Capt. Sandra Tong: Summer Season Upon Us

Greetings to all as the summer season has officially begun! I hope all of you are enjoying the beautiful weather and safe travel on the roadways.

July 4th Celebration
Many San Franciscans are already making plans on how to spend the upcoming Independence Day weekend.

No one plans to spend their family's holiday time at the hospital, but according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were 9,600 firework-related injuries in 2004. Of those, 6,600 were accidents during the Fourth of July holiday.

Firecrackers, rockets and M-80s (equal to a quarter-stick of dynamite) are explosives and are unpredictable. Even fireworks considered to be "safe and sane" are dangerous. The term safe and sane usually means fireworks that do not fly or explode.

Fountains, sparklers, smoke balls, snakes, ground spinners, pinwheels and trick noisemakers, including some crackling ground items, are included in the safe and sane category.

However, they can be dangerous. In 2004, there were 300 children under the age of five that were hurt by sparklers. No one would dream of handing a burning torch to a child, but handing a child a sparkler burning at 1,800 degrees is exactly what you are doing.

Although some surrounding cities in the Bay Area may sell fireworks as a fundraiser for their county, the SF Police Department has a zero tolerance policy for all fireworks - except those permitted in a pyrotechnic show.

There are many creative ways to have a safe summer celebration during the Forth of July weekend. The City is sponsoring a free celebration on the northeastern waterfront, from pier 39 to Aquatic Park. The spectacular fireworks will be displayed at about 9:30 p,m. You can watch the fireworks or have a picnic or stay home and barbeque with friends.

Whatever you do, stay safe and enjoy the holiday.

Traffic Alert
In 1998, the voters of San Francisco approved the Golden Gate Park Revitalization Act (Proposition J), which provided for the construction of an underground parking facility in the Music Concourse area of Golden Gate Park. This proposition was approved by 58 percent of the voters.

The Golden Gate Park Concourse Authority, the SF Recreation and Park Commission, and the SF Board of Supervisors approved the pedestrian-friendly program, which prohibits cut-through automobile traffic in the Music Concourse. The Concourse Authority announced that citations will be issued to drivers of vehicles on Tea Garden and Music Concourse Drives.

If vehicles are not either picking-up or dropping-off patrons in the Concourse, a $103 citation will be issued by Park Patrol at all times for cut-through traffic in the Music Concourse. Enforcement has already begun. For more information, call the Concourse Authority's community comment line at (415) 831-2728.

Community/Police Forum
The monthly Police/Community Forum will be held on Tuesday, July 11, at 1 p.m., in the Richmond Station's community meeting room. The meeting is being held a week earlier than usual, so mark your calendar. The guest speaker will be a representative from the SF Bicycle Coalition's advisory committee. Bicycle safety is an important issue in the community, so please attend the meeting. It is our goal to work with these organizations to promote bicycle safety through education in our district.

Capt. Sandra Tong is the commanding officer at the Richmond District Police Station.