Bayview Community and SFMTA Receive National Planning Award

Bayview Community and SFMTA Receive National Planning Award
By Stephen Chun

The SFMTA’s efforts to improve transportation in Bayview-Hunters Point, one of San Francisco's traditionally African-American neighborhoods, have been recognized today by the American Planning Association (APA).  The SFMTA Bayview Community Based Transportation Project (Bayview CBTP) received the APA’s 2021 Advancing Diversity & Social Change in Honor of Paul Davidoff National Planning Excellence Award. Coverage of the virtual ceremony, held June 10, 2021 can be found here. 

The Bayview CBTP gives voice to the needs of that culturally rich and resilient community which has faced a legacy of institutional and environmental racism. During a two-year open-ended planning process, the SFMTA partnered with five community-based organizations to develop a responsive and actionable plan that directly responds to the transportation needs, challenges, and values of Bayview’s residents. 

Some of highlights from the plan:

• Community-driven Partnerships – The SFMTA partnered with local organizations BMAGIC, Hunters Point Family, CYC, El Centro Bayview, and BAYCAT to prioritize including those hardest to reach and most vulnerable to transportation challenges.
• Showing Respect and Building Trust – Through a series of 22 interviews with community leaders & elders, the SFMTA created a Statement of Intent. This serves as a promise to the public of accountability, trust & transparency, preserving community voice, and delivering effective projects in a community historically subject to long planning timelines and limited improvements.
• Direct Public Outreach – The project team focused on meeting residents where they were, spending 295 hours speaking face-to-face with over 4,000 residents throughout a 14-month public outreach period.
• Equity Index - A tool for mapping vulnerability to transportation challenges, with definitions and calibration supplied by Bayview residents. This ensured the plan benefits those whom the community believes to be most in need.
• Youth Transportation Summit – The Girls2000 program worked with SFMTA staff to organize the summit for Bayview youth of color, attended by Supervisor Walton.
• “Next Stop” - A must-watch short-four-minute-film produced, shot and edited by young women of color in the Bayview. Discussing transportation, safety and advocacy, the film ends with the call to action: Sound Off! Be Heard!
• The SFMTA’s First Participatory Budgeting (PB) Exercise - Led by a Community Steering Committee of 12 residents & community leaders, Bayview residents directly voted on how to spend $760,000 to improve transit and transit access in their community.
• A Commitment of $3.61 Million – A transparently-developed set of priority projects based on the needs and lived experience of Bayview residents – with prioritization for funding based solely on resident input.

In the 16 months since the Bayview CBTP was adopted, the SFMTA has already delivered on many of our promises to the Bayview community, including:

• Projects on the Ground - More than half of the Priority Projects identified in the Bayview CBTP are already implemented. This includes three Quick-Build projects on Williams Avenue, Evans Avenue, and Hunters Point Blvd. For this last Quick-Build, the SFMTA partnered with local organizations and artists to paint murals on 2,100’ of concrete k-rail barriers celebrating Black visibility and the wildlife along the bay shoreline.
• The Return of the 15 Bus – Discontinued in 2007, Muni received an enormous amount of community feedback requesting the return of the 15 Third. In response,  we restored service in April 2021 under the new name 15 Bayview Hunters Point Express.
• Onboard Safety Presence – The top vote-getter in the Participatory Budgeting public ballot was to fund three new Transit Assistants from our MTAP program to ride lines in the Bayview, diffusing and deterring any conflicts and assisting bus operators as needed.. These Transit Assistants began service in November of 2020.

The SFMTA would like to thank District 10 Supervisors Malia Cohen and Shamann Walton, as well as our funding partners: Caltrans, who supplied the Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant that funded the Bayview CBTP; the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, which contributed about $3 million in half-cent transportation sales tax funds for the local match grant requirement and capital investments identified in the CBTP; and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which funded projects through Participatory Budgeting with a $600,000 grant from their Lifeline Transportation Program.

