SF residents install lane barrier without city approval 2 years after teacher killed

ByRyan Curry KGO logo

Thursday, March 14, 2024

SF residents install lane barrier without approval after traffic death

San Francisco residents installed their own traffic markers on Franklin Street near Sherman Elementary, two years after a teacher was killed.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A group of San Francisco residents installed their own lane barrier Thursday on Franklin street near Sherman Elementary. They put up several cones that are bolted to the pavement and painted white lane markers closing it off.

"This street as you can see has so many cars," said Lian Chang, one of the residents who was protesting near the closure. "Drivers go really fast and it gets really dangerous."

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This was done in response to a traffic death in 2021. Andrew Zieman was killed while on the sidewalk going to teach at the school. Authorities pronounced him dead at the scene. Following his death, SFMTA and city leaders promised to makes changes to Franklin Street to make it safer. Two years have gone by, and the city hasn't done anything yet. There are plans to fix the road, but the residents on Thursday were tired of waiting.

"They had the design already," Chang said. "It's still ready and they have backed off from installing it. Probably for political reasons. And a bunch of community said no we want to see this happen. We want to see the street get safer."

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ABC7 News reached out to SFMTA and are waiting to hear back. According to SFPD on scene, Public Works has to come out and undo all the barriers and remove the paint. They say it could take hours or days to fix. ABC7 News also reached out to SFPD media relations to see if anyone had been arrested for this and are also waiting for a response.

The residents understand their might be repercussions, but they said they are prepared for that. Their goal was to send a message.

"Sometimes you have to have really tough conversations with yourself and with others in your community about what is right," Chang said. "How do we step up for what is right and how do we balance what the laws are and sometimes what is right is not always legal."