Streetcar Stop Safety Device Damaged, Repairs On The Way

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will make repairs after being alerted by The Ingleside Light.

Alex Mullaney May 19, 2022

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The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will repair the safety device affixed to a K Ingleside streetcar platform on Ocean Avenue between Lee and Brighton that was damaged in a collision after an inquiry by The Ingleside Light.

One of the four sand-filled barrels at the base of the platform was destroyed when a vehicle hit it earlier this month.

“The now destroyed barrel will be replaced with the same type as soon as possible,” SFMTA Deputy Spokesperson Stephen Chun said.

The barrels were placed there last year after an inquiry by The Ingleside Light about the broken metal crash attenuator, which the SFMTA said was hard to come by in May 2021.

“Plans to replace the attenuator are currently being evaluated and there is no estimated time of completion,” Chun added. “Crews will be looking at the possibility of re-engineering the structure complying to speed and design specifications.”

The crash attenuator works by crumpling when a vehicle collides into it to protect the motorist from striking the concrete boarding island.

A motorist died in December 2019 when his vehicle collided with the ADA ramp of the K Ingleside streetcar boarding island between Ashton and Jules avenues. An Ingleside Light investigation found the boarding island was missing its warning sign to direct motorists to either side, which had been sheared off and never replaced. The island does not have a crash attenuator.

In May 2020, the Ingleside Merchants Association, which The Ingleside Light belongs, sent a letter to SFMTA Director Jeffrey Tumlin to request that the agency better maintain the boarding islands. The broken crash attenuator was on its list of issues along with general maintenance of the boarding islands including steam cleaning and care for the public art work on the sides.