Over 50 years ago, APA’s National Planning Awards program was established to recognize outstanding planning efforts that help lead communities forward to a stronger, more equitable, and sustainable future. Since 2014, five San Francisco organizations and/or projects have been awarded, with this year marking the first time that the SFTMA has!

Published June 11, 2021 at 02:57AM
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Improving Pedestrian Safety and Access for Lake Merced

Improving Pedestrian Safety and Access for Lake Merced
By Adrienne Heim

Lake Merced is a popular recreational destination

Help Us Prioritize and Identify Needed Safety Improvements

The Lake Merced Pedestrian Safety Project is studying potential improvements for pedestrian safety and access along Lake Merced Boulevard between Sunset Boulevard and John Muir Drive. Situated in San Francisco’s southwestern corner, Lake Merced Boulevard has a history of collisions, including those between vehicles and pedestrians, and between vehicles and bicycles. Lake Merced Boulevard between Font and Sunset boulevards is part of San Francisco's Vision Zero High Injury Network (HIN), where 75% of the city's traffic injuries and fatalities occur on just 13% of its streets.

Surrounded by major recreational, education, and shopping destinations, the boulevard is a major route for Lake Merced Park, San Francisco State University, Lowell High School, Lakeshore Elementary School and Stonestown Galleria. Lake Merced Boulevard is also an official city bicycle route where cyclists can either use the bike path around the lake or share the roadway with drivers on the north side of the street.

People walking and biking on Lake Merced Boulevard

Over a 5-year period (between 2015 to 2020) a total of 106 collisions were reported on the boulevard between Skyline Boulevard and John Muir Drive. Of those, nine were bicycle-vehicle collisions and four were vehicle-pedestrian collisions.

Vehicle, Bicycle and Pedestrian Collisions from 2015 to 2020 on Lake Merced Boulevard from Skyline Boulevard to John Muir Drive

Participate in Our Virtual Open House

From June 8 to June 22, we are inviting feedback from community members who live, work, and/or travel around Lake Merced Boulevard through our interactive virtual open house (available in English, Chinese and Spanish).  You can learn more about the project and provide comments during the event, which can be accessed at any time during the open house period.

In July, we will review the steering committee and community’s feedback and produce a Community-Based Transportation Plan (CBTP) that highlights recommendations for improvements, preliminary conceptual designs, and a feasible implementation plan that reflects community needs and desires.

We also encourage you to take the Lake Merced Pedestrian Safety Survey on the website or by placing your cell phone camera over the QR code.

The survey will be open until June 22. 

The planning process for this project includes a monthly steering committee that consists of neighbors and stakeholders to help staff better understand current walking patterns, barriers, and opportunities to improve pedestrian connections to and from Lake Merced Park and nearby transit stops. Learn more about the project and subscribe to project updates by visiting our Lake Merced Pedestrian Safety Project, Making Access Around Lake Merced Safer and More Pleasant website.

Published June 08, 2021 at 10:47PM
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Calling Local Artists for Muni Art 2022

Calling Local Artists for Muni Art 2022
By Pamela Johnson

Muni Art 2020 by Jocelyn Li Langrand

The Muni-Art contest will be returning in 2022 to once again to bring the work of locally-based poets and artists to Muni customers throughout San Francisco. We invite local artists to participate in the competition by submitting proposals with this year's theme, the "Streets of San Francisco." Applications are now available online. The winning artists will create eight new visual works of art that will interpret five preselected poems by Bay Area poets.

The Muni Art project will be installed on a total of one hundred buses that will become moving art galleries displaying the theme, "Streets of San Francisco" from January 1, 2022, to April 30, 2022. This is double the number of buses featuring local artists since the contest first began.

"San Francisco Beautiful is proud to partner once again with SFMTA to bring the work of five local artists to Muni riders throughout San Francisco," noted Executive Director Darcy Brown. "After a time of uncertainty, Muni Art is one bright spot that all San Franciscans can count on every year. This year we chose a familiar and comforting theme, "Streets of San Francisco" and are honoring our own world-renowned local poet, Lawrence Ferlinghetti."

