opposite that , we ought to ban right turn on red in san francisco and then mark those intersections where it's allowed. but and thinking about what you said, the problem isn't right turn on red, the problem is the expectation that you can make a right turn on red, which sort of rapidly becomes the feeling that you have the right-of-way to make that right turn on red and nothing should block you as if a pedestrian trying to cross, or a bicycle. and if it's a car, you wait, because you can't make a right turn on red, because you can't. but if a bicycle, you honk your

horn and the reason why those of us who advocated for no right turn on red, and then signs. i wouldn't matter signs at 80% of intersections, and that said right turn on red after a full stop for no one else is using the intersection. but the problem becomes that having made the law that right turn on red, people start thinking that they have the right to make that right turn on red. hold that thought, because i want to talk about one other thing, this last point about the expectation that if there are two teenagers standing on the corner, you ought to be slowing down or showing you are aware are them in some way. the highway department has the

signs that show the family running across the highway to alert drivers on interstate 5, that might be refugees dashing into the roadway to find freedom. and the notion presumably is when you drive on interstate 5, you don't expect to see a family run across the roadway. whereas when you drive in san francisco, you ought to expect to see teenagers stoned on testosterone and as a as -- seniors and when i give safety tests, they are all on drugs and they are legal drugs, but be aware that it throws your perceptions and timing off. and drivers need to know that kids and seniors and drunks are

all over the place in the city. and drive with that in mind. so the thing about changing the law on right turn on red or anything else, how do we change those expectations and how do we get drivers to expect that people will step out in front. and that's what driving in the city is like, and how do we expect them to not make a right turn on red. and that's why we might want to prohibit right turn on red or use other strategies but we need to think of those expectations. >> i endorse that and we can do all the engineering measures in the world, but they have to coupled with enforcement and

education in the form of how difficult it is to get a driver's license. i think that drivers are out of control. and i am not talking about san francisco, i am talking about all across the country. where has enforcement gone and real driver training, and they take it online, they could have their sister do it. i frustrated as an engineer, that we don't complete the triangle of enforcement and education. >> peter we have at least four people that want to make comments and i want to throw in a comment. and i have been here since pedestrian policy and one of things that i take away from today, and the sidewalk parking, i think that we need to obviously do a lot more in that area, and there are creative issues to pursue.

at minimum and internal task force and that we talk about these issues and have a program that you help people and put programs in your home and you don't have to deal with that parking and help you navigate to get balers in front of your home. and i think there is more to do, and more resources and any idea we have here today, we have to find funding for. and that's something that advocates can help us, and we have outside sources and that limits what we can accomplish. and sometimes there are huge needs and gaps in funding and no where to be found, and streetlights is an area, and we as a city don't do a great job and no outside funding. and we are hearing you about sidewalk parks and we can do

some things cheaply, like task force, and it would be great to have a control in off hours and to enforce that, and there are a lot of great ideas out of today. >> thanks bridget, we will wrap up at 3:30 and we will have time between that and 4 to enjoy refreshments. >> susan king, and two quick thoughts on sidewalk parking and with walk san francisco, we put fliers on cars and on sidewalks and says, sidewalks are for walking and this creates an awareness, and the people get really pissed off at you, but it's something and they feel entitled to park the sidewalk. and speeding, cars are driving

faster and fasters and there are should be no place in this city where the speed limit is more than 25 miles per hour. people expect to drive quickly and they cut through neighborhoods because the main arteries are too slow and they have the expectation that you can drive 35 miles in the city and you can't do that now. >> anyone want to address the next speaker?

>> -- corridors where people are not required to use an automobile. and yet the too biggest transportation corridors through the area, 16th street and partrero avenue and the requirements increased and housing lowers and it goes against all best practices, and i want to encourage you all, who are not so politically mostivated at supervisors and to do something and to do the urban planning and focus more around the transportation, than the political, i don't know what is behind it, that's causing us to do things wrong. >> megan, you had a question? >> i actually had a response to

a question, megan from the department of public health and whether safety is the goal, and yes it is the goal, and we shouldn't have to choose whether we are hit by a car and the physical activities and health benefits will improve and the air quality and the noise from traffic and greenhouse eshg missions. -- emissions and all of these benefits are due to decreases in traffic. and to decrease in driving is improving pedestrian safety in our city. >> we have one more question and then we are ought of time. >> i wanted to know if the city was considering banning cell phones and driving or talking

