Southeast San Francisco Residents Speak Up for More Mobility

Southeast San Francisco Residents Speak Up for More Mobility
By Adrienne Heim

The start of the 15 Bayview line on January 23 signals the SFMTA’s strengthening commitment to the diverse neighborhoods in southeast San Francisco, which have for too long seen disinvestment and a lack of sufficient transportation infrastructure. This commitment  extends to neighborhoods from Mission Bay to Visitacion Valley that have seen a surge in infill development such as the Chase Center, Visitacion Valley/Schlage Lock Plan and Candlestick Point and Hunters Point Shipyard. To begin to correct historical inequities and support this new growth, the SFMTA has been steadily engaged in bringing transportation improvements to residents, merchants, businesses and visitors to this important area.

Voice of the Community

From 2017 to 2019, the Southeast Muni Expansion project partnered with the Muni Service Equity Strategy, the Bayview Community Based Transportation Plan, and The San Francisco County Transportation Authority’s (SFCTA) District 10 Mobility Study project teams to conduct community outreach and collect feedback around community mobility needs and what Muni service performance improvements should be prioritized.

Southeast Muni Expansion Outreach

Because funding sources for transportation are limited, the Southeast Muni Expansion project team surveyed community members to review ten proposed options involving Muni bus routes, route extensions and reroutes, and more frequent service on existing bus routes that could be incorporated in the Candlestick Point-Hunters Point Development Transportation Plan.  The survey helped rank the community’s preferences, determining the order in which they can be planned and implemented.

Survey Results

The survey produced the following top three choices:

• Option 4 – A new bus route between the Mission and Bayview neighborhoods
• Option 7 – Improve the 29 Sunset bus route
• Option 9 – A new express bus route between the Bayview and downtown

Results of the 2018/2019 survey

The  implementation of new bus service according to these priorities will also take into account any changes that may occur in the timeline for the Candlestick Point-Hunters Point development projects. In addition, we continue to review potential funding sources and a timeline for implementing additional service improvements.

Ongoing Service Improvements

In 2007 we inaugurated the T Third Light Rail service that links Sunnydale and Embarcadero Muni Metro Station, improving downtown transit access for the Bayview and Visitacion Valley neighborhoods. Additionally, the Mission Bay Loop between 3rd, 18th, Illinois and 19th streets now enables the T Third line to support both peak period demand and special events at Oracle Park and Chase Center. When completed, the Central Subway Project, will further improve the T Third by directly offering mostly underground service—that doesn’t have to contend with roadway traffic—from the 4th Street Caltrain Station to Chinatown.

In 2014, we launched our Muni Service Equity Strategy as a commitment to ensure transit is accessible, reliable, and affordable to all Muni customers. The strategy focuses on service in nine Equity Neighborhoods, including Bayview and Visitacion Valley in the southeast.

In 2019, we initiated the 29 Sunset Improvement Project to gather feedback on possible service improvements from diverse stakeholders, including students, who rely on the 29 Sunset. While those changes are currently on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it remains a key route in the Muni Core Service Plan with frequent service to reduce crowding and support social distancing.  

To ensure that the transportation priorities and needs of neighbors in the southeast were being heard, we began conducting outreach for the Bayview Community Based Transportation Plan utilizing a Caltrans Sustainable Planning Grant. Community engagement resulted in directly administering a $600,000 Metropolitan Transportation Commission grant in areas that have the greatest needs and prompted several Bayview Quick-Build projects.

Learn More

Read a more detailed report on all the projects associated with this effort and receive project updates at SFMTA.com/SouthEastMuni.

Published January 23, 2021 at 01:02AM
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San Francisco Launches Safety - It’s Your Turn Campaign

San Francisco Launches Safety - It’s Your Turn Campaign
By Christine Osorio

In San Francisco, left turns are one of the top three crash factors in severe injuries and fatal collisions for people walking and biking. SFMTA is kicking off the new year with a city-wide education campaign designed to encourage safer driving behavior around left turns. The Safety - It’s Your Turn campaign will use multiple strategies, including grants to community organizations, to engage the public at different times and raise awareness about unsafe left turns.

