Skip to main content

Fast-Tracking Transit Lanes to Help the City's Recovery

Fast-Tracking Transit Lanes to Help the City's Recovery
By Amy Fowler

Map of proposed temporary emergency transit lanesMap of temporary emergency transit lanes being proposed at the June 30 SFMTA Board of Directors meeting

We don’t have a crystal ball to see into San Francisco’s future, but one thing is clear: a citywide economic recovery is dependent in large part on a transportation recovery. And while we work to come back from one crisis, we’re looking to avert another—traffic gridlock.

With hundreds of thousands of people dependent on transit to get around before COVID-19, our city is uniquely vulnerable to increased congestion. Congestion is already on the rise, and some studies are predicting that people may turn increasingly to private vehicles, turning the streets into a “Carmageddon” for both cars and transit. Our city’s streets simply don’t have room for more vehicles.

At the same time, COVID-19 has impacted our ability to provide Muni service. Service levels depend on the availability of operators, car cleaners, maintenance staff and other personnel to operate the system and support expanded cleaning protocols. To support physical distancing, our buses can only carry one-third of the number of passengers as they could before the pandemic. And, severe revenue cuts are also taking a toll. We estimate that we may only be able to provide 70% of pre-COVID-19 Muni service hours next year. If buses get stuck in traffic, that number could be even lower.

We need to ensure that transportation works for those who don’t have the privilege of working from home or using a private vehicle. Now more than ever, Muni is serving those riders who have no other options and are more likely to be people of color or from low-income households. In order to protect people who rely on transit from increased exposure to COVID-19 on slow or crowded buses, we need to act quickly to move more people with fewer resources.

One of the most effective tools we have to improve Muni travel time and reliability are transit lanes. Dedicated transit lanes allow buses to complete trips in less time and return into service more quickly, increasing vehicle frequency and moving more people with more space to physically distance. Emergency vehicles are also able to use the lanes to bypass traffic congestion.

The benefits these transit lanes bring are critically needed for Muni customers who have no other options during this public health emergency. We recently implemented a new transit lane on 4th Street and on June 16 the SFMTA Board of Directors approved new transit lanes as part of the Active Beale Street Project.

At a special meeting on Tuesday, June 30, the SFMTA Board will consider fast-tracking temporary emergency transit lanes that would benefit five Muni routes:

  • 14 Mission and 14R Mission Rapid: Mission Street in SoMa
  • 19 Polk: 7th and 8th Streets in SoMa
  • 43 Masonic and 44 O’Shaughnessy: Locations on Presidio, Masonic, Laguna Honda, Woodside, and Bosworth streets

If approved, these temporary emergency transit lanes would be installed in late summer and striped only with white paint, “Bus/Taxi Only” stenciling and signage. Lanes will automatically be removed within 120 days after the emergency order is lifted, unless there is a public process to make a lane permanent.

These locations were chosen based on where the benefits are greatest, based on current ridership, travel time data and to prioritize routes that serve neighborhoods with high percentages of people of color and low-income households, including Ingleside, Outer Mission, Excelsior, Visitacion Valley, Bayview, Mission, SoMa and the Tenderloin.

On June 30, the Board will also consider delegating authority to the City Traffic Engineer’s Office to streamline the approval process for any future temporary emergency transit lanes. A public hearing would also be required for each corridor. The SFMTA is using travel time data to evaluate additional locations where adding temporary emergency transit lanes would achieve the biggest time savings and provide the greatest benefit. We will work with the community to evaluate and make any adjustments that are needed to the temporary transit lanes in real time based on public feedback and data monitoring.

Map showing Muni travel time savings on several corridors during shelter-in-place

At the beginning of the shelter-in-place, we saw massive time savings on several streets that don’t currently have transit lanes (see map), including the streets where temporary emergency transit lanes are proposed. Those are gains we’ll need to maintain to protect essential workers and our future economic recovery. Meanwhile, on most streets that already have transit lanes, there was no or very little improvement with the decreased traffic—demonstrating just how effective those lanes have been.  

Delivering the city we want in the future, with a transit network that seamlessly connects people to jobs and neighborhoods to neighborhoods won’t come without tradeoffs. Temporary transit lanes will require removing some general-purpose lanes or parking in some places. As lanes are implemented we will be closely evaluating and gathering public feedback, and are prepared to make adjustments as we go—or even remove lanes—to ensure we meet the needs of the community and Muni customers. 

Learn more about temporary emergency transit lanes.



Published June 27, 2020 at 05:08AM
https://ift.tt/382yjiP

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bihar: Stages collapse during Congress rallies in Darbhanga, West Champaran https://ift.tt/37QFnks

The stage on which Congress candidate from Jale assembly seat, Mashkoor Ahmad Usman was addressing a rally broke and collapsed in Bihar's Darbhanga on Thursday. In a similar incident, another stage collapsed and took down party leaders Imran Pratapgarhi and Akhilesh Singh along with several party workers who were on the dias, during a Congress rally at Bagahi Deoraj in Champaran.

Powered Scooters Charge City’s Transportation Recovery

Powered Scooters Charge City’s Transportation Recovery By Jason Hyde The SFMTA is releasing its next round of Powered Scooter Share permits on July 1. Scooters remain a sustainable mode of travel and a complement to Muni and public transit service as the city recovers from the pandemic and San Franciscans begin to travel more. The SFMTA’s Powered Scooter Share Program is essential in ensuring that shared scooter operations support the city’s economic recovery in a safe, sustainable, and equitable way.  The SFMTA received four submittals for the permit program and will issue permits to two operators : Spin and Lime. Permits will be in effect for a one-year term, with the option to extend for another year at the discretion of the SFMTA based on compliance with various program metrics. While the new permit program does not set a limit on the number of scooters each operator may deploy, it does limit the overall citywide fleet size at 10,000. Starting at a base of 2,000 scooters...

