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Scooter Rider Killed on Market Street Prompts Calls to Restore Car-Free Design

Design flaws, weak enforcement, a scaled-back Better Market Street plan have left riders exposed to deadly collisions.

Overview

  • A 32-year-old scooter rider was killed after her wheel reportedly caught in in-ground Muni rail tracks and she was struck by a commercial vehicle on Market Street, and police later located the driver a few blocks away.
  • Witnesses and emergency responders say the rider fell when a narrow tire became trapped in the rail groove, a recurring hazard for bikes and standup e-scooters on Market Street.
  • Advocates and SFBike are demanding near-term fixes such as dedicated protected lanes for bikes and scooters, compressible flange fillers for tracks, and a return to car-free operations on Market Street.
  • SFBike said the death is one of a rising number of traffic fatalities this year and that the scaled-back Better Market Street plan left out street-level separated bike lanes that could have reduced risk.
  • The incident is under active SFPD investigation, and advocates plan a vigil and continued pressure on the SFMTA and city leaders to implement both immediate technical changes and broader street redesigns.