Drivers especially will see the Safety - It’s Your Turn messaging on billboards and buses, hear about it on the radio, and read about it on social media and in newspapers. This community education program also accompanies the SFMTA’s Left-Turn Traffic Calming Project.  Under that project, launched in October 2020, the SFMTA installed safety infrastructure at 7 intersections on the High Injury Network.

Community Grant Awardees

After a competitive application process, the SFMTA has awarded six grants to community organizations around the city to amplify the Safety It’s Your Turn campaign.  Community organizations are closer to the communities they serve and are better positioned to develop culturally-responsive outreach programs and materials. In addition to sharing safe left-turn messaging, another objective of the grant is to reach communities historically underserved by transportation projects. For many of the organizations, this is their first-time developing Vision Zero messaging, and the SFMTA is pleased to be expanding its engagement with community stakeholders and leaders. The selected grantees include:

• Bayview Opera House
• Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco
• Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired
• People Organizing to Demand Environmental and Economic Justice (PODER)
• Self-Help for the Elderly
• South of Market Community Action Network (SOMCAN)

These community groups plan to share safe left-turn messaging directly to food-delivery drivers, hard-to-reach communities along the High Injury Network, teen drivers, and vulnerable road-users. Examples of the deliverables include map booklets for the visually impaired, teen driver safety kits, and art-inspired public service announcements.

Remember that 40% of traffic fatalities in San Francisco involve drivers making left turns. Drivers can make a safe left turn by yielding to pedestrians and bicyclists, taking it slow at less than 5 mph, and making their turn nice and wide.

Watch: Anatomy of a Left Turn

Vision Zero

San Francisco adopted Vision Zero (www.visionzerosf.org)as a policy in 2014, committing to build better and safer streets, educate the public on traffic safety, enforce traffic laws, and adopt policy changes that save lives. The result of this collaborative, citywide effort is safer, more livable streets as San Francisco works towards the Vision Zero goal of zero traffic fatalities. San Francisco is engineering inherently safer streets, enforcing traffic laws more effectively, and targeting traffic-safety education to reach its Vision Zero goals.

 

 

Published January 21, 2021 at 10:30PM
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Muni Expands Service, Access for Equity Neighborhoods in January

Muni Expands Service, Access for Equity Neighborhoods in January
By Mariana Maguire

On Saturday, January 23, the SFMTA will restart T Third Muni Metro rail service and increase Muni bus service, including adding several routes based on community feedback.

Graphic: New Core Service map, effective January 23, showing new and returning Muni lines.

Temporarily modified T Third rail service will resume between Sunnydale and Embarcadero Station. This frees up the buses currently providing the temporary T Third Street Bus service to increase bus service elsewhere. This change also brings more of our rail operators back to operating Muni Metro rail service.

Temporary changes to bus service include the return of the 27 Bryant and two new lines: the 55 Dogpatch and the 15 Bayview-Hunters Point Express. The full 33 Ashbury-18th Street line will also resume to provide another vital cross-town connection.

All of these changes are the direct result of community engagement and feedback. In particular, community members, SFMTA staff and District Supervisors worked together to develop the three new routes going into service January 23– the15 Bayview-Hunters Point Express, 27 Bryant, and 55 Dogpatch. These new routes will not only add service to those neighborhoods, but will also support San Francisco’s essential workers and economic recovery.

These Muni lines increase access to essential destinations and services for communities in the Tenderloin, Bayview-Hunters Point, Potrero, and Dogpatch that depend on transit the most and are part of the Muni Service Equity Strategy. By bringing these lines into service, we expect analysis through our new Equity Toolkit to show improvements in job access via public transportation for customers in these neighborhoods.

