By Michael Schneider
In May of 2022, I got a cold email from Robin Pam, Executive Director of KidSafeSF. At the time, KidSafe was a relatively new organization, and she wanted to learn what had worked well, and what hadn’t, in Los Angeles.
Over the last few years, I’ve watched Robin’s progress with delight. Similar to Streets For All, KidSafe championed Slow Streets in San Francisco, and was instrumental in making them permanent. In November 2022, KidSafe led the charge to pass Proposition J, which made JFK Promenade in Golden Gate Park permanently car-free. Again in 2024, they also helped pass Proposition K, which closed the oceanfront Great Highway to cars and opened it to people as San Francisco’s newest park, Sunset Dunes.
Similar to Streets For All, KidSafe’s battles have included intense opposition, the usual NIMBYs opposing change, and misinformation distorting what they were trying to accomplish. And also like Streets For All, they’ve powered through those challenges to success at the ballot box and in getting infrastructure in the ground.
Over the past year, the two organizations have worked even closer on our shared efforts in Sacramento, partnering last year on SB-960 and SB-961, and it’s deepened my conviction that something bigger is possible.
Today, we are excited to announce that KidSafe SF and Streets For All are merging, and KidSafe is becoming Streets For All San Francisco, our first chapter outside of Los Angeles. Streets For All will still focus on LA, and Streets For All San Francisco will focus on the Bay Area. But now, for the first time, two of the most successful advocacy organizations in the state are joining forces in Sacramento, to do even more, and faster. Our goals include increasing funding for transit and active transportation, reducing bias in state law that favors those in cars, and ending highway widening in California.
I expect this merger to not just result in even greater statewide results, but also to result in larger, better resourced local organizations, sharing best practices, supporters, and volunteers. We aim to reimagine how urban areas across the state use our streets, and implement best practices everywhere. This is truly a 1 + 1 = 3 situation, and I’m very excited to welcome Robin and the broader KidSafe SF community to Streets For All. I know this is just the beginning of great things in SF, LA, and statewide.
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