Ocean Avenue is set to receive a new Green Light Grant to create a safer and more pleasant environment in the Ingleside neighborhood and surrounding areas, being approved in mid- June for $2 million.
Beyond Ocean, Ingleside and surrounding neighborhoods are set to benefit from the grant, some going as far as to state it’s an outright necessity. This is a big concern for students and concerned parents alike as Ocean Avenue has become a big attraction for students.
Hazel Wang ’26 said, “The left turn on Ocean and Plymouth is an intersection that needs change.” She added that she hasn’t seen improvement in the neighborhood yet.
Viggen Rassam ’87, the Director of Safety, feels that the grant will affect the student body positively. He said, “It’s not the lack of light, it’s the lack of mature drivers.”
He also pointed out multiple traffic issues that have all been created in the name of safety and have worsened over the years.He used the four consecutive lights on Frida Kahlo Way as an example of how the lights are necessary in order to maintain the safety of pedestrians, at the expense of drastically slowing traffic.
Supervisor Myrna Melgar said, “This intersection is part of the City’s High Injury Corridor-meaning people have been injured and killed by cars. This intersection was designed during a time when we were prioritizing cars and not pedestrian safety, bicyclists, or public transit.”
She added, “Because we recognize that it is unsafe, and that so many people use it (City College, Riordan, Lick Wilmerding, and it is the entrance to the Ocean Avenue commercial corridor) many, many plans have been drawn up to make it safer but few have been implemented.
“Two years ago, we went through a year long process with the SF County Transportation Authority staff where my office gathered opinions from neighbors in Sunnyside, Ingleside, Westwood Park, Ingleside Terraces, and the schools and institutions and we prioritized which projects were most important to the community.”
The increase in traffic has constituted serious safety concerns in the area. Last semester, a Riordan student was hit by a car on Ocean Avenue and ended up needing surgery after being hospitalized.
Xochitl Churchill ’24 said, “It’s not necessarily dangerous for students though. If anything, the tendency of high school students to be walking in large groups makes it safer because a huge group of people crossing is much more apparent to drivers.”
Recently, a family of four was killed by a wrong way driver who slammed into a bus stop in West Portal. Melgar said she will be “introducing legislation that directs the SF Municipal Transportation Agency and the Department of Public Works to proactively install bollards and barriers at high risk street crossings and bus stops to protect people.”
She noted that March 26 was “the 10th anniversary of the Vision Zero legislation that former District 7 Supervisor Norman Yee introduced. That legislation identified 2024 as the year San Francisco would reduce pedestrian deaths to 0 and instead we have had 10 this year.”
While she acknowledged that some neighbors have voiced concerns about new street design proposals, “I think these are inconveniences to some, but that safety and the life and health of someone who may be injured is much more important.”
In addition to these changes, some controversial ideas have been proposed on West Portal in response to the accident that tragically killed a family of four. The SFMTA proposed that drivers be only allowed to turn right going east on Ulloa Street on West Portal Avenue. The intent of these changes were to prevent accidents. However, some pushed back, with local business owners leading the charge.
One of these local business owners disillusioned with these proposals is real estate agent Paul Barbagelata ’86.
“These proposals were rushed and not thought out properly with more input from the community and merchants,” he said.
He continued, “Changes can be made and changes will be made, but it takes a collaborative effort.”
The city is also moving to add bike lanes on Frida Kahlo Avenue.