We aim to keep phasing Muni Metro rail back into service as subway repairs continue, particularly in the Eureka Curve near Castro Station. We also continue to work on adding more service on our high-ridership lines and using available vehicles and operators to help relieve crowding.

Below is the complete list of service changes. Please note that details are subject to change. For the most up to date information with free language assistance and accessibility, please call 311 or (415) 701-4311 or visit SFMTA.com/CoreService.

January 23 Muni Service Changes

All service changes below are temporary until further notice. Service hours: 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily, unless otherwise noted. Owl network service hours: 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. daily. Subway maintenance will be conducted evenings starting at 8:00 p.m. daily. For more information on frequency and hours of service, read more on the COVID-19 Muni Core Service Plan.

T Third Metro Rail: Service between Sunnydale and Embarcadero Station.

• Service will resume on 3rd Street. Vehicles will enter Embarcadero Station, serve the stati
• on, then turn back to Sunnydale. This allows us to provide connections to downtown and Market Street. For service along Market between Embarcadero and Castro, use Metro Buses or other Muni bus lines.
• T Third customers traveling toward Sunnydale will enter Embarcadero Station from one of the Market Street portals at Drumm Street or Spear Street, go to the boarding level in the station and take the train toward Sunnydale.
• T Third customers traveling into downtown San Francisco or other destination accessible via downtown will need to exit the train at Embarcadero Station and go to the street level to transfer to a Muni bus
• Starting at 8:00 p.m. daily for evening subway maintenance, bus substitutions will provide Muni Metro service and Owl service at 10:00 p.m.
• On weekends, buses will serve the T Third from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. between Sunnydale and Steuart Street. Embarcadero Station opens at 8:00 a.m.

Watch this animation of how to transfer at Embarcadero Station to and from the T Third.

N Judah Bus: Longer 60-foot coaches will help address crowding on weekends and continue to provide service on weekdays.

1 California (short): Additional service between California at Presidio streets and Clay at Drumm streets, where ridership is highest.

5 Fulton (short): Additional service between Fulton at 8th Avenue and the Salesforce Transit Center, where ridership is highest.

7 Haight-Noriega: Due to limited numbers of 60-foot motor coaches, shorter 40-foot coaches will serve the 7 Haight-Noriega on weekends. 60-foot coaches will continue to provide weekday service.

8AX Bayshore “A” Express (weekdays only): Additional service on the 8AX Bayshore between Kearny Street at Pacific Avenue and Bayshore Boulevard at Visitacion Avenue, where ridership is highest. Instead of peak hour service only, the 8AX Bayshore will be in service all day in both directions.

12 Pacific: Adjusted frequency to provide consistent service during the midday hours when ridership is high.

14 Mission: Additional service and frequency to address crowding.

14R Mission Rapid: Some 14R Mission Rapid buses will end at Mission at Lowell streets to relieve terminal congestion due to high frequency at Daly City BART Station. 

14 Mission Owl: Longer 60-foot coaches with increased frequency to address crowding.

15 Bayview-Hunters Point Express (BHPX): Community members directly shaped the design and planning of this new line to provide a faster trip between Bayview-Hunters Point and downtown. The route between Palou and 3rd streets to Market and 3rd streets via Hunters Point reflects the community’s travel patterns and priorities. See more information about this new line.

22 Fillmore: Modified route and additional service to address crowding.

• As part of the completion of the first phase of the 16th Street Improvement Project, the new modified route will travel east on 16th Street and north on 3rd Street to the new terminal on Mission Bay Boulevard North.
• Once the 22 Fillmore moves to serve Mission Bay, the new 55 Dogpatch will begin service to continue to provide bus connectivity for the Dogpatch and Potrero Hill neighborhoods. See more about the 55 Dogpatch below.

