to, with not only stops, not only enforcement and ticketing, but a serious effort to remind people that these are going to be spots where we are going to pay a lot more attention. we have the mta, with ed's leadership and his staff, parking and traffic and others, working to do some of the physical improvements that remind everybody that we emphasize pedestrian use, more walking in the city, but also the safetiness of it by safety areas. with our school districts, obviously working with walk sf and the wonderful leadership in our schools and in our communities, educating everybody and helping us create the very good marketing education campaign that we need to remind everybody to do so. and then our health department, of course. they carry the very serious burden of giving us statistics,

of what it is on the collision as well as injury rates and reminding us that a healthier city could be one that we reduce the fatalities that happen with pedestrians. so, this is part of that whole strategy. we will consider areas of the city that we will have to lower the speed limit and enforce it and educate people around it, as well as more serious and higher and deeper ways of educating the public and the drivers as well as pedestrians themselves. this is all part of i think a good strategy, one that i'm very willing to lead and make sure every department and all of the store fronts along here, as well as people who drive cars in and out of the city, understand we're going to focus on all the hot spots and really lessen that inequality we know today, neighborhoods, people literally fear walking on our streets because there is not a presence that we've had,

similar to what we've had downtown. we've had a great presence with all the collaboration going on. we really mean to lessen that disparity, that inequality that happens, and make sure everybody neighborhood is safe. that will lead to more fun, more shopping, and more paying attention to all of our commercial neighborhoods across the city. thank you. >> thank you, mr. mayor. it really is the leadership that mayor lee is bringing to this. it's been a hallmark of his administration to bring the city family together to work with the advocates in the community to get things done. i think this pedestrian strategy is a manifestation that epitomizes what the mayor is doing to bring folks together to make san francisco a better place. i want to thank him for his leadership. the leadership on the ground, i think a lot of it is coming from the mta board.

but the ground that i'm literally standing on here is ground that used to be here for vehicles, and now it's here for people, for people to walk, to sit, to enjoy. making those decisions are sometimes difficult. they're sometimes controversial. there are trade-offs involved. but we have a very strong board of directors at the mta that has been making these decisions to repurpose, to rethink our rights-of-way, to reorient them back towards pedestrians, to make it safer for pedestrians, to narrow streets so that the crossing distances are shorter, and to really focus on the safety aspects of improving our public rights-of-way. so, i'm happy to have one of my boss as a member of the mta board of directors, jerry lee. >> thank you, thank you. i know that when i speak on behalf of the board of directors, we're really encouraged of the efforts that we're involved with in terms of

being at the starting point of square one. this is a critical moment for our city in terms of the efforts of making the streets more attractive and safer for pedestrians. i also want to acknowledge the work of the sustainable street division who has helped in getting these speeds at the schools reduced. this strategy will help bolster their efforts in making the city streets a lot safer for pedestrians to walk in. thank you very much. >> thank you, director lee. one of our, one of our strong partnerships is with the police department. we kind of share responsibility for managing the public right-of-way and enforcement as you heard from mayor is absolutely a part of the strategy. so, it's a very important partnership for us and very glad to have the police department so ably represented

here, but more importantly, on the task force and working with us every day. so, very happy to have one of the great leaders of the police department, deputy chief denise chef. >> it's a very tall man. good morning, i'm denise smith and i don't know how to work microphones. thank you. the men and women of san francisco police department are absolutely commit today working with our partners to make the walking, cycling and motoring public safer in our city. we commit to it every day, and based on information that mta has provide and had that we have from our collision data, we've launched a program called focus on the five. and for each of district stations we've provided them their five intersections or areas where they have the highest incidents for pedestrians and motorists come in contact. and we are committed to reducing those numbers. * we've got to bring these incidents down. we want the public to be able to enjoy this beautiful city. and, so, what each of the

district station captains have been tasked with is developing targeted enforcement and education for their five areas of highest incidents. this means enforcing what we see as the five highest primary collision factors. red light violations, stop sign violations, pedestrian right-of-way violations, turning violations, and basic speed. we're asking the general public as we move -- as the captains move out with their education program, slow down, pay attention, and obey the rules of the road. those three things will save lives. and that's really what this is all about, is saving lives. and letting people enjoy the city. so, part of the job of the captains is develop enforcement plans. we're also looking at the major corridors throughout the city. market street corridor which has some of the highest intersection incidents, the van ness avenue corridor, 19th