The deadline to submit proposals for the contest is July 16, 2021, at 6 p.m. A committee comprised of local gallery owners and art institutions will review applications and select ten finalists.  These artists will then submit their initial designs, which will be presented to the public for an online vote to choose five winners. Finally, on August 30, 2021, the winners will be announced. In addition to having their art displayed on 20 Muni buses, they will each be awarded $1,250.

Now in its seventh year, the contest is made possible through a collaboration between the SFMTA, San Francisco Beautiful, and The Poetry Society of America. For artist entry guidelines and sponsorship opportunities, please visit San Francisco Beautiful.

 

To see last year’s Muni artist and poet winners’ creative work, please visit the 2021 Muni Artists gallery.

Published June 08, 2021 at 04:41AM
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Moving San Francisco With Pride 2021

Moving San Francisco With Pride 2021
By Pamela Johnson

Since the city’s first Pride Parade in 1970, the LGBTQ+ community and their allies have been moving San Francisco forward to become a more just, diverse and inclusive place to live, work and enjoy. The half-century long Pride event has served as a celebration and counterpoint to the discrimination and challenges the community has historically faced. And we can all be proud that San Francisco has been a pioneer on such issues as same-sex marriage, health care and anti-hate legislation.

Historically, San Francisco's Pride Parade is the largest in the country with over a million people in attendance, usually including travelers from cities across the country and around the globe celebrating and paying homage to the members of the LGBTQ+ community. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, Pride will look different this year with a focus on Bay Area participants.  

Recognizing the strides and achievements made by the LGBTQ+ community over more than five decades, the SFMTA’s theme for 2021 is "Moving San Francisco with Pride.” As home to one of the world's largest and most prominent LGBTQ+  communities, we look forward to celebrating Pride all month long.

What You Should Know About SF Pride 2021

The famous parade and festival have been canceled and replaced this year by a variety of activities. Visit SF Pride to see the complete list.

June 11 and 12

• SF Pride will present the first-ever SF Pride Movie Nights at Oracle  Park.
  
  • Friday, June 11 at 6:30 P.M.  – In the Heights
  • Saturday, June 12 at 6:30 P.M.  – Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

June 18

• Pride presents a Black Liberation event with African American Art and Culture Complex (AAACC)

• 2021 RUN Virtual Fitness Series (dates to be announced)

SFMTA staff are, of course, an important part of the LGBTQ+ community that keeps SF moving with Pride. Pride is an opportunity for us to demonstrate our continued support of the LGBTQ+ community, promoting our core values of respect, inclusivity and integrity.

Get Your free SFMTA Pride Assets

To help you celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and observe Pride along with us, we have created Pride-themed digital and social media collateral for you to use.

• Cable Car with Rainbow Banner  
• Pride Parade with Rainbow Flag 

This Pride, visit the SFMTA on social Media: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter and see how San Francisco celebrates!

Published June 04, 2021 at 02:38AM
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Muni’s COVID-19 Distancing Requirement to End on June 15

Muni’s COVID-19 Distancing Requirement to End on June 15
By Kristen Holland

San Francisco’s Health Officer has confirmed that the SFMTA may eliminate the requirement that customers maintain 3-feet of physical distance from others on Muni beginning June 15 to coincide with the broader statewide reopening campaign. The requirement to wear masks still applies while waiting for, paying for, and riding on Muni, and customers must maintain a six-foot distance from operators.

Thanks to the Department of Public Health’s (DPH) leadership, our community has extremely high citywide vaccination rates and the lowest case rates since the beginning of the pandemic. This means that more riders will be permitted onboard each vehicle, which will reduce pass ups and allow us to restore additional service later this summer.

For the past year, physical distancing regulations and other pandemic constraints required us to consolidate Muni service to a reduced number of routes, ensuring sufficient capacity for essential trip-takers. With these regulations relaxing, more Muni coverage is on the way, but your trip might look a bit different, with some new lines and temporary reroutes. These changes allow us to continue to safely provide more transit to more people.