27 Bryant: The full route will go back into service with modifications in response to community feedback and engagement.

• To improve reliability by using temporary emergency transit lanes, the route will be modified to travel southbound on 8th Street between Market and Harrison streets and northbound on 7th Street between Market and Folsom streets. The temporary emergency transit lanes are restricted for Muni service only so they can keep buses moving even if there is traffic congestion, which helps manage crowding.
• The reroute will maintain access to BART and Muni Metro and will provide a connection to new destinations like FoodsCo on Folsom at 14th Street.
• Over the next few months, SFMTA staff will ask for feedback from community members and evaluate the performance of the 27 Bryant on this temporary modified route.

30 Stockton (short): A short line between Caltrain and Van Ness Avenue at North Point Street will add service in segments of the line that consistently experiences crowding. The route will travel south on 4th Street, west on Harrison Street, south on 5th Street, then east on Townsend Street to its terminal.

33 Ashbury/18th Street: The full route will return to service as a trolley coach in response to customer feedback about cross-town connections that the route provides to a number of medical facilities.

37 Corbett: The regular route will come back between Parkridge Drive at Burnett Avenue, and Masonic Avenue at Haight Street.

38 Geary: Increased frequency on weekdays and weekends to address crowding. 

43 Masonic: The route will be extended slightly to connect to the 1 California on California Street at Masonic Avenue while maintaining the same number of bus resources.

55 Dogpatch: The former 55 16th Street will become the 55 Dogpatch, a modified route between 16th and Mission streets and 20th and 3rd streets to replace the eastern segment of the 22 Fillmore modified route to Mission Bay. This route was developed with community members from the Dogpatch and Potrero Hill neighborhoods. Visit SFMTA.com/55Dogpatch for more information.

 

Published January 20, 2021 at 09:15PM
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Twin Peaks: A New Vision for All

Twin Peaks: A New Vision for All
By Benjamin Barnett

SFMTA staff are recommending a proposal for Twin Peaks access aimed at balancing the diverse needs of the community, which they selected based on park usage data, feedback from neighbors and other stakeholders, as well as a public survey with over 1,700 responses.

Map showing the proposed configuration of Twin Peaks Boulevard. See our website for a more detailed map or to read our report.

Recommendation: Open Portola Drive Gate at All Times, Close Burnett Avenue Gate

The proposal includes opening the gate at Portola Drive to traffic at all times and keeping the gate at Burnett Avenue closed. This option (also called Option 2) provides the best combination of safety and access, and addresses the negative impacts affecting neighbors.

This preferred option closes the northern Burnett Avenue gate to vehicles at all times, creating dedicated space for people walking, rolling and biking all the way to Christmas Tree Point Road.

The southern Portola Drive gate will be open to vehicles and tour buses at all times – improving access to the top of Twin Peaks for those with mobility challenges. The Portola Drive gate will also serve people walking, rolling and biking to and from Christmas Tree Point Road by way of the existing roadway shoulders and off-street paths. The recommended design does not require modifications to streets that currently restrict tour buses.

Five options were developed to achieve the project goals and reviewed by the SFMTA, in partnership with the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, the public, and other project stakeholders. Based on data and public feedback, SFMTA staff plans to bring the recommendation to the SFMTA Board of Directors for approval at a public meeting planned for this spring.

Photo: New space between Burnett Avenue and Christmas Tree Point parking lot that would be dedicated to people walking, rolling and biking. Vehicles would not be allowed at all times.

Project Background

Twin Peaks is a beautiful and unique natural resource for San Francisco residents and visitors alike. To provide additional recreational space for physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic the Burnett Avenue and Portola Drive gates on Twin Peaks Boulevard were closed in early 2020. Based on community feedback, we initiated the Twin Peaks for All project in October 2020 to explore how to best accommodate the high demand for this natural resource.

The project goals include restoring access to the viewpoint -- especially for people with disabilities, providing a space for people walking and rolling that allows for physical distancing, reducing negative impacts on neighbors and retaining the recent extraordinary increase in new park users. We collected data including parking counts, bicycle and pedestrian counts and historic collisions, reviewed turning radii for tour buses, talked to neighbors, released a public survey, analyzed the 1700 plus responses, reviewed street widths and coordinated with partner agencies.