on a cell phone. it seems when i am nearly hit on my bike or walking, and the person is on the cell phone. and i know that's being talked about and could the city be a forerunner, and it's a problem and it's a safety issue. >> yes, that question came up earlier. and the state law as we understand will go into effect july 1, prohibiting talking on cell phones in the car. so if no other questions, any last words from the panel? >> michael. >> a couple of things and the right turn on red issue, and a couple points and i agree with jack on the issue from a safety perspective, right turns on green are worse. but the other hand, back to

peter's, the goal is more walking. and from a pedestrian friendly standpoint, and it urk's and no turn on red would flip that and one problem with banning turns on red and having signs when it's allowed and there are a lot of people that drive in out of town and from work. and there would be pretty good learning curve and you are not allowed to turn on red unless a sign. and i want to make a comment on enforcement, i listened to that session, and one point and it relates to comments and pedestrian's and bicycleists and motorists and

the concern of bicyclist danger to pedestrians and i see that as an issue and when it comes to enforcing laws to pedestrians and bicyclists, there are laws but the key is to focus on the enforcement that is an obvious safety issue. you can't just enforce the law every time they walk against the light and if there is a car, enforce that but not the illegal behaviors that seem safe. finally, the pedestrian courses and that's a course that i teach. i am not fort -- fortunate to teach the one in california, but it's a great course and if you want more about countermeasures or pedestrian safety, attend that course. >> thank you, as i wave the

microphone, no takers, and we could use another shot of coffee. and i want to thank you for being here today and i hope to see you in a year or so. and i want to thank the panelists for spending their time with us. [applause] >> thanks peter for leading us in the last two sessions and i want to echo peter's thank you. and i want to thank you everyone for attending today's pedestrian safety summit, and especially for those who have been here all day. and for those who made this successful and the speakers and partners for pedestrian safety, and please join us it's the back the room for the reception that's provided by the departme of health, thank you.

>> good evening. i am the secretary of the police commission. on behalf of the commission, i want to welcome everyone to the

san francisco 2010 medal of valor ceremony. please stand and join us for the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation under god indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. thank you. mayor newsom was unfortunately unable to attend this evening. he sent his congratulations to the medal of valor recipients. we are joined by commissioner president thomas does it go, dr. joe marshall, commissioner james slaughter, commissioner petra dejesus. we are also joined by chief of police george gascoign.

also with us are the it assistant chief. this isn't she said of the operation pirro. assistant chief denise schmitt. deputy chief john murphy, enforcement and security at the mta. commander sandra tong of the airport bureau. commander james dudley of the airport operations bureau. commander daniel mahoney, chief of the operations staff. commander daniel lazard, chief of investigations. this is a time when we stop and offer special members of the police department. these are members who have distinguished themselves through their bravery and dangerous situations. it is important to note one of the criteria for the medal of

honor this one failed to -- failure to take such action would lead to center. these are actions above and beyond call of duty. at this time, i would like to invite the chief of police, cheif gascon, to come up here and speak. >> thank you, everyone, for being here. this is a special moment in policing movie get to celebrate the incredible acts of bravery by the men and women in our department. before i say a few words about these incredible men and women sitting in the front, i want to thank their families. your support, day in and day out, or caring, companionship, your ability to talk to your loved ones as they are going through difficult times -- i was

going to say men and women, but today we have just men. able to get through the incredible things that they see day in and day out, the things that they have to do to accomplish these things well. it is very special for me to honor you. this is a very arduous process. there was a great deal of review looking at your actions. for those of you who earned a medal of valor, or acts of courage were clearly above and beyond what we would expect of someone. you're not only exemplified the best at the san francisco police department can offer, but you offer the best that our profession can offer. i cannot say enough good things about your actions. the rest of you, again, your dollar, courage, -- quite

frankly, the line between a gold medal of valor and a bronze one is a very thin line. all 11 of you that are here today took incredible steps in order to save lives, in order to protect our community under a difficult situation. i want to congratulate you. you are someone who makes us incredibly proud. will come to this ceremony today, to the families, congratulations. god bless. >> thank you, chief. next, i would like the president of the police commission, thomas mazucco, to say a few words. >> thank you. on behalf of the san francisco police commission, commissioners slaughter, de jesus, and others,

we want to let you know what an honor it is to stand before you for these awards. for the audience, the police commission, by way of the san francisco general orders, has the authority to audit and review each of the metals you are seeing presented tonight. it is an awesome responsibility but it is also an incredible experience when you sit here and listen to the heroism and valor of these officers, as you do tonight when their commanding officers present what they did. you will hear things about your loved ones and family members that you never left new before. as commission members, we sit there with a lot of pride and a lot. also, we come to the graduation of police academies. for those we come to congratulate, to the promotional

