Geary Boulevard Improvement Project Update

Geary Boulevard Improvement Project Update
By Amy Fowler

Geary Boulevard is a critical east-west arterial and one of the busiest bus corridors in North America, connecting downtown San Francisco to the Richmond District. The SFMTA has been busy working on the second phase of planned improvements on Geary, called the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project, to improve Muni’s 38 Geary bus service and address traffic safety between 34th Avenue and Stanyan Street.

The project is building on the success of the Geary Rapid Project, which was recently completed on time and on budget and has already shown promising travel time savings on the eastern half of the Geary corridor.

Last fall, we asked neighbors in the Richmond about their priorities for transit, safety and driving issues on Geary via pop-up events on the corridor and a Virtual Open House. Thanks to input from over 600 community members, the SFMTA has used this feedback to draft the detailed, block-by-block project design.

Now we’re conducting outreach on this detailed proposal, which includes:

Installing transit lanes between 28th and 15th avenues. To make room, angled parking on Geary would be converted to parallel parking.
Relocating 11 bus stops and removing two closely-spaced stops to improve transit performance.
Traffic signal upgrades, new bus bulb-outs and lengthening bus zones that are too short to accommodate two buses.
Safety improvements, including pedestrian bulb-outs, daylighting, expanded median refuges and left-turn restrictions at key intersections.

Geary Boulevard Improvement Project conceptual scope map image

Some of the proposed changes would remove parking along Geary—about two parking spaces per block face on average. To help offset this loss, we’re proposing to increase parking spaces on some side streets by converting some parallel parking near Geary to angled parking.

We have also heard from small businesses about the importance of maintaining customer access to their storefronts. In response, we’re proposing parking policy changes that could help increase parking availability for people visiting businesses or other short-term trips. Some of this can be achieved by curb space changes, such as adding more passenger or commercial loading zones. We are also proposing to add evening and Sunday metering on Geary in Central Richmond between 14th and 28th avenues. This would help to improve parking availability for businesses, but would mean free parking at meters wouldn’t start until later in the evening. Parking meters, especially in commercial areas, are the most effective tool we have to manage parking in high-demand areas. The proposed extended hours can help support increased business activity and make parking spaces easier to find for everyone.

Do you live or work in the Richmond near Geary? We want your feedback!

Learn more about the detailed project design and let us know what you think in two simple steps:

Step 1: Visit our website, where you can review the block-by-block design for the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project. Learn about improvements proposed, including additional transit lanes, bus stop changes and safety treatments.

Step 2: Then, take a brief survey about the detailed project design. Let us know which project proposals you like or don’t like. The survey will be open through March 31.

Want to connect directly with staff about the project? You can meet with project staff in-person at our Community Pop-Up event at Geary and 20th Avenue on Tuesday, March 15 from 11:00am to 1:00pm. Or, drop in to our Virtual Office Hours on Wednesday, March 16, anytime from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

We’ll also be hosting a self-guided (unstaffed) open house at One Richmond (802 Clement Street at 9th Avenue). Drop in anytime Mondays – Fridays from 1-5 p.m. through March 28 to view project materials and take the survey in-person.

We’ll use this input to help create the final project proposal, to be considered for approval later in 2022 by the SFMTA Board of Directors. Construction would be coordinated with needed utility upgrades, as many sewer and water pipes under Geary are over 100 years old.

Learn more about the project at SFMTA.com/ImproveGeary.

Published March 10, 2022 at 09:23PM
https://ift.tt/k6qM2hs

Comments

POTUS Appoints SFMTA Planner to U.S. Access Board

POTUS Appoints SFMTA Planner to U.S. Access Board By Stephen Chun A big shout out to Maddy Ruvolo, Streets Accessibility Planner in the Taxi, Access and Mobility (TAMS) Division! On Monday, the President of the United States announced his intent to appoint our very own Maddy Ruvolo to serve on the U.S. Access Board as an Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Access Board Member. The U.S. Access Board is an independent federal agency that promotes equality for people with disabilities through leadership in accessible design and the development of accessibility guidelines and standards. This role is a very important, critical and prestigious position and it is no secret that Maddy Ruvolo is the perfect individual to serve on the U.S. Access Board and represent San Francisco. Ruvolo has been widely recognized for her ...

