Jan. 1 will mark one year with the stretch of 19th Avenue in front of SF State as a traffic double fine zone to curb reckless driving, but for some, nothing has changed since the new fines were implemented.

"I tell them, 'Hello! Please get inside the crosswalk or the sidewalk' and they respond, 'Sorry, next time,'" said Herbert Cotaya, an SF State crossing guard for three years.

For the 59-year-old, the problems of uncontrolled traffic and unobservant pedestrians have been ongoing since he started at the busy intersection of 19th and Holloway Avenues.

The double fine zone was implemented with the help Senator Leland Yee, Democrat, to help curb the rising rate of accidents occurring on 19th Avenue.

He feels that it's not just on motorists to follow safety measures, but SF State students and other pedestrians as well.

According to Cotaya, students often run across the intersection and act oblivious, even when he has his stop sign up and blows his whistle, informing them to stay on the sidewalk.

Cotaya said the worst time is when pedestrians are not focused on the crosswalk, usually between the hours of 7 a.m. and 1 p.m., and especially when people from the San Francisco Examiner pass out newspapers at the entrance to the Muni M-line stop in the middle of the busy intersection. He said students take the newspaper and try to quickly glance through it while crossing the street, instead of paying attention to the crossing signal and the road.

According to 21-year-old Jennifer Paquette, a cinema major at SF State who was given a safety pamphlet by the Department of Public Safety last year, three of the most dangerous intersections in San Francisco were along 19th Avenue. The intersection of 19th and Holloway Avenues was one of those listed in the pamphlet, Paquette mentioned.

A senior, Paquette said she has had her share of walking across the busy intersection over the years, and to this day doesn't feel very safe.

"I try to cross the street and cars come zooming across and I feel I have to make eye contact with the drivers before I walk to ensure they are going to stop, even though my light is green," Paquette said.

Although she is cautious when crossing the intersection, Paquette said she does not always follow the rules herself.

"I am guilty of kind of testing the waters when it was not my light too, because I hesitated and sometimes tried to step out, but had to step back because cars were coming so quickly," she said.

Delilah Nuval, a senior majoring in business at SF State, feels that because it's so close to the school and the freeway, the intersection is still unsafe even with the double fine zone.

"Motorists just don't care," Nuval said.

The 25-year-old also feels that the distance from the stopping point on 19th Avenue and the right turning point towards campus is too great. She thinks if the stopping point was closer to the turn, drivers would be more vigilant of pedestrians crossing the streets without nearly hitting them because of rounding the corner too quickly.

Paquette said she saw an elderly woman get hit along the intersection about a year and a half ago. As the elderly lady tried to make it across the street. An oncoming vehicle turning off Holloway Avenue onto 19th Avenue struck the woman, which Paquette described as scary to witness.

It's incidents like this that remind Cotaya how important his job is for both motorists and pedestrians, as far as providing safety, especially for the elderly and persons with disabilities.

"It's very important for me personally to completely walk the elderly and people with disabilities completely across to make sure they make it across without cars trying to make their way into the crosswalk, because they are not able to jump back quick enough compared to others, if needed," he said.

Even with the double fine zone implemented, Cotaya and others feel that there are more safety measures that could be considered to secure safety.

"It is necessary for the police to stay at the corner at all times, because they are not always there, and if they were I feel the cars and students would be more cautious if they see the police," Cotaya said.

Both Nuval and Paquette feel that the light signals are not long enough and should be timed better.

"Sometimes when I walk at a normal pace across the street, because the time moves so quickly, I only have 10 seconds left to make it completely across as I reach the half point of the intersection," Nuval said.

Paquette thinks that a turning signal should be placed for the cars turning off Holloway Avenue to prevent even more accidents with pedestrians.

DO - SEE QUESTION ABOUT ACCIDENT, ABOVE. ALSO, WE MIGHT WANT TO ADD A SENTENCE OR TWO EARLY ON RECAPPING THE ORIGIN OF THE DOUBLE FINE ZONE (ACCIDENTS, DEATHS, LELAND YEE).