ceremonies. for the medal of valor, we come to honor. what is valor? you look at the definition. it means personal bravery, heroism, gallantry. that is what each and one of these officers has done, bravery, personal heroism. but before we talk about your dollar, i want to give our appreciation to the people that brought them there, from the academy staff, field training officers. those are the true professionals that prepared these officers for what they do out on the streets. talking to one of the officers receiving a medal tonight, i asked him, what were you thinking about when that went on? he said, i was not thinking, i was reacting to the training that i got in the academy. i would like to think the family members. as the chief said, the family

members are the ones supporting you, the one that see the good and dark days. they are the ones that will give you to who you are today. thank you to the family members for sharing these heroes with the police department. and to the officers, valor-- --t is that are characteristic to quantify, that brings you to do something that is above and beyond the call of duty, where you are willing to risk your life for the sake of others or for public service. it is an incredible gift. in talking to one of the officers receiving an award tonight, he told me about a suspect with a gun that just killed somebody and he held back from firing his weapon because it would have killed him. he did not want to strike

anybody nearby. it was a veteran officer who could never tired and gone home. that is belair. that is why we are proud to be at the commission tonight. you are truly san francisco's finest. thank you, on behalf of the commission. [applause] >> both the chief and commission president mention this long review process to become a medal of valor recipient. i want to give you a brief idea of how these acts were reviewed to get us here tonight. when an officer's actions are such that any supervisor take notice of any break, that supervisor officer prepares a report detailing the event. the commanding officer then conducts a personal investigation of the event, and if they approve the nomination,

it prepares the report to the chief of police. the chief than four or -- forwards these nominations to the office of the police commission. then those are sent off to a screening committee. if the awards screening committee approved the nomination, they send it back to the commission office so the awards committee secretary can set up a meeting. this is a meeting of all of the department's captains and command staff where the nominating commanding officer who presented the nomination, while the officer is sitting there, answering questions about what they were thinking, what they were doing. next, by secret ballot, the awards committee votes on whether to award and what grid of metal. finally, they presented to the police commission for final approval. you should be proud of your family members who are here.

this is something that every captain looked at before these awards were made. it is a tremendous statement about what these people did to be here tonight that stood up to that kind of betting. -- vetting. at this time, i want to call forward mr. lazard to read the spirits of officer suguitan. >> on saturday generate 23, 2010 at 1721 hours, ms. johnson phoned the police to report that her roommate, mr. smith, was

suffering from psychological problems, had been drinking, and was taking medication. in her request for the police, this johnson indicated mr. smith was not known to carry weapons and that she wanted vice from officers on how to deal with mr. smith. she needed assistance based on his behavior. officers brodericks suguitan and samuel fung arrived at the scene within four minutes. officer suguitan and fung were met by the woman outside of her porch. officer suguitan observed at the front door of the residence was open and stepped inside. officer suguitan noticed mr. smith and mr. rios, an additional roommate, were standing face to face having a conversation. both men were approximately 7 feet in front of officer suguitan.

officer suguitan looked at both men and stated, how are you doing, we are here to help. mr. smith and mr. rios both faced officer suguitan. immediately, officer suguitan realized mr. smith's and were behind his back and concealed from officer. officer suguitan directed mr. smith to "show me your hands." instantly, officer suguitan here's what he believes is an item quickly being taken out of a sheaf, and without notice, mr. smith raises a large machete above his head and in close proximity to officer suguitan. officer suguitan, fear for his life, draws his department farm, and that close proximity begins to rapidly backup. mr. smith begins to advance on officer suguitan. of a suguitan continues to back up, but begin to officer fong and mr. johnson in the doorway.

nor were they aware of it at this moment that their lives were in danger. officer suguitan, fearing for his life and that of his partner, and for ms. johnson, discharged at least two rounds of his firearms that mr. smith and his willful attempt to stop the threat posed by mr. smith. noticing that mr. smith was still advancing, officer suguitan discharged more rounds, mortally wounding him. mr. smith collapsed in the doorway of his residence. officer suguitan and his partner quickly responded to a residence in response to a citizen needing assistance in meeting with your roommate. officer suguitan was in the of the confronted with a life- threatening soup -- a circumstance and his attempt to offer the suspect assistance in dealing with his mental issues. with practically no time to react to the threat to his life, that does his partner, and a ze