New T Third Route in Central Subway Starting January 7

New T Third Route in Central Subway Starting January 7 By Mariana Maguire New T Third service via Central Subway starts January 7 with service between Sunnydale and Chinatown-Rose Pak Station. On Saturday, January 7, the T Third starts its historic new route, providing a direct Metro connection between Sunnydale and Chinatown-Rose Pak Station. Service runs Mondays through Fridays, 6 a.m. to midnight. every 10 minutes and Saturdays and Sundays, 8 a.m. to midnight every 12 minutes. The new T Third line vastly improves transportation to and from some of San Francisco’s most densely populated areas and major shopping corridors, expanding transit options and new connections. The new T Third route will travel north to the new Central Subway from 4th & King platform. It will no longer turn onto King Street or run along the Embarcadero and the Market Street subway. Also, the K Ingleside will now travel between Balboa Park and Embarcadero Station. New Connections Customers traveling...

The Future of Slow Streets

The Future of Slow Streets By Eillie Anzilotti Over the past two years, Slow Streets have shown how simple designs that prioritize people can transform streets. Suddenly, streets across San Francisco filled with the sounds of kids playing and neighbors chatting. They filled with people on bicycles and people rolling in wheelchairs; with joggers and dog-walkers. The streets came to life. Initially, the SFMTA introduced Slow Streets as an emergency response to COVID-19. People needed space for recreating at a safe distance outdoors. And with Muni service reduced or suspended at the time, people needed ways to travel to essential destinations on foot or bike. To quickly meet these early pandemic needs, we implemented Slow Streets with simple signs and barricades. Over time, it became clear that Slow Streets served an even larger purpose. They became places for communities to come together. Neighbors organized events like scavenger hunts and Trick or Treat parties around their local Sl...

New Interactive “Shared Spaces” Map and Dashboard Launched

New Interactive “Shared Spaces” Map and Dashboard Launched By Phillip Pierce San Francisco’s popular Shared Spaces  program, in which the SFMTA is a participating agency, now has an exciting new tool: an interactive map showing the locations and status of all the proposed Shared Spaces locations. The map is designed to make it easier for people to find Shared Spaces, check on permit status or simply track the progress of the program. Static image of the new “interactive” map showing Shared Spaces locations and stages in the approval process. Click through for a live view and explore in more detail. “We are so excited to see the new Shared Spaces Tracker that lets restaurants, businesses and residents see where the sidewalk and parking lane permit applications are located and details the status of each application,” said Laurie Thomas, Executive Director of the Golden Gate Restaurant A...

Transit Lanes Keep Muni Moving on Mission Street in SoMa

Transit Lanes Keep Muni Moving on Mission Street in SoMa By Erin McMillan The full-time transit lanes on Mission Street downtown installed as a temporary emergency measure during the pandemic will be made permanent. The first of the city’s Temporary Emergency Transit Lanes to get permanent authorization, they were unanimously approved by the SFMTA Board of Directors at their June 15, 2021 meeting. This shows how a quick-build project can be installed, evaluated, and refined in a relatively short amount of time. Thousands of daily riders have already felt the impact of the full-time transit lanes since they were first temporarily installed last summer. Now, riders of the 14 Mission, 14R Mission Rapid, and many SamTrans and Golden Gate Transit customers will continue to benefit from the transit time savings we have seen with the implementation of these lanes. Mission Street in SoMa has been a major transit corridor for years, serving regional commuter...