Eliminating distancing requirements will allow us to implement additional Muni service coverage planned for August, which is contingent on increasing passenger capacity per vehicle. Muni will no longer need as many buses on certain routes to compensate for the reduced capacity. With each vehicle able to carry more riders, extra vehicles can be reallocated to other routes and areas not previously served.

Critically, we want to remind all customers that regardless of vaccination status, masks and staying six feet away from operators will still be required on-board to comply with FTA and OSHA mandates.

Public health and safety remain our top priorities as Muni service expands. We are working with our transit operators to detail health and safety protocols and with DPH to implement science-based practices that protect staff and the public during the pandemic.  

 

Published June 02, 2021 at 09:52PM
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Smarter Traffic Signals Prioritize Transit and People

Smarter Traffic Signals Prioritize Transit and People
By Robert Lim

Have you ever wondered how traffic signals could better balance the needs of all road users, whether driving, bicycling, walking or taking Muni? The SFMTA is rolling out its Connected Corridor Pilot this month to use transit platform and traffic signal sensor data to inform signal timing adjustments. The pilot also aims to collect information to support transit efficiency and street safety improvements.  Traffic engineers use signal timing adjustments as a tool to prioritize the flow of travel in specific directions or for different travel modes – Muni, people walking or driving – to meet the changing demands of the road network across different timepoints in a day.

The Connected Corridors Pilot seeks to push the envelope of innovation by investing in advanced technologies, funded through a U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) grant. These tools will better position the city to serve the potential future needs and differing priorities of various roadway users.  At the same time, the project will implement near-term improvements to our street network to make it safer and smarter. Our goal is to provide greater mobility for all users of San Francisco streets.

The sensors are mounted on traffic signal poles and transit platforms and can classify objects by size, speed and direction at a frequency of multiple times per second.  The data collected from these sensors will serve two main purposes – prioritize transit, emergency vehicle and pedestrian flows and  build dashboards to improve our data-driven decision-making processes.

Sensor mounted on a traffic signal pole

The pilot will take place along 3rd Street at 10 intersections in the Mission Bay neighborhood.  This corridor was selected based on the presence of upgraded traffic signal infrastructure and the opportunity to explore several operational challenges:

• Accommodating the time needed for people walking in crosswalks on wide streets while also prioritizing an extended green light for transit
• Reduced ability to prioritize signal timing in both directions of travel because of frequent  transit operating in both north and south directions of 3rd Street
• High volumes of people walking and bicycling due to the presence of a hospital, research hub, waterfront and two sports facilities in the area
• Variable waiting times for passengers to exit and enter at Muni Metro platforms impact the predicted arrivals of Muni vehicles on green lights further down the line

Muni Metro traveling on 3rd Street

These challenges provide opportunities for innovation. The project team seeks to build and test an integrated technical solution using real-time data and advanced traffic flow algorithms. These tools can  dynamically adjust the signal phasing based on actual traffic flow conditions and the presence of people using various transportation modes.  Real-time data availability and analysis will enable more precise predictions of when the train will reach the downstream intersections so that a green light is more likely to be provided, thus reducing the amount of time people on the transit are stopped at red lights.

Sensor installation is completed with the overall project scheduled to be completed by the fall. Check the project webpage to see future updates on project status, data analysis and reports.

 

Published May 27, 2021 at 05:57PM
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Muni Plans to Reach 98 Percent of San Francisco this August

Muni Plans to Reach 98 Percent of San Francisco this August
By Julie Kirschbaum

In August 2021, 98% of residents and 100% of equity neighborhoods could be within a ¼ mile of a Muni stop

Following major service restorations on May 15, with the KT Ingleside-Third and N Judah Muni Metro rail service resuming, historic street cars returning and subways reopening, the SFMTA is already hard at work planning to restore even more service later this summer. This effort will potentially close almost all of the Muni service gaps across the city, bringing 98% of San Francisco within two to three blocks of a Muni stop.

