here as well.”

The disturbing truth of the matter is that by law each and every one of the 238 motorists found to be at fault are guilty. They have indeed committed a crime and should be prosecuted as such. However, D.A.s often refuse to bring charges because they feel that they could never get a jury to convict. As such, reckless drivers are rarely brought to justice and pedestrians continue to die in avoidable accidents at unbelievably high rates. To drive is to take the lives of others into your hands. The safety of the pedestrians around you becomes your responsibility. When that responsibility is blatantly ignored and someone is killed or seriously injured as a result, the law requires justice and action, not a blind-eye and shrug of regret as nothing is done and that family is left to grieve with neither.

If you ever need a pedestrian accident attorney in San Francisco, Paso Robles, or the surrounding Central California Coast area, contact us for a free consultation.

Source:

http://cironline.org/reports/bay-area-drivers-who-kill-pedestrians-rarely-face-punishment-analysis-finds-4420

More Taxis Added to SF’s Fleet, but Industry still Uncertain

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

 

The SFMTA has approved a plan to add 120 more taxi cabs to its fleet in 2013 and 200 more in 2014. The decision came in spite of protests from Taxi drivers and companies who argued that the addition of more taxi cabs should wait until the illegal ride-sharing company issue was settled. Ride-sharing companies started to appear in San Francisco in the last couple years to address the shortcomings of the taxi industry. The companies use smartphone apps to locate riders, build trust between drivers and passengers and even take payment. They are unlicensed and unregulated. The taxi companies, who are heavily regulated by the MTA, say that this competition is simply unfair. Drivers argue that they have been asking for technology and dispatch upgrades for years, but that the bureaucracy of the agency has held them back. They are worried that the influx of new cabs along with the continued increase in ride-sharing opportunities will only hurt their industry.

There is no doubt that the taxi industry in the city needs a boost. Whether from a better dispatching system (one that is integrated between companies perhaps) or better technological options (the ride-sharing companies have the right  idea with the smartphone apps), the industry must be able to compete. In addition, it should in some ways welcome the competition that the ride-sharing companies offer. San Franciscans and the many tourists and businesspeople who venture to the city on a short-term basis have very different transportation needs. A little diversity in public transportation in a city where few people drive can be an improvement.

In Chile, for example, there are four main types of transportation. Buses offer the most reliable transportation in between cities (much like BART or Trans-bay buses). Micros, mini-buses, offer transportation between set points in the city (much like Muni functions in the City). Taxis, offer the best service for groups of people (it is cheaper to share the fare), for trips to the outskirts of the city, for trips late at night or early in the morning, or when you are in a rush. Taxis can be flagged down on the street, but the best way is to call 10-15 minutes ahead of time and have them come pick you up. There is however, a fourth option, called a collectivo. Collectivos are a combination of taxi services and ride-sharing companies. They are extremely common (there are more collectivos on the streets then any other vehicle) and they are extremely cheap (Collectivos cost $1-2 per trip). They act like a taxi. Flag down a collectivo with 1, 2 or 3 people already inside and tell the driver where you are headed. If he is headed in that direction you can jump in, if not flag down the next one. It may take 10 minutes longer since the driver has to drop off the other passengers as well, but since you are all headed in the same direction the delay is not significant. The collectivos fill a gap left by the taxis. They are a way for commuters to get to work without worrying about bus schedules or having to walk blocks from the bus terminal. Instead of driving to the store for a gallon of milk and some bread, hop in a collectivo.

Obviously, Chile is not San Francisco, but they have a functioning multi-faceted transportation system that caters to the needs of its citizens and tourists by offering competition and diversity. There is no question that San Francisco’s cab fleet is extremely important to the city. However, it may not be the only solution to the city’s transportation woes.

