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Residents press commission on pedestrian safety, homelessness and party buses
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Summary
Community members and supervisors at the Police Commission meeting urged stepped‑up pedestrian safety measures after a recent fatality, more shelter beds and regulation of party buses that residents say bring intoxicated crowds into entertainment districts.
Residents, business leaders and supervisors used public comment during the Sept. 24 Police Commission meeting to raise three recurring neighborhood concerns: pedestrian safety at key intersections, homelessness and party buses.
Rita Lark, a North Beach Place resident, described repeated trespass and theft problems at nearby addresses and asked the department to follow up. Several speakers focused on pedestrian safety after two collisions at Stockton and Sacramento. "We need to really emphasize the importance of all of our neighborhood residents being partners with our police department," Supervisor David Chu said, calling for improved bilingual response at crash scenes to secure witness statements.
Supervisor Jane Kim told the commission her district has the highest rate of pedestrian‑vehicle collisions in the city and urged MTA to consider safety changes at Stockton and Sacramento; she said recent fatalities are preventable and emphasized cross‑agency work on left‑turn treatments.
Speakers from neighborhood business and advisory groups also urged action on party buses, a recurring issue for nightlife districts. Robert Garcia, president of Save Our Streets, Tenants and Merchants Association, said the vehicles often operate under limousine permits that allow drinking and described buses that arrive with alcohol and sinks "with ice" on board, bringing intoxicated young people into neighborhoods and creating quality‑of‑life problems.
Multiple community members and advisory boards called for improvement of the police non‑emergency phone line (553‑0123), describing long recorded loops, language limitations and multi‑minute hold times that discourage reporting. "It's very frustrating... sometimes it's 2 minutes, sometimes it's 5, sometimes it's 10, but I've waited as long as 18 minutes," said Stephanie Greenberg of the Community Benefit District, urging the commission to help reduce wait times.
Speakers also urged more shelter beds and coordinated services for people living on the street. Jane Kim said the city has about 1,600 shelter beds for an estimated 6,000 people counted in the homeless survey and pressed for more integrated outreach and staffed shelters.
Commissioners acknowledged the concerns and asked the department to continue enforcement, outreach and cross‑agency coordination; several community leaders praised Captain Lazar for increased accessibility and responsiveness in the Central District.
