Connect SF - A Shared Vision for Transportation in San Francisco 

Connect SF - A Shared Vision for Transportation in San Francisco 
By Emmanuel Stamatogiannakis

As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, what does an effective, equitable, and resilient transportation system for San Francisco’s future look like? ConnectSF, comprised of staff from the SFMTA, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority and the San Francisco Planning Department, has been envisioning just that. Now, after engaging with residents, community groups, businesses, youth organizations, and other stakeholders to gather feedback, the collaborative has released the ConnectSF Transit Strategy. The strategy details how we can reinvest in the city’s transit system to achieve our shared vision of a growing, diverse and equitable city with transportation options that are accessible and affordable to all.  

The Vision 

The ConnectSF Transit Strategy calls for four key investments to build our bold vision of San Francisco’s transportation system: 

We will make the current system work better with aggressive renewal and restoration of our current network.  
With targeted investments in our street infrastructure, we will deliver a Five-Minute Network that provides reliable service every five minutes on key bus and rail lines. 
By renewing and modernizing our rail system, we will build a Modern Muni Metro with increased speed, reliability and capacity for all riders. 
We will build more rail to San Francisco’s busiest places to get people quickly and reliably to their destinations. This includes a new subway along Geary and 19th Avenue, an extension of the Central Subway, and a new Caltrain station in the Bayview.

In order to realize this vision, we will need to invest in creating a system that is better than before – faster, more reliable and more accessible. The ConnectSF Transit Strategy details the big changes we are calling for and where we will need funding to achieve them. Transit is essential to keeping the city moving, and a stable, ongoing funding source will be critical for helping San Francisco manage congestion and rebuild its economy. 

Reshaping Our Transit Network 

Increasing service and making changes that enable new or better transit options are among ConnectSF’s top investment priorities. Our Muni Forward toolkit already includes proven methods for accomplishing this. Bus lanes, transit signal priority, car-free zones and transit queue jumps are just some examples. The ConnectSF Transit Strategy goes beyond these methods and emphasizes the need to prioritize improvements for riders who depend on transit the most. 

The ConnectSF Transit Strategy also calls for reshaping the way we operate transit in San Francisco. San Franciscans need access to a robust network of frequent buses and trains that take them all throughout the city-- rather than focusing primarily on trips downtown. This will require changes along streets and at intersections so that the only time your bus has to stop is to pick you up and drop you off, not to sit in traffic and wait at lights. 

Delivering a modern Muni Metro that residents can rely on also requires catching up with our backlog of deferred maintenance and enhancing our light rail system – for example, upgrading Muni Metro with a new train control system. In the future, in those areas of the city where no amount of bus improvements will be able to meet the demand, long-term planning will also include major new rail projects. 

The ConnectSF Transit Strategy, along with the Streets and Freeways Study, serve to identify projects and policies to be included in the San Francisco Transportation Plan and the updated Transportation Element of the San Francisco General Plan. Rebuilding and advancing our transportation system will take the commitment and involvement of city staff and community stakeholders. 

For more information, please visit www.connectsf.org.

Published December 14, 2021 at 11:55PM
https://ift.tt/30px3Xw

Comments

Three Golden Rules to Improve Scooter Safety

Three Golden Rules to Improve Scooter Safety By Mona Chiu The SFMTA has some exciting news for all who use the sidewalk in the city! Starting May 1, 2023, we'll be launching a new safety campaign to promote safe and responsible electric scooter use for both permitted scooter share devices and privately operated scooters. The campaign will focus on three key safety rules that every rider should keep in mind while riding: no sidewalk riding, no speeding and no double riding (two people riding one device). By educating riders about the dangers of sidewalk riding, unsafe speeding and riding, and improper parking, we hope to make the city safer for everyone. Sidewalk riding has been a major concern for pedestrians in San Francisco, and it's illegal to ride an electric scooter on the sidewalk. Electric scooters can travel at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour, which can be dangerous if riders aren't paying attention to their surroundings. The SFMTA's saf...

New Dashboards Give a Window into Muni Service Changes

New Dashboards Give a Window into Muni Service Changes By Kate McCarthy An inspector manages Muni service. New dashboards that help inform changes to Muni service are now live at SFMTA.com/MuniData Many factors inform our decisions about Muni service adjustments. These include making sure changes to service support the SFMTA’s values, which are economic vitality, environmental stewardship, trust and equity. We also evaluate travel patterns. You can now explore these patterns using the new Muni data dashboards (SFMTA.com/MuniData). When looking at possible Muni service changes, the first thing we do is turn to the Muni Service Equity Strategy for guidance. Using the Muni Service Equity Strategy, we prioritize providing Muni service along routes that more often serve people of color, members of low-income households, and/or those who are dependent upon transit service, including people with disabilities and seniors. We also use ridership data to analyze where riders are boa...

New top story from Time: What to Watch For In Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s First Presidential Debate

https://ift.tt/3kSr0zp Four years ago, Donald Trump prepared to debate his general-election opponent for the first time. Down in the polls to an experienced, traditional pol, he had been reduced to spreading weird rumors and casting doubt on the legitimacy of the vote, even as questions swirled about his personal finances. Now Trump is the incumbent president, and the conditions could not be more different as he prepares for his first debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday: a nation wracked by disease, disorder and disasters; an election neither candidate is treating like a foregone conclusion. And yet the similarities to 2016 are striking, from new questions about Trump’s taxes to another open Supreme Court seat . The main similarity, of course, is Trump—a singular political figure who has intensely polarized the nation. The debate, scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Eastern at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, is especially momentous because voters ha...