We Heard from You

We heard concerns from neighbors of the Burnett Avenue gate that with the top of Twin Peaks closed to vehicles, substantially more drivers began parking near the northern gate, creating noise and litter. Vehicle break-ins were also reported in the area. Based on our analysis, opening the Portola Drive gate to vehicles at all times should decrease these negative impacts. The SFMTA also commits to monitoring and evaluating conditions once the proposal’s recommendations are put into place.

Additionally, to help drivers wishing to access the peak, SFMTA staff will:

• Install additional wayfinding at the Burnett Avenue gate, directing drivers to access the top of Twin Peaks from the Portola Drive side.
• Work with navigation providers (Waze, Google, Bing, etc.) to update their maps to direct drivers to the Portola Drive gate for accessing the Christmas Tree Point parking lot and the top of Twin Peaks.

Next Steps

SFMTA staff plans to bring this recommendation to the SFMTA Board of Directors for approval at a public meeting planned for this spring. We will conduct outreach to the community once that date is finalized so that individuals will have the opportunity to provide feedback and comments at the meeting.

Currently, people walking and bicycling at the temporarily closed Burnett Avenue gate must travel over the curb into the dirt and then back over the curb to access the roadway. If approved, the permanent closure of the gate would require a more accessible path for pedestrians. In cooperation with the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, SFMTA staff will improve the entrance, allowing people of all ages walking and rolling to travel through the area more easily on a level surface.

For more information on this project and its history, please visit our project page or email us at TwinPeaks4All@SFMTA.com.

Published January 19, 2021 at 11:14PM
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Twin Peaks: A New Vision for All

Twin Peaks: A New Vision for All
By Phillip Pierce

SFMTA staff are recommending a proposal for Twin Peaks access aimed at balancing the diverse needs of the community, which they selected based on park usage data, feedback from neighbors and other stakeholders, as well as a public survey with over 1,700 responses.

Map showing the proposed configuration of Twin Peaks Boulevard. See our website for a more detailed map or to read our report.

Recommendation: Open Portola Drive Gate at All Times, Close Burnett Avenue Gate

The proposal includes opening the gate at Portola Drive to traffic at all times and keeping the gate at Burnett Avenue closed. This option (also called Option 2) provides the best combination of safety and access, and addresses the negative impacts affecting neighbors.

This preferred option closes the northern Burnett Avenue gate to vehicles at all times, creating dedicated space for people walking, rolling and biking all the way to Christmas Tree Point Road.

The southern Portola Drive gate will be open to vehicles and tour buses at all times – improving access to the top of Twin Peaks for those with mobility challenges. The Portola Drive gate will also serve people walking, rolling and biking to and from Christmas Tree Point Road by way of the existing roadway shoulders and off-street paths. The recommended design does not require modifications to streets that currently restrict tour buses.

Five options were developed to achieve the project goals and reviewed by the SFMTA, in partnership with the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, the public, and other project stakeholders. Based on data and public feedback, SFMTA staff plans to bring the recommendation to the SFMTA Board of Directors for approval at a public meeting planned for this spring.

Photo: New space between Burnett Avenue and Christmas Tree Point parking lot that would be dedicated to people walking, rolling and biking. Vehicles would not be allowed at all times.

Project Background

Twin Peaks is a beautiful and unique natural resource for San Francisco residents and visitors alike. To provide additional recreational space for physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic the Burnett Avenue and Portola Drive gates on Twin Peaks Boulevard were closed in early 2020. Based on community feedback, we initiated the Twin Peaks for All project in October 2020 to explore how to best accommodate the high demand for this natural resource.

The project goals include restoring access to the viewpoint -- especially for people with disabilities, providing a space for people walking and rolling that allows for physical distancing, reducing negative impacts on neighbors and retaining the recent extraordinary increase in new park users. We collected data including parking counts, bicycle and pedestrian counts and historic collisions, reviewed turning radii for tour buses, talked to neighbors, released a public survey, analyzed the 1700 plus responses, reviewed street widths and coordinated with partner agencies.