avenue corridor, we've worked to identify what these hot spots are and put the officers in those spots to do enforcement. then we work in the schools and through the community groups and through the captains newsletters to talk to people about sensible driving and about paying attention as they're walking and moving through the city. if we could ask anything of the walking public, we're all in love with our little devices now. i'm addicted to mine. but as we walk, we need to be mindful of where we're walking and we need to be looking up and paying attention. our most -- we're most vulnerable when we are walking and we're not looking. so, please, i know it's a busy time of year. it's the holidays. we all have a lot of things on our minds and we're trying to keep ourselves on schedule. but look up and look around before you step off. take that extra minute. we ask the same thing of the driving public which is why we're out there making traffic stops every day, enforcing the texting driving laws, educating or citing as it seems fit. all of our activities are aimed

at bringing those numbers down and making this a safe holiday season and a safe city as we go forward. so, thank you very much. have a good day. (applause) >> thank you, chief. thank you, commander lee, for bringing the expertise and the resources we need to make the city safe. i also want to acknowledge lee melatilo our primary liaison with the police department, formerly from the police department, she also oversees sfmta enforcement, the parking and traffic control officers who are sometimes out there at the busiest intersections making sure people can get across safely. and i do want to reemphasize the point, reading that text message is not more important than your getting across the street safely. so, if there's one take away here, it's please, everybody needs to be alert of their surroundings. if you have a lot of different modes of transportation that come together in our dense little city, we need people to be alert and to pay attention.

the chief mentioned some of the data that's guiding the work of the police department. our city traffic engineer ricardo laya has developed some data that will help us target the resources where they can be most effective. but a great partner that's really brought a kind of higher level of data analysis into the picture is the mta's co-lead of the mayor's pedestrian safety task force, and that's the department of public health. so, we're happy to have thomas aragon here from dph. (applause) >> good morning. thank you for being here. one of the ways that i think about this is that pedestrian safety is an important public health issue. and the way i think about it is that i'm raising three children here in the city. i have a 16-year-old, a 15 year old, and a 12-year-old. and what we want -- we want the city to be safer than whether

they're biking, walking, going to school. and so that when we invest in pedestrian safety, we're really investing in the future of our city in our children. and, so, from our perspective, pedestrian safety is a public health issue and it's really important for us to invest in making sure that it's safe. the other thing to think about when we think about pedestrian safety is that there's really a multiplier effect. when we have walkable communities, when people are able to walk, not only is it healthy for them -- not only is it healthy for them, but we also have less people that are driving. it helps to protect the environment. so, it really helps to protect everybody. and that's really very important for us. one of the major roles the health department is having is analyzing the data. for example, we now have a geo database that's bringing in

data from demographics, the way people drive, the density of people that are walking through different corridors of the city, and we're able to see by looking at that type of data that more than 50% of the fatal and severe injuries, pedestrian injuries occur in about 5% of the streets in san francisco. and you'll be hearing more about -- those will be the areas that will be more focused. , and so, i want to just thank you for your time. (applause) >> thanks, tomas. the public health lands that dph has brought to roadway safety has really, i think, made us all much better and it's going to make our programs a lot more effective. * lenz it's we're in the final stage of development. we're grateful to have them on board. having a strategy is good, but it's only good if we actually

execute on it. and the people of san francisco are lucky to have a very strong and tenacious voice to not only help us develop the strategy, but then to make sure we're doing what we need to be doing. walk sf has been a very constructive, but very strong arc advocate for making walking in san francisco not just more enjoyable, but safer. * so, we're very pleased to have with us executive director of walk sf, elizabeth smith. (applause) >> thank you, ed. walk san francisco and its members look forward to a strong and effective pedestrian strategy to fix what director aragon mentioned are the 50 miles that have been identified as san francisco's most dangerous streets. the city will actually need to fix five miles a year to meet

