What’s New in the Richmond? Transit Lanes to Support the 38 Geary

What’s New in the Richmond? Transit Lanes to Support the 38 Geary
By Jade Moy

Notice something new in the Richmond? We recently installed new transit lanes on segments of Geary Boulevard between Stanyan Street and 33rd Avenue as part of the Temporary Emergency Transit Lanes program. This project extends the existing transit lanes that we installed as part of the Geary Rapid Project between Stanyan and Market streets. Now, more than 75% of Geary Boulevard benefits from transit lanes, increasing overall transit-lane miles by 50%.

The Geary Boulevard corridor provides neighborhoods with vital services such as medical centers, grocery stores and other essential businesses. During the pandemic, the 38 Geary bus route has continued to serve about 18,000 daily riders making essential trips. Our new transit lanes help keep buses moving to reduce crowding and travel times for people who still depend on transit to get around the city.

When buses aren’t competing with traffic, they can stay more evenly spaced apart and complete routes more quickly, providing more frequent service and reduced crowding with the same number of buses. You don’t have to live in the Richmond to reap the rewards—reducing delays on any part of Geary Boulevard means that buses can run more frequently, which benefits passengers along the entire route.

Temporary curbside transit lanes have been striped with white paint and “Bus/Taxi Only” stenciling and signage.

Transit lanes are especially important at a time when physical distancing requirements mean Muni buses can only carry one-third of the passengers that they could previously. Over the summer, as congestion increased and auto speeds slowed, crowding (by COVID-19 capacity standards) began increasing on the 38 Geary and 38R Geary Rapid . This occurred despite ridership numbers staying relatively flat, as buses became delayed in traffic.

Looking forward, as more of the economy re-opens, the new temporary transit lanes will help us avoid crowding without adding additional buses or operators. This is critical at a time when the SFMTA is facing major revenue shortfalls and has limited resources.

While ridership remained stable in late 2020, the number of crowded trips (per COVID standards) increased (left chart). This crowding occurred as traffic speeds have slowed (right chart).

In addition to transit lanes, the Geary Boulevard project also includes other improvements. We placed temporary wooden sidewalk extensions (known as bus bulbs) at bus stops at 25th, 20th and 6th avenues. These allow buses to stop without pulling in and out of traffic and provide more space for people waiting. To give buses a head start on general traffic, we installed special Muni-priority traffic signals at the intersections of 25th, 20th and 15th avenues.

This new temporary bus bulb on Geary Boulevard at 20th Avenue allows buses to stop without pulling to the curb.

Next, we will evaluate the temporary emergency transit lanes—including looking at Muni travel times, crowding and impacts to traffic and parking—to determine how well they’re working and whether to pursue making them permanent, potentially with adjustments or additions.

Let us know what think about the new transit priority treatments on Geary. Whether you ride the bus, drive or walk on Geary Boulevard, we want your feedback. Take our survey at SFMTA.com/38Survey

For details on the project and to register for updates, visit our website

A special head-start transit signal gives buses the jump on general traffic at the intersection of Geary Boulevard and 15th Avenue.

Published February 06, 2021 at 01:53AM
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Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Rosa Parks

Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Rosa Parks
By Sophia Scherr

“Stand for something or you will fall for anything. Today’s mighty oak is yesterday’s nut that held its ground.”

Today, we celebrate the legacy of civil rights icon, Rosa Parks. 66 years ago, Rosa kept her seat on a Montgomery bus, was jailed and fined $10, thus sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott. A catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement, Rosa’s groundbreaking act proves how change can be made through the protest and civil action of everyday people. This day also reminds us of the progress and work that is still needed to ensure equity for all.

In commemoration of the start of Black History Month and to honor Rosa Parks and her courage a plaque in her honor has been installed on a bus to mark this historical civil rights event. Our Black Women in Transit history campaigno celebrates those extraordinary individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to civil rights in transportation. You can find Rosa Parks and other groundbreaking figures stories system-wide throughout Black History Month.

Published February 04, 2021 at 11:05PM
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Vision Zero Look Ahead

Vision Zero Look Ahead
By Erica Kato

With Vision Zero, our goal is straight-forward: traffic deaths are not just preventable, they’re unacceptable and we must work to eliminate them. One death on our streets due to traffic violence is one death too many. 

People using pedestrian safety zone on 8th Street that creates a shorter and safer crosswalk

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 had a significant and unprecedented impact on travel in San Francisco throughout the year.  Unfortunately, as traffic volumes dropped, we witnessed an increase in both traffic speeds and dangerous driving behavior. While the number of traffic injuries in San Francisco decreased in 2020 compared to 2019, the number of traffic deaths remained tragically unchanged.

Nationally, traffic fatalities have increased in major cities, including many of our Vision Zero peers like Portland, New York City and Philadelphia.  In San Francisco we experienced an increase in solo-driver fatalities and motorcycle fatalities, and a decrease in pedestrian fatalities.

First adopted by the mayor and the Board of Supervisors in 2014, the aim of Vision Zero is to eliminate traffic deaths and reduce severe injuries in San Francisco. The policy remains the guiding safety principle for SFMTA, as well as for our partners in the Department of Public Health, the San Francisco Police Department, and all of our Vision Zero partners.