Source:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/04/more-taxicabs-approved-san-francisco

http://www.kqed.org/news/story/2012/11/08/110777/

Photo Source:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/files/blog_images/TAXI2.1020.jpg

Settlement in High-Speed Rail Case

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Although the pending high-speed rail project connecting Sacramento and San Diego doesn’t necessarily have a large affect on San Francisco’s internal transportation affairs, it is an interesting project that will affect most Californians in one way or another. Last Thursday, April 18, a Sacramento Judge approved a settlement between a coalition of Central Valley Farmers and the agency overseeing the construction of the high-speed rail. The settlement, which dictated that the agency set aside $5 million to preserve farmland in the Central Valley and that it pay $1 million in legal fees, puts the high-speed rail construction on track to begin this summer. The first section to be built will be a 30 mile section between Fresno and Madera right in the middle of the state.

This $68 billion project originally had quite a bit of voter approval and support at its outset, but the many legal delays (such as this most recent settlement) and rising estimated costs, have left many Californians disillusioned with the project which promises to connect most of California’s major cities and to provide public transportation in a state whose highways are legendary.

Despite the many setbacks, the Transportation Authority can breathe a sigh of relief and celebrate Thursday’s settlement. The settlemetn is esepcially timely given that the Authority is up against an impending deadline that will make or break the project. The first phase of the project- a 130-mile segment from Fresno to Bakersfield- has been approved and funded ($2.6 billion in bonds for construction and  $3.2 billion from the federal government) all based on completion by 2017.

Source:
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/04/settlement-reached-high-speed-rail-lawsuit#ixzz2R7ZLbXvt

New Pedestrian Safety Plan Outlined on Walk to Work Day

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

The new Pedestrian Safety Plan cannot be implemented soon enough. Since the last post was published on this blog another pedestrian has been killed on San Francisco’s city streets.

The proposed strategy tackles pedestrian safety as an interdepartmental task, pooling resources and expertise to bring about the most substantial improvement. Instead of picking one safety improvement and implementing it throughout the city, the plan picks streets and corridors that have proven to be especially dangerous for pedestrians and makes multiple improvements in those targeted areas, creating an overall safer walking environment.

The long term goals of the initiative are to reduce serious and fatal pedestrian injuries by 25% by 2016 and 50% by 2021 especially in those areas where pedestrian fatalities are unacceptably high. The program also aims to make San Francisco a more walkable city in general, increasing the number of walking trips by 25% by 2021.

According to the SF Examiner, “the strategy calls for such initiatives as adding crossing time for pedestrians at intersections, reopening crosswalks, upgrading curb ramps and adding countdown timers at hundreds of intersections. The strategy also includes targeting speeders and red-light runners, along with those who fail to yield to pedestrians.”

If you ever need a pedestrian accident attorney in San Francisco, Paso Robles, or the surrounding Central California Coast area, contact us for a free consultation.

Source:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/04/san-francisco-rolling-out-plan-improve-pedestrian-safety

http://sf.streetsblog.org/2013/04/02/after-6-ped-deaths-in-3-months-sf-needs-city-hall-action-on-street-safety/

Fatalities in San Francisco bring Pedestrian Safety Back into Spotlight

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Less than 5 months into 2013 and already 5 pedestrians have been killed by motorists on San Francisco’s city streets. If this tragic trend continues at this rate through the end of the year, than more people will be killed this year than last year. This is a frustrating statistic for many pedestrian advocates who have been waiting for the comprehensive pedestrian reform Mayor Gavin Newsom called for in 2010. The proposed reform would reduce pedestrian injuries and fatalities by 25 percent by 2016 and 50 percent by 2021.

Many people, including Elizabeth Stampe of Walk SF, blame the Mayor’s Office for its lack of leadership on the issue. However, Jason Henderson, an urban planning professor at San Francisco State University, says that the Board of Supervisors also shares in the blame. In general, the stifling bureaucracy at City Hall stalls any actual safety improvements.

The tragic deaths over the last four months may be the catalyst for actual change. Or they could become just another yearly statistic, a tragic commentary on the lack of progress in pedestrian safety in the City.

If you ever need a pedestrian accident attorney in San Francisco, Paso Robles, or the surrounding Central California Coast area, contact us for a free consultation.