the mayor's impressive goal of reducing injury and reducing death which in four years and ultimately within a decade significantly. and that's going to prevent hundreds of injuries and deaths from happening. it's really important, and these are all crashes that can be prevented. this will mean calming traffic on wide fast arterials like geary, and it it will also mean widening sidewalks and adding greening with innovative projects like the powell promenade. strategic police enforcement, as we heard, is also critical, using data to prevent traffic crimes just as we use data to prevent other crimes. and targeting the most dangerous behaviors in the most dangerous locations. last year almost 900 people were hit by cars in san francisco, and this year hundreds more people have been

hit and 18 people have been killed. the need for action is clear. new york and chicago have both released pedestrian action plans. san francisco has led the state with creating new 15 mile an hour speed zones around all 181 schools city-wide, which is really exciting. it's a really important first step. and now san francisco can lead the way with a strong and effective pedestrian strategy. to make the most sustainable form of transportation, walking, also the most safe and comfortable for everyone. thank you. (applause) >> thank you, elizabeth. there's a lot of different city staff and other members of the city family that work every day to try to make san francisco safer. you've heard some of it, the 15 mile an hour zones. we're enhancing crosswalks around the city.

we're bolding out sidewalks to make crossing distances smaller. we're using automated -- we're using red lighten forcement, photo red lighten forcement. a lot of things that many of the planners and engineers at the mta are doing to try to make the city safer, and will be the ones in whose hands a lot of the execution of the pedestrian strategy lies. so, i do want to acknowledge tim popandreo who leads our long range planning who is leading the development of the strategy. bridget smith who leads our -- a group we call livable streets. and these are the planners and the engineers that actually do the planning and design work to put this stuff in the ground. and they operate under the leadership of vaughan yee, a legend in the public rights-of-way in san francisco who leads our sustainable streets division. i want to acknowledge all of their great work. i want to thank all of our partners from the mayor to the city family to the advocacy

community. if we're all working together, we can absolutely achieve the ambitious goals that the mayor has set for us that everybody can enjoy this great city the way we want to. so, thank you all for coming. please be safe. happy holidays. (applause) (applause) ... so are you going out tonight? i can't. my parents say i have to be home right after work. ugh. that's so gay. totally gay. ugh. that is so emma and julia. why are you saying, "that's so emma and julia"? well, you know, when something is dumb or stupid, you say, "that's so emma and julia." who says that? everyone. announcer: imagine if who you are were used as an insult.

>> this is smack in the middle of the tenderloin neighborhood where there are 50,000 people within walking distance. you see the kids that are using what's provided, but there is so much opportunity for this to be a stronger, more welcoming, healthier, cleaner, safer place for the people in this community to play. there are going to be new green areas, a full-size basketball court, outdoor fitness equipment, community gardens, a brand-new clubhouse. it's going to be a much more welcoming spot for a neighborhood that really needs it. ♪

♪ >> all right, good evening, everybody, who wants to see a tree lit? >> happy holidays, welcome to fabulous mcclarin lodge here in golden gate park. my name is phil ginsberg and i am the general manager of your san francisco recreation and park department and i want to welcome you all to the 83rd annual tree lighting. happy holidays for you all. the trust for public land as mr. mayor knows recently named your park the number one park system in the entire united states of america. [ applause ] >> we were also just named as a finalist to host this cool

international parks conference in 2015 in which we are going to be welcoming cities from all over the country to learn how we do it here in san francisco. and then, just last month, and a big thank you to all of you, san francisco voters approved proposition b. the cleanest safe neighborhood parks fund which allows us to renovate and juvinate your parks. 83 years ago, uncle john mcclarin and if you go in the gm office you can see a picture of him. started the tradition of lighting this mile-long stretch of trees started and ending here in front of the lodge where he lived for a number of years. so this, this is san francisco official holiday tree right

behind us, uncle john's tree. it is a cyrus that is more than 100 years old closer to 130 years old and tonight it sports over 550 christmas holiday lights. >> so i really want to give a big shout out to the rec and parks staff that has continued the tradition and i want to thank all of them and single out a few, bob pelosio who organized tonight's event. and i also want to single out loranie bamford whose team put this on and our entire recreation staff. and i want to thank our tree topers who get all the way to the top of this big tree to hang all of its lights.