Despite the pandemic and local shelter-in-place orders, the SFMTA completed more than 80 miles of street safety improvements citywide in 2020. More than 30 miles of these improvements were made on the High Injury Network (a network of streets that accounts for 75% of severe and fatal traffic collisions). This includes 6.5 new miles of protected bikeways, more than 300 continental crosswalk upgrades, 11 miles of city streets with slower speed limits, more than 150 signals upgraded additional crossing time for people walking, and more than 60 signals upgraded with leading pedestrian intervals.

We are committed to reaching our Vision Zero goal of zero fatalities in San Francisco.

Our Vision Zero approach in 2021:

Looking ahead, we will continue focusing in 2021 on proven tools to save lives, especially focused on slowing speeds since speed is a leading factor in severe and fatal injuries in SF. These tools include:

• • Exercising local authority to slow speeds, including establishing slow senior zones and 20 MPH speed limits on Market Street and other High Injury Network streets
  • Advancing quick build projects (more than 10 quick builds are in the pipeline for 2021, including two in the Tenderloin)
  • Implementing citywide programmatic work on the High Injury Network, such as daylighting (removing parking at intersections to improve visibility).

We know we can’t get to zero deaths from traffic crashes without a transformative policy agenda, so we will continue to pursue state legislative change to give us more authority over how speed limits are set in San Francisco and to see the ability to implement speed safety cameras for enforcement.

San Francisco’s multiagency, multidisciplinary team will be updating the Vision Zero Action Strategy in 2021. We want to know your ideas and priorities for safer streets and will be sharing a survey soon to gather your input.

For more information, please visit our website: visionzerosf.org

Published February 03, 2021 at 10:33PM
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Nearly 300 Muni Drivers Celebrated for Extraordinary Safety Record

Nearly 300 Muni Drivers Celebrated for Extraordinary Safety Record
By

Very few drivers can make the claim they have successfully navigated the congested streets of San Francisco for years on end without having any preventable safety incidents. But 299 of the SFMTA's 2,500 Muni operators can proudly say they have done so for at least 15 years, and some for decades. This month these operators get a token and patch to wear, honoring the Safe Driver record.

Recognizing these employees, Director of Transportation Jeff Tumlin stated that, "Safety is SFMTA's number one priority. It is my privilege to honor this year's Safe Driver Award recipients. These professionals deliver for the people of San Francisco and lift up the entire agency. Safe Drivers, thank you for your dedication and your service.”

Safe Driver honorees with a remarkable record of 35 or more years. From left to right: Oliverio Valle, Cable Car Division, 46 Years; Lonnie Moore, Jr., Green Division, 43 years; Jason Lao, Green Division 36 years.

What Constitutes a Safe Driver?

Simply put, a safe driver is an operator who has driven a minimum number of qualifying hours each fiscal year with no avoidable safety incidents.  To earn the 2020 Safe Driver Award, operators must have driven at least 1,387 hours during the past fiscal year without a preventable incident (adjusted to account for the service reductions that occurred due to COVID-19).

For operators meeting the strict safety guidelines, 2020 posed unique challenges. "Our transit operators have endured some of the most difficult situations that we have ever had to face," said Roger Marenco, president of Transport Workers Union Local 250A. "In 2020, our operators showed that they were ready, willing and able to fulfill their duties as disaster service workers in the midst of a pandemic. By putting their health and safety on the line, our operators were able to keep our city moving by providing one of the most important services: public transportation."

The COVID-19 pandemic required the SFMTA to adjust Muni operations in order to keep both operators and customers safe. Between new face covering requirements and limits on the number of customers per vehicle, operators were asked to quickly adapt to an ever-changing environment. In addition, we implemented a new core service plan in April, with several updates throughout the year, that meant operators needed to adjust to new routes, new equipment or both.

Make no mistake, Muni operators take this Safe Driver honor, and the patches they receive, very seriously. It's a big deal. Navigating a 40-foot vehicle or longer, through 49-square miles of hilly, winding San Francisco terrain is no easy task. Add navigating traffic with ride-share vehicles, private and commercial vehicles, taxis, bicycles, scooters and pedestrians into the mix and the challenges escalate quickly.

Honoring Safe Drivers

The initial patch is given after three years of safe driving. Subsequent tab-style patches are presented in five-year increments and are worn on their uniform sleeve.

The SFMTA relies on thousands of operators who provide safe daily service to customers throughout the entire Muni network. "Congratulations 2020 Safe Drivers," said Julie Kirschbaum, SFMTA Transit Director. "You have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to safety during a very challenging year. While we cannot celebrate in person this year, your accomplishment does not go unnoticed. Thank you for all that you do to safely move our customers throughout San Francisco."

The 2020 Safe Driver Award Token harkens back to the SF Municipal Railway tokens that were introduced for fare payment in the 1940s.

We honor not just these 299 extraordinary individuals, but all of those who work so hard to make safety the standard by which we operate.

Published February 02, 2021 at 11:44PM
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