Slow Streets Become Spooky (Safe) Streets for Halloween

Slow Streets Become Spooky (Safe) Streets for Halloween By Eillie Anzilotti Halloween festivities on Minnesota Slow Street in 2020 This Halloween season, Slow Streets are becoming Spooky Streets. All across San Francisco, community groups are transforming their local Slow Streets into neighborhood gathering places for trick-or-treating, costume parties and more. On October 31 from 3 to 6 p.m., organizers from Kid Safe SF and the Great Highway Park Initiative are turning the Great Highway into The Great Hauntway , a beachside block party with a costume contest, arts and crafts and a “spooky disco.” That same day, neighbors in Sunnyside are gathering on Slow Hearst Street for a Halloween party at 4 p.m. On Minnesota Street, the Dogpatch Neighborhood Association is hosting their second annual MinneSLOWta Spooky Slow Street Stroll on October 30—the same day that Slow Sanchez Street will host a Halloween Stroll . Safe, car-light spaces for people to walk, bike and roll are essen...

FOX NEWS: California couple gets married at 'most beautiful' Taco Bell: 'It was the best of both worlds' Analicia Garcia, 24, and Kyle Howser, 25, from Sacramento, California, got married on Tuesday, Oct. 26 and had their reception at the famous Pacifica, California, Taco Bell.

California couple gets married at 'most beautiful' Taco Bell: 'It was the best of both worlds' Analicia Garcia, 24, and Kyle Howser, 25, from Sacramento, California, got married on Tuesday, Oct. 26 and had their reception at the famous Pacifica, California, Taco Bell. via FOX NEWS https://ift.tt/Qu3GfOi

Youth Voices for Vision Zero SF

Youth Voices for Vision Zero SF By Christine Osorio Starting in the month of February, Muni buses and transit shelters will feature youth artwork illustrating Vision Zero traffic safety messages. The students are part of Youth Art Exchange (YAX), an arts-education non-profit based whose mission is to support San Francisco’s public high school students in becoming leaders, thinkers, and artists by sharing creative practices with professional artists. As part of Supervisor Norman Yee’s District 7 participatory budget process, YAX students consulted with SFMTA staff to develop traffic safety messages and artwork that reflect their experiences around traffic safety. Themes highlighted through Youth Voices for Vision Zero SF include general traffic safety such as: Yielding to pedestrians in the crosswalk. Slowing down. Understanding that traffic deaths are preventable. Watching for people biking. Not blocking the sidewalk with a scooter. The student artwork also included Covid-...

Details on Expanded Bus Service Coming July 9

Details on Expanded Bus Service Coming July 9 By Mariana Maguire Photo caption: The 6 Haight-Parnassus is one of the Muni bus routes that will be brought back into service July 9, 2022 after being temporarily suspended since March 2020. On July 9, the next phase of the 2022 Muni Service Network plan will go into effect, focused on expanding bus service including the return of the 2 Sutter, 6 Haight-Parnassus and 21 Hayes (with some route changes), as well as other route extensions and modifications. Public feedback helped us prioritize bringing back routes and connections many communities rely on. Read more about what we heard from the public and how we incorporated feedback into the 2022 service proposal. As resources allow, our service changes will continue prioritizing service linking neighborhoods identified by our Muni Service Equity Strategy to essential destinations like hospitals and neighborhood commercial corridors, accommodate changing travel patterns and getting...

New top story from Time: Trump Says He’ll Leave the White House if the Electoral College Formalizes Biden’s Victory

https://ift.tt/3mcRfS2 WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will leave the White House if the Electoral College formalizes President-Elect Joe Biden’s victory — even as he insisted such a decision would be a “mistake” — as he spent his Thanksgiving renewing baseless claims that “massive fraud” and crooked officials in battleground states caused his election defeat. “Certainly I will. But you know that,” Trump said Thursday when asked whether he would vacate the building, allowing a peaceful transition of power in January. But Trump — taking questions for the first time since Election Day — insisted that “a lot of things” would happen between now and then that might alter the results. “This has a long way to go,” Trump said, even though he lost. The fact that a sitting American president even had to address whether or not he would leave office after losing reelection underscores the extent to which Trump has smashed one convention after another over ...

India records 69,239 new COVID-19 cases, 912 deaths; tally crosses 30-lakh mark https://ift.tt/31maQHK

India on Sunday recorded as many as 69,239 new coronavirus cases and 912 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to Union health ministry data. The total cases of coronavirus infections mounted to 30,44,941 while the death toll climbed to 56,706 the data updated at 8 am showed. Out of these, 7,07,668 are active cases and 22,80,567 recovered, according to the health ministry.

Destination San Francisco: Muni Gets You to All the Sights

Destination San Francisco: Muni Gets You to All the Sights By 39 Coit servicing Coit Tower at Telegraph Hill – one of the routes that will be returning in August 2021 as part of Muni’s next service changes. San Francisco is reopening and the SFMTA is supporting economic recovery by providing Muni access to 98% of the city. By August 2021, a majority of our pre-COVID routes will be back in service connecting residents and visitors with world-class shopping and dining experiences, off-the-beaten-path local flare, diverse neighborhoods and almost boundless outdoor activities. Shops, Markets & Dining in Diverse Neighborhoods Virtually every neighborhood in San Francisco has its own boutique shopping and dining experiences, as well as unique farmers markets showcasing local shops and amenities....

My precise view

Search This Blog