This August, pending the relaxation of pandemic protocols and physical distancing restrictions, the SFMTA is expecting to bring back more than a dozen bus routes that were temporarily suspended as part of pandemic-related service reductions at the beginning of the crisis, including:

• Route Restorations: 5R Fulton Rapid, 18 46th Avenue, 35 Eureka, 36 Teresita, 39 Coit  “school trippers”
• Altered Route Restorations: 23 Monterey, 52 Excelsior, 56 Rutland, 57 Park Merced, 66 Quintara
• New Route: 58 Lake Merced
• Route Extensions: 12 Folsom, 48 Quintara/24th Street

With these plans for significant service increases, the SFMTA continues to be focused on citywide connectivity, maximizing the limited number of operators and vehicles available to safely operate as the city reopens. And we are doubling down to increase Muni access in neighborhoods identified by our Muni Service Equity Strategy. As of January 23 this year, 100% of residents in these neighborhoods can conveniently access a Muni stop within two or three blocks of their home.

Here are some additional details on the service changes we expect to implement in August:

With current ridership on the 5 Fulton increasing, the popular 5R Fulton Rapid is slated to return.

The 18 46th Avenue is expected to head back into service, providing westside residents in the Richmond District, Outer Sunset and near Stonestown a critical north-south connection that should ease demand on the Great Highway and surrounding streets and provide a boost to local businesses.

Making a key east-west connection, the 23 Monterey from the Bayview District to West Portal Station would also come back online. This augmented restoration would close a gap on the hills around Sunnyside and St. Francis Wood. The 23 Monterey would terminate at West Portal Station providing a new link to Muni Metro and save time by no longer needing to travel along the more congested Sloat Boulevard section of the route.

The 36/52 Special launched on May 15 would be replaced by the restoration of the full 52 Excelsior and 36 Teresita routes. To provide additional access for hilly districts, the 52 Excelsior route would run along a segment previously covered by the 6 Parnassus along 9th Avenue and Quintara in Golden Gate Heights.

The 56 Rutland would restore access to residents in sections of Visitacion Valley and Little Hollywood. In addition, a new extension to Mansell would provide direct connections to the 29 Sunset and Burton High School. Over the past year, the 57 Park Merced saw much higher demand in the Park Merced portion of the route than the eastern portion along John Muir Drive, so with the August service changes, the route is being segmented. The new 58 Lake Merced route picks up the both the John Muir portion of the 57 and Sloat section of the 23 Monterey while still connecting to BART. It would also offer new connections to popular shopping districts at Stonestown, Lakeshore, John Daly Boulevard and Top of the Hill in Daly City.

The 66 Quintara would be restored and extended, first eastward to UCSF and Haight Street via Parnassus and westward to Ocean Beach via Vincente.

Two other routes wouldl be extended: The 12 Folsom would be extended to Rincon Hill, SOMA, and the Mission District. The 48 Quintara/24th Street would be extended from West Portal to Ocean Beach via Quintara.

In addition, just in time for the new school year, some of Muni’s “school trippers” - additional runs on key routes at peak school hours – would be reinstated as well.

As part of the SFMTA’s commitment to bring back Muni better, these service improvements would allow more people to ride safely on each bus, reduce the number of buses needed on the existing routes and allow for additional routes to open in the future. These efforts are only possible because of the leadership of our staff and operators, district supervisors, community members and other stakeholders and customers who have continued to work hard to overcome constraints to restoring service.

Below is the complete list of proposed service changes. Please note that these restorations are dependent on the relaxation of pandemic protocols and physical distancing restrictions and are subject to change. For the most up to date information with free language assistance and accessibility, please call 311 or 415.701.2311 or see the COVID-19 Muni Core Service Plan.

August COVID-19 Muni Core Service Changes

Service hours for each route are noted below. For more information on frequency and hours of service, read more on the COVID-19 Muni Core Service Plan.

Route Restorations

• 5R Fulton Rapid service would be returning from La Playa to the Transit Center Bus Plaza.
• 18 46th Avenue would connect customers from the Richmond and Outer Sunset to Sonestown.
• 35 Eureka would provide additional access from hilly districts to Muni Metro and BART.
• 36 Teresita full route would be restored.
• 39 Coit would return, providing high-frequency service in North Beach and Fishmen’s Warf.
• Muni “school trippers” would run during peak school hours.  

