San Francisco to begin lowering speed limits around 230 public and private schools
Transportation officials in San Francisco are implementing a plan dropping speed limits near public and private schools citywide, to improve safety for children and their families.
In a decision Tuesday, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board of Directors approved the plan, which will lower speed limits near 230 campuses over the next two years. The plan establishes a new default 20 mph speed limit and expands where 15 mph and 20 mph speed limits can be used.
Currently, school zones around the city are either 15 mph or 25 mph.
According to the agency, a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling at 20 mph has about a 90% chance of surviving. At 40 mph, the chance of survival drops to about 20%.
"As families get ready for the new school year, they deserve to know that they'll be sending their kids out to safer streets so they can get to class and back home, every day, without fear," Mayor Daniel Lurie said.
SFUSD Superintendent Maria Su added, "By reducing speed limits around school zones, the city is taking an important step towards protecting our students, supporting our families, and creating safer streets for everyone."
Lowered speed limits would be implemented near several campuses before the new school year begins. The campuses include Dr. William L. Cobb Elementary, Leonard R. Flynn Elementary, St. Anthony-Immaculate Conception School, Jefferson Elementary, Roosevelt Middle and Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts.
Officials said the new speed limits were made possible by Assembly Bill 382, which was passed in the legislature in 2025.
The agency is also working on other ways to improve traffic safety near campuses, including more than 40 school zone crossing improvements and daylighting more than 2,300 school intersections, along with crossing guards and Safe Routes to School programs.
A project is also underway to build protected bike lanes and high-visibility crossings near the Mission Bay Elementary School, which is set to open in August.