We Heard from You

We heard concerns from neighbors of the Burnett Avenue gate that with the top of Twin Peaks closed to vehicles, substantially more drivers began parking near the northern gate, creating noise and litter. Vehicle break-ins were also reported in the area. Based on our analysis, opening the Portola Drive gate to vehicles at all times should decrease these negative impacts. The SFMTA also commits to monitoring and evaluating conditions once the proposal’s recommendations are put into place.

Additionally, to help drivers wishing to access the peak, SFMTA staff will:

• Install additional wayfinding at the Burnett Avenue gate, directing drivers to access the top of Twin Peaks from the Portola Drive side.
• Work with navigation providers (Waze, Google, Bing, etc.) to update their maps to direct drivers to the Portola Drive gate for accessing the Christmas Tree Point parking lot and the top of Twin Peaks.

Next Steps

SFMTA staff plans to bring this recommendation to the SFMTA Board of Directors for approval at a public meeting planned for this spring. We will conduct outreach to the community once that date is finalized so that individuals will have the opportunity to provide feedback and comments at the meeting.

Currently, people walking and bicycling at the temporarily closed Burnett Avenue gate must travel over the curb into the dirt and then back over the curb to access the roadway. If approved, the permanent closure of the gate would require a more accessible path for pedestrians. In cooperation with the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, SFMTA staff will improve the entrance, allowing people of all ages walking and rolling to travel through the area more easily on a level surface.

For more information on this project and its history, please visit our project page or email us at TwinPeaks4All@SFMTA.com.

Published January 19, 2021 at 11:14PM
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The SFMTA and San Francisco Beautiful Kick Off Muni Art Project 2021

The SFMTA and San Francisco Beautiful Kick Off Muni Art Project 2021
By Jeanne Brophy

The SFMTA and San Francisco Beautiful  announce the kick-off of the 2021 Muni Art Project.  This year the program launch will be held virtually due to COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders.

Artwork by Agustina Caprioglio who found inspiration from COVID-19 and the frontline staff in hospitals, “They are our modern-day temples,” she states, “where people are born and die, where doctors and nurses work hard to take care of all”.

The 2021 theme, “San Francisco United” is the sixth year that the SFMTA, San Francisco Beautiful and The Poetry Society of America (sponsors of Poetry in Motion ®) have collaborated to bring art and poetry to Muni riders.  

“Now more than ever—it’s important to appreciate and be thankful for the positives around us,” said Jeffrey Tumlin, SFMTA Director of Transportation. “That’s why we’re looking forward to bringing Muni Art back and sparking some joy in the wake of such a difficult year.”

Begun in 2015, Muni Art is the only public art project that exclusively features San Francisco artists and poets. The artists’ original work and five poems selected by the Poetry Society of America, is presented on 100 Muni buses throughout San Francisco from January through April, 2021.

Art is the one language that unites everyone," said Darcy Brown, Executive Director of San Francisco Beautiful. "We all have lost so much, Muni Art 2021 is one project we didn't lose. We celebrate our local artists and poets and San Francisco.

The 2021 Muni artists are:

• Kundan Baidwan
• Agustina Caprioglio
• John Keating
• Deirdre Weinberg
• Wes Wellner

The 2021 Muni poets and poems are:

• Kim Addonizio
• Derrick Austin
• Jennifer Elise Foerster
• Thom Gunn
• Gary Soto

In addition to the poet panels, each artist also has three panels to freely use reflecting the theme for a total of eight original works that will line both interior display sides of the buses and conform to the specifications of Muni display space. In addition, each artist will be awarded $1,000.

For more details on the winners of the Muni Art Project, please visit www.sfbeautiful.org/MuniArt. Examples of each artist’ work can be found at SFMTA.com/MuniArt.

Published January 19, 2021 at 10:26PM
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