Adjusted Route Restorations

• 23 Monterey would terminate at West Portal Station and no longer use the Sloat section of the route.
• 52 Excelsior would run along a segment previously covered by the 6 Parnassus along 9th Avenue and Quintara in Golden Gate Heights.
• 56 Rutland would be extended to cover Mansell Street and provide direct connections to the 29 Sunset and Burton High School.
• 57 Park Merced would connect Stonestown and Park Merced directly to BART and the M Ocean View.
• 66 Quintara would extend to UCSF and Haight Street via Parnassus Avenue and to Ocean Beach via Vincente Street.

New Route

• 58 Lake Merced would pick up the John Muir Drive portion of the 57 Park Merced and Sloat section of the 23 Monterey, connect to BART, Stonestown, Lakeshore and John Daly Boulevard at and Top of the Hill in Daly City.

Route Extensions

• 12 Folsom would extend to Rincon Hill, SOMA, and the Mission District.
• 48 Quintara/24th Street would be extended from West Portal to Ocean Beach via Quintara Street.

Published May 26, 2021 at 03:45AM
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An Action Plan for Racial Equity at the SFMTA

An Action Plan for Racial Equity at the SFMTA
By

In a pre-COVID session, Director Jeff Tumlin and SFMTA staff discuss the agency’s priorities

As the manager of San Francisco’s streets and transportation network, the SFMTA has the immense responsibility of ensuring dignified access and freedom of movement for all through its community engagement, planning and service delivery. The agency also has a significant responsibility to its almost 6,000 employees to dismantle any harmful cultures, practices and policies that reinforce anti-Blackness, structural racism and/or bias in the workplace.

The agency developed our Racial Equity Action Plan as a process and strategic plan for SFMTA, guided by the citywide racial equity framework, to enact institutional and structural change to achieve racial equity.

With leadership from the SFMTA’s newly appointed Race, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, Josephine Ayankoya, and Human Resources Director Kimberly Ackerman, the plan commits the SFMTA to ongoing action, reflection and refinement leading to structural change. In particular the plan identifies concrete actions in hiring and recruitment, retention and promotions, discipline and separations, diverse and equitable leadership, mobility and professional development and a culture of inclusion and belonging.

A number of human resources actions are already underway at the SFMTA:

• Permanent Civil Service: A form has been created for HR analysts to use in the hiring process to better understand ethnicity and gender trends at different stages of the hiring process.
• Cost control decisions: The agency’s cost control group membership has been expanded to include a more diverse group of staff, ensuring that a broader set of backgrounds and experiences shape important budget decisions.
• Disciplinary dashboard: Managers will begin using a consistent tracking system across the agency to measure and monitor disciplinary actions.
• Blanding report updates: The agency will make quarterly updates that respond to findings of the 2019 Blanding Report, which outlined racial equity deficiencies at the agency.

 Next steps

The SFMTA Office of Race, Equity and Inclusion has also initiated an agencywide series of listening sessions. These discussions are be a space for staff across the agency to give input on:

• Challenges related to racial and social inequities experienced by staff
• Resources needed to advance racial equity within the workforce
• Perspectives on what should be prioritized in the SFMTA’s racial equity work

Moving forward, the Office of Race, Equity and Inclusion will hire additional staff based on feedback from over 100 meetings with staff members across the agency.

In its next phase, the Racial Equity Action Plan will also extend its efforts to include external equity issues including the services rendered by the SFMTA, the projects we plan, the ways we engage the public and how we support staff who work directly with the public. This will be done in accordance with guidance from the Office of Racial Equity under San Francisco’s Human Rights Commission.

 

Published May 21, 2021 at 06:46PM
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Get Out and Get Going on Bike to Wherever Day, May 21

Get Out and Get Going on Bike to Wherever Day, May 21
By Pamela Johnson

Heading out to run an errand, meeting friends, taking in the sights at the Botanical Garden or Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park (both now open) or getting a bite to eat? On May 21, join people across the city bicycling for this year's annual Bike to Work Day event in the form of Bike to Wherever Day. 