Source:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2013/03/spate-fatalities-again-raises-concerns-about-pedestrian-safety-san-francisco#ixzz2Q0O6Ftqn

Delays Threaten the Oak and Fell Street Projects

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Many of the safety upgrades that were supposed to have been made to Oak and Fell streets by the end of last year have yet to materialize and the cycling supporters who fought so hard for the projects to be approved are calling the delays unacceptable.

To the residents who rely on the streets everyday, it seems that SFMTA has put the improvements, the most crucial being the installation of bike lanes that are separated from street traffic by physical barriers, on a back-burner. The bike lane on Oak Street is nonexistent and Fell Street’s bike lane has no barrier between it and the fast-moving street traffic, making it a dangerous thoroughfare for cyclists.

Ed Reiskin, Transportation Director for SFMTA, said that the labor-intensiveness of the projects along with some unforseen circumstances, like private construction along Oak Street, have caused the delays, not the agency’s lack of initiative in pursuing the projects.

In spite of these reassurances, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is requesting that both projects be completed by Bike to Work Day on May 9. And the SF Bike Coalition is not the only group frustrated by the delays and speaking out about it. In addition, to protests by individuals at the SFMTA Board of Directors meeting Tuesday, April 2, the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association sent a letter to the transit agency asking for the projects to be completed, saying that without the completed bike lanes, the streets are unacceptably dangerous for cyclists.

Source:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/04/frustrations-mount-delays-fell-and-oak-bike-projects-push-back-completi#ixzz2Q0Ny4nML

San Francisco to Better Enforce Commuter Benefits Law

Posted on by Rahman Law PC
Commuters in the Bay Area are already having a (slightly) better year. On January 1st, Congress increased the pretax commuter benefit to $245 as part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act. Now,  it looks like the City will be strengthening the enforcement mechanism of a four-year old law that requires larger businesses to offer their employees commuter benefits.
“Under San Francisco’s Commuter Benefits Ordinance, all businesses with 20 or more workers nationwide must offer one of three transit benefits: The pretax deduction, up to $245 per month, for transit or van pool expenses; transit subsidies valued at $74, the cost of a monthly Muni pass; or a van pool from a worker’s home to place of business.”

The goal of the renewed focus on the law is two-fold. First, the city wants to make sure that employees are aware of the law and how to best take advantage of it.  Second, the city wants to strengthen the enforcement mechanisms of the law.

Under the proposed changes to the law, a complaint would lead to an investigation, and if the investigation determined that the business was indeed in violation of the law, then it would be issued a warning. If the business did not comply with the warning within 90 days then it could be fined $500.

The commuter benefits aren’t just small change either. It is estimated that employees taking advantage of the law save between between $200 and $1,000 annually.

Source:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/03/san-francisco-set-push-transit-benefits-commuters#ixzz2OHxVIAPf

Bike-Sharing Coming to the Bay Area in August

Posted on by Rahman Law PC
After more than a year of delay, San Francisco is set to get its first bike-sharing program. The program, a $7 million collaboration between local transit agencies, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, will have 700 bikes at 70 different locations in San Francisco and the Peninsula from which commuters and tourists alike can pick up bikes. The bikes can then be returned to any of the stations.

Photo Source:

http://www.c4cycling.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/bike-sharing.jpg

Source:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/03/deal-reached-bike-sharing-network-be-place-august#ixzz2OHsMPdpF

Widow Expected to Receive $900,000 in Muni Wrongful Death Suit

Posted on by Rahman Law PC
In 2009, a N-Judah operator failed to stop for journalist Bill Brand as he walked in a crosswalk. Now, Mr. Brand’s widow is “poised to receive one of the largest settlements Muni has issued in the past two years.”Along with operator error, the operator believed that Mr. Brand was going to yield to an oncoming car so he continued into the crosswalk colliding with Mr. Brand, the lawsuit stated that the company created dangerous conditions when it did not properly maintain the tracks, signals and signage near that intersection.

If the $900,000 settlement is approved, then “the amount the agency has paid out in accident-related incidents in the past two years would rise to $17 million.”

Source:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/03/widow-popular-bay-area-reporter-poised-receive-900000-2009-fatal-muni-a#ixzz2OHvN9gVW