i want to thank our electricians who make sure that the lights go on and i want to thank all of the crews and there are so many people that have a hand in planning the for tonight and give a big shout out for the hardest working team your rec and parks department staff. [ applause ] >> so we got a lot of special people here tonight, and i really want to single out a few who may or may not be here, i want to thank the rec and park commission, commission vice president tom harrison is here. [ applause ] commissioner page erata is here, glora buna is here and commissioner levatin is here and commissioner allan lowe is here and martin is here and give a shout out to mark who could not be here.

and i saw supervisor mark ferrell and his entire family in the house and give him a shout out for him. i want to give... let's give a big special thanks to scott weiner for all. he was out campaigning for the bond every night. thank you scott. [ applause ] >> i saw tom ewy the director of the department of building inspection who is here and i want to thank him and i want to thank the san francisco parks alliance who is here and the trust for public lands and most of all, i want to thank all of you, all of you for helping make this happen. [ applause ] >> oh, yeah. it is his last official tree lighting as a supervisor. where is he? come on up. yeah, we have already forgotten up here, you have got to come up. a big... our loudest, loudest round of applause for

supervisor sean elsbern and his son michael who is here. look at this guy who just showed up in the left-hand part of the stage, our former mayor willie brown who is here. [ applause ] all right. now, would you... thank you. so now, i want to introduce the city's park champion and chief and of course he shares our vision for making our parks, better cleaner, safer and more fun. he also loves to be in our parks and loves sports and he loves to play and pretty darn good at a game of ping-pong among other activities let's give a big san francisco welcome to our mayor, mayor ed lee.

>> thank you, phil. how about another round of applause for phil. >> i am so happy to join you with the supervisors and sean thank you again for all of those wonderful years that you have served the city thank you very much for being here. to all of the other supervisors, scott weiner and mark ferrel, thank you for your leadership on infrastructure and open space and parks and on supporting families in this city and to the hardest, most effective commission rec and park commission, thank you very much. all of your leadership there. but there is many other people to thank, we have got a lot of things to be thankful for this year. i mean it is not just prop b, we have so many other things that compliment proposition b and our open space, we have a renewed commitment to build infrastructure and see that supports a lot more things because the most thankful

things that we have, i think, are the very people that are standing to my sides and in front of me. these are the folks that we are most thankful for because they give us purpose, and focus for this city and where we need to take it. that is why we build more parks and we invest in our open space. it is for all of these children and the families. i also want to thank all of the sponsors i know three of them are big sports sponsors in the city. and the reflected by the toy train that you see on the side. you will see the caboose, led by golden state warriors. followed by the 49ers. [ applause ] and then two-time world series champions, san francisco giants. [ applause ] >> they give us all of this inspiration and i know that we

are looking at some of future players on these teams right here in front of us. so thank you everybody. if i may, during these happy times, when we are thankful for the things that we have and giving thanks for it, please remember the victims that continue to suffer on the east coast. and they are having a hard time it is very cold over there do anything that you can to help them. there are fellow citizens, they all wish that they could be here tonight. i am absolutely sure of that because everything is working pretty well in san francisco thanks to people like phil and all of the people that work hard especially the parents and the parks alliance and all of you neighbors out here, you help us make the city run really well. so i am thankful for all of you and all of the people that think together for the benefit of the city, so congratulations and have a wonderful holiday. and thank you mayor brown for being here tonight and to join all of us.

kids, happy holidays. all right. >> thank you, mr. mayor. so, a couple of other shout outs, our music concourse commissioner is here. [ applause ] and katie from the arts commission here and supervisor cohen just showed up in santa's sleigh and so speaking of there is a read jeep cherokee on conservatory drive, so if you have a red jeep cherokee you want to move your car. >> also want to thank whole foods for sponsoring tonight's event and so now mr. mayor and i am going to welcome you your predecessor mayor brown and i would like you both to lead us

in the count down, are are we ready to turn the lights on? >> the lights only are electricians are literally at the north pole and they can't flip the switch unless there was a joke about the candle stick. they can only flip the switch from the north pole as we really, really hear them. so before i turn it over to mayor lee and mayor brown to do the count down, i need to hear as loud as you could possibly scream, are you ready to turn the lights on? they said that they heard a dull roar but they could not hear it up at the north pole. one more time. are you ready to turn the lights on? [ cheers ] >> they heard that.

all right, mr. mayors all you. >> okay. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. [ cheers ] >> it worked.