New Muni Service Changes Start Saturday, August 19

New Muni Service Changes Start Saturday, August 19 By Clive Tsuma 28R 19th Avenue will run on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. starting Monday, August 21.  Back to School  With SFUSD students returning to school August 16, many families who rely on Muni to get to school will see service increase after school as part of the new schedule. Because Muni vehicles often become crowded during morning peak hours and sometimes pass up stops when there is not enough room for more riders, families are encouraged to plan their trips ahead of time and hop on Muni early to make sure students get to school on time.  With every public school in the San Francisco Unified School District being served by at least one Muni route , students can expect extra Muni service on the first day of the school this fall and continue providing service throughout the school year. While the Muni service changes won’t be implemented until August 19, school tripper service will be offered starting Au...

Plan Your Next Golden Gate Park Trip with Muni

Plan Your Next Golden Gate Park Trip with Muni By Eillie Anzilotti   A map of San Francisco showing Muni lines that offer direct service to Golden Gate Park, including: The 18 46th Avenue, the 29 Sunset, the 5 Fulton and 5R Fulton Rapid, the N Judah, the 44 O’Shaughnessy, the 33 Ashbury/18th Street, the 7 Haight/Noriega, the 43 Masonic and the 28 19th Avenue. Around each bus route shown on the map, a red zone shows the range within 1,000 feet of a stop, orange shows within 2,000 feet of a stop, and yellow shows within 3,000 feet. Here’s a fun fact: 70% of San Franciscans are within a 15-minute walk of a transfer-free Muni ride to the largest public space in our city: Golden Gate Park.   Especially as COVID-19 has heightened the importance of outdoor recreation and park access, SFMTA has made efforts to update Muni service to get people to Golden Gate Park. As of now, ...

India reports first 6 cases of new coronavirus strain after UK returnees test positive https://ift.tt/3pA0T2j

India on Tuesday reported the first six cases of the new coronavirus strain after six people who had returned from the United Kingdom were tested positive for the new UK variant genome. According to the details, the new coronavirus strain cases were reported from Hyderabad, Pune and Bangalore. Samples of 3 UK returnees were tested and found positive for the new UK strain in NIMHANS, Bengaluru. The other two cases were tested at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad; while the last case was tested at the National Institute of Virology, Pune.

The Golden Gate Park Shuttle: Back and Better than Ever!

The Golden Gate Park Shuttle: Back and Better than Ever! By Eillie Anzilotti Over the months of outreach that the SFMTA and our colleagues at the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department conducted for the Golden Gate Park Access & Safety Program , we heard a lot of feedback on the park shuttle. Specifically, that it needed some TLC.   Now, the Golden Gate Park free shuttle is getting the major overhaul it deserves. This past weekend, Rec & Park and the SFMTA began rolling out some key improvements to the shuttle—starting with expanded service, a longer and more connected route, more stops, and shorter wait times. These upgrades were informed by feedback from the numerous older and senior residents and members of the disability community, and will create a more accessible, reliable, and enjoyable experience of Golden Gate Park and its cultural institutions.  Here are some more details on all the improvements:   New weekday service from noon t...

अगर मैंने आत्महत्या की तो लोगों को पता होना चाहिए किसकी वजह से की - फूटकर रोते दिखे विकास गुप्ता

सुशांत सिंह राजपूत की आत्महत्या हर किसी को एक गहरा सदमा दे गई है और अब सुशांत के करीबी दोस्त विकास गुप्ता ने एक वीडियो में अपनी आपबीती सुनाई है। विकास इस वीडियो में बेहद टूटे हुए नज़र आ रहे हैं from टेलीविजन की खबरें | Television News in Hindi | TV Serials Update in Hindi – FilmiBeat Hindi http:/hindi.filmibeat.com/television/vikas-gupta-reveals-people-want-him-to-commit-suicide-cries-his-heart-out-for-sushant-singh-rajput-090284.html?utm_source=/rss/filmibeat-hindi-television-fb.xml&utm_medium=23.213.205.12&utm_campaign=client-rss

FOX NEWS: Ohio amusement park shut down after multiple fights break out Kings Island in Mason, around 20 miles north of Cincinnati, closed down 30 minutes early Saturday night after several fights among teenagers occurred, reports suggest.

Ohio amusement park shut down after multiple fights break out Kings Island in Mason, around 20 miles north of Cincinnati, closed down 30 minutes early Saturday night after several fights among teenagers occurred, reports suggest. via FOX NEWS https://ift.tt/3wsn8uI

FOX NEWS: UK neighbors cut tree in half over bird poop dispute: ‘We were absolutely distraught’ Pictures of the odd tree in Sheffield, U.K., have been posted online and have been turned into memes on social media.

UK neighbors cut tree in half over bird poop dispute: ‘We were absolutely distraught’ Pictures of the odd tree in Sheffield, U.K., have been posted online and have been turned into memes on social media. via FOX NEWS https://ift.tt/3jl8Sk3

PM Modi lauds IFS officers for their work towards serving nation, furthering national interests https://ift.tt/36HoEzw

Greeting Indian Foreign Service officers on IFS day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that their work towards serving the nation and furthering national interests globally are commendable. Their efforts during the Vande Bharat Mission, which was launched to bring Indians home from abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic as international travel came to a halt, and other related help to our citizens and other nations is noteworthy, Modi added.