Transportation Planners Consider Program To Keep Cars From Blocking San Francisco Intersections

By Jeffrey Schaub : cbslocal – excerpt

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — The City of San Francisco is considering initiating a program called “Don’t Block the Box’” to get drivers to stop clogging up intersections as they leave during the afternoon commute or head to a Giants’ games.

It’s become epidemic on the city’s streets: Frustrated motorists sitting in the middle of an intersection blocking pedestrian crossings and stopping cross traffic.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency recently completed a six-day increased enforcement period, including tests on two South Of Market intersections. Between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., 1,100 vehicles blocked the crosswalks and few nights later, parking control officers wrote up $100 tickets. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the number of cars sitting in the intersection dropped significantly… (more)

If SFMTA really cared about clearing intersections they would do a better job of timing traffic signals.