Bike to Wherever day is a celebration of bicycles as a fun and healthy way to get around the city, hosted by The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition encouraging people to pedal to their destinations for the day. The event promotes the bicycle both as an alternative commute and as a healthy and safe alternative to driving to…wherever!

The SFMTA encourages everyone, including those who don't usually bike, to get out and bike on this special day.  After grabbing a bike (your own or a bikeshare bike), stop by one of the 12 energizer stations that will be hosted citywide as you get going around town. There, you can pick up your free Bike to Work Day canvas tote bag, filled with goodies and collectibles, courtesy of the SF Bicycle Coalition.

Resources to Help You Plan Your Bicycle Trip

The SFMTA has developed handy resources to help you plan your bicycle trips.  Visit the interactive bike network map, that highlights recommended routes and shows bikeshare station locations. At our Get Out, Get Going website you can find an interactive multi-mode map with information about other sustainable ways to get you to your destination that you could pair with your bicycle trip, including walking and using shared mobility devices, like a scooter or moped.  

Like never before, people are riding bicycles all across San Francisco. The SFMTA supports sustainable transportation modes like the use of bicycles, especially for everyday travel. To help meet the needs of an increasing number of people riding bicycles in San Francisco, we support bicycling by building dedicated bike lanes around the city, and by making streets safer and more comfortable for bicycling. We also implemented the Slow Streets Program with nearly 30 new corridors implemented since the start of the pandemic as a way to limit traffic on certain residential streets to be used as a shared space for people traveling by foot and by bicycle.

The SFMTA is proud to sponsor Bike to Wherever Day, San Francisco's favorite biking holiday.  Be sure to check out the history of walking and bicycling in San Francisco through the years. Remember when bicycling on Bike to Whenever Day to ride predictably by following rules of the road and to have fun.

Published May 20, 2021 at 08:59PM
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Pay-By-Plate Coming to Parking Meters

Pay-By-Plate Coming to Parking Meters
By Pamela Johnson

A change from pay-by-space to pay-by-license plate is coming to half of all parking meters in San Francisco on the heels of a four-month pay-by-plate parking meter pilot focused on Indiana Street in the Dogpatch that ended in March 2021.  

How it Works

Instead of entering your space number to pay for parking, you will enter your license plate number. When you pull into a parking space, head to the nearest paystation on the block, or reach for your smartphone, key in your license plate number and pay. Since the PayByPhone app stores your license plate number, you won’t have to remember or type it in every time when using the app. New overhead signage and decals on the paystations will let you know that the pay-by-plate system is in effect.

Look for signs that indicate Pay by License Plate is available

This new system comes with many benefits. Pay-by-plate gives you the option to pay at any pay station on your side of the block as you head to your destination. If you pay for parking but leave before your paid time expires, you may return to the same block and park without having to pay again, as long as you are within the original paid time. It also streamlines enforcement, giving parking control officers more time to focus on safety issues like double-parking and neighborhood concerns like residential permit parking enforcement.

The SFMTA is currently testing the pay-by-plate system to make it as effective as possible before rolling it out more widely. In early April, based on experience with the Dogpatch pilot, the SFMTA switched parking meters from pay-by-space to pay-by-plate on the 000 - 100 blocks of 10th Street, between Market and Howard Streets.  By December of 2022, half of the 28,000 parking spaces in San Francisco are expected to be converted to pay-by-plate.

According to Ted Graff, Director of Parking for the SFMTA’s Streets Division, “The move to pay-by-plate makes on-street parking more efficient. It takes advantage of new technology to streamline enforcement and reduce costs. And we plan to reinvest the time and money we save to make the parking experience, and parking enforcement, better all around the city.”

To learn more about the Dogpatch Parking Meter Pilot,  or how to pay for parking at a meter please visit the SFMTA parking website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Published May 13, 2021 at 12:03AM
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