New top story from Time: After Trump Denies Knowledge of Reported Russian Bounties on U.S. Soldiers, Lawmakers From Both Parties Demand Answers

https://ift.tt/31rSR2S Leaders of both parties pressed on Sunday for answers from the White House about reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin had put bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan and that the U.S. had taken no action in response. Democrats called for hearings to be held. In his first comment on the matter, President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday that “nobody briefed or told me” about the “so-called attacks,” a comment that his former national security adviser termed “remarkable.” The New York Times reported Friday on the alleged actions by Russian military intelligence — paying Taliban-linked militias to kill American and British troops — and that Trump and other top White House officials had been briefed on the matter months ago. Major elements were also reported by the Washington Post. In a follow-up story Sunday, the Times wrote that commandos and spies on the ground in Afghanistan had reported their findings to superiors in January and that they had ...

4th Street Transit Lane Offers Muni a Path Forward

4th Street Transit Lane Offers Muni a Path Forward By Bonnie Jean von Krogh A new transit lane was installed last week on 4th Street in SoMA as part of the previously approved 4th Street Transit Improvement Project . As the first transit lane put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, this change will help protect Muni passengers as congestion returns to city streets. Transit lanes allow buses to complete trips in less time and turn around back into service more quickly. That means with our limited resources, we can provide more Muni service with the same number of buses, reducing crowding and maintaining better physical distancing onboard. The benefits that transit lanes provide – saving time and avoiding congestion – have become critically important during COVID-19 to protect the health of Muni passengers. Physical distancing requirements mean that Muni’s passenger capacity is cut in a third from pre-COVID levels. When buses ...

New Express Service Comes to the 1 California

New Express Service Comes to the 1 California By Melissa Culross Newly painted Muni flag stop indicating the pilot 1X California Express Beginning February 21, 2023, a pilot program will offer express bus service on the new 1X California Express between the Richmond neighborhood and the Financial District. The SFMTA plays a significant role in San Francisco’s economic recovery, and this pilot that serves downtown is part of that. We have been working on improving travel time and reliability over the last several years. Travel times are now 11% quicker on the 1 California thanks to new transit lanes on California, Clay and Sacramento streets. But our work is not done on the corridor! The new 1X California express will provide another option for riders to zoom from the inner Richmond into and out of downtown even faster. We also expect this service to ease crowding on the 1 California as more people head back to the office. Three morning 1X California Express buses will ...

Muni Service Changes Starting June 13

Muni Service Changes Starting June 13 By Mariana Maguire Beginning Saturday, June 13, the SFMTA will increase Muni service and frequency, add select routes into service and extend some current routes to continue to support essential trips. A key goal of these service increases is to support the community’s economic recovery by providing more connections to neighborhood commercial districts as businesses begin to reopen. We are also adding more frequent service on targeted routes to help address crowding and improve onboard physical distancing. These service changes will improve transit access through Chinatown, SoMa and the Excelsior neighborhoods, identified by the Muni’s Service Equity Strategy as neighborhoods that rely on transit service the most based on the percentage of households with low incomes, private vehicle ownership and race and ethnicity demographics. Although Muni continues to be for essential trips only, many people have no choice but to use transit to r...

New top story from Time: Joe Biden Formally Nominated by Democrats to Run Against President Trump

https://ift.tt/31atd1S (NEW YORK) — Democrats formally nominated Joe Biden as their 2020 presidential nominee Tuesday night, as party officials and activists from across the nation gave the former vice president their overwhelming support during his party’s all-virtual national convention. The moment marked a political high point for Biden, who had sought the presidency twice before and is now cemented as the embodiment of Democrats’ desperate desire to defeat President Donald Trump this fall. The roll call of convention delegates formalized what has been clear for months since Biden took the lead in the primary elections’ chase for the nomination. It came as he worked to demonstrate the breadth of his coalition for a second consecutive night, this time blending support from his party’s elders and fresher faces to make the case that he has the experience and energy to repair chaos that Trump has created at home and abroad. Former President Bill Clinton and former Secreta...

My precise view

Search This Blog