A Decade of Rolling out the Red Carpet for Riders

A Decade of Rolling out the Red Carpet for Riders
By Cassie Halls

An animated map showing the expansion of red transit lanes in San Francisco. View as a PDF. Accessible version of the expansion of red transit lanes:

Red Transit Lanes Over Time in San Francisco from 2013 to 2023 

There is nothing quite like looking out the window at gridlock traffic while your bus coasts down a red transit lane. This may feel like an “only in San Francisco” pleasure – after all, San Francisco was one of the first U.S. cities to “roll out the red carpet” by painting bus lanes red. But red transit lanes have now become a popular way to keep buses out of traffic in more than 25 cities across the country.

The SFMTA is celebrating a decade since the installation of San Francisco’s first red transit lane on Church Street on March 23, 2013. You can help us celebrate by riding that first red transit lane between Duboce and 16th Streets on Muni’s 22 Fillmore and J Church along with thousands of other weekday riders. As you whiz past traffic, you may feel the estimated 14% time savings afforded by the red color.

If you drive, help us celebrate by keeping transit lanes clear. Remember, double parking in transit lanes is camera enforced. Transit lanes are an essential tool to keep Muni moving on San Francisco’s busy streets.

Dedicated transit lanes started popping up in the city as early as the 1970s following the adoption of the city’s Transit-First Policy (which happens to be turning 50 this month). As of 2023, over 20 lane miles of transit lanes now also have the red treatment, in addition to 55 miles of transit and bus/HOV lanes without red paint.

J Church using red transit lanes and picking up passengers on a boarding island on Church at Market Street.

J Church train using red transit lanes on Church at Market Street.

Although often the most visible, transit lanes are one of more than 20 tools in our toolbox to improve transit reliability and reduce delays. With Muni Forward, we’ve built more than 80 miles of transit corridor reliability improvements to keep Muni moving — with upgrades like bus bulbs for faster boarding and traffic signals that stay green for transit.

As an early adopter of red transit lanes, the SFMTA helped lay the groundwork to change federal guidelines to make it easier to paint lanes red. This is because red colorization has led to a 55% improvement in motorist compliance and is a cost-effective way to reduce delays. We have to say they’re looking great for their age!

We know that despite our best efforts, Muni buses and trains are sometimes stuck in traffic and transit lanes are occasionally blocked. That is why we continue to innovate to bring improvements to our riders. Last year we colorized six miles of transit lanes in the Van Ness Improvement Project, Geary Boulevard Improvement Project, and along Mission Street in SoMa, 4th Street and Stockton Street. We also continue to install Muni Forward transit priority projects across the city and push for further compliance improvements through an education campaign for motorists. The SFMTA was also recently awarded a state grant to deploy new next-generation camera technology as a part of the transit lane enforcement program.

Stay tuned for more red transit lanes and other reliability improvements in the year ahead.

Published March 22, 2023 at 02:05AM
https://ift.tt/lvaPJp4

Comments

New top story from Time: How Spirited Away Changed Animation Forever

https://ift.tt/3xVoGP5 Twenty years ago, on July 20, 2001, a film that would become one of the most celebrated animated movies of all time hit theaters in Japan. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli, Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, titled Spirited Away in English, would leave an indelible mark on animation in the 21st century. The movie arrived at a time when animation was widely perceived as a genre solely for children, and when cultural differences often became barriers to the global distribution of animated works. Spirited Away shattered preconceived notions about the art form and also proved that, as a film created in Japanese with elements of Japanese folklore central to its core, it could resonate deeply with audiences around the world. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The story follows an ordinary 10-year-old girl, Chihiro, as she arrives at a deserted theme park that turns out to be a realm of gods and spirits. After an overeating incident ...

New top story from Time: HRC Files Lawsuit Challenging Florida’s Transgender Sports Ban—and Announces More To Come

https://ift.tt/3howgdO LGBTQ civil rights group The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) announced on Wednesday that it has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit challenging Florida’s “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law on June 1 banning transgender women and girls from taking part in women’s sports. HRC argues that the law violates both the Constitution and existing federal anti-discrimination law. HRC also announced plans to file similar challenges to anti-trans laws in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee in the near future, marking the first time it has taken legal action in those states. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “We have seen an unprecedented attack on transgender young people, which requires an unprecedented response,” HRC’s President Alphonso David tells TIME of the group’s decision to bring litigation. “We’re [all] entitled to equal protection under the law. And what this law does is discriminate against transgender girls. It trea...

Amit Shah to visit West Bengal as BJP, TMC cross swords after attack on Nadda's convoy https://ift.tt/3gzz9Yq

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to visit West Bengal later this month. It will be Shah’s second visit to the poll-bound state within a month.

FOX NEWS: Olympic gymnasts sound off on the evolving leotard: 'Power and prestige goes with those leos' The world may have grown accustomed to seeing Olympic gymnasts wearing leotards as they compete for the highest honor in the sport, but these garments haven’t always been the first pick for women.

Olympic gymnasts sound off on the evolving leotard: 'Power and prestige goes with those leos' The world may have grown accustomed to seeing Olympic gymnasts wearing leotards as they compete for the highest honor in the sport, but these garments haven’t always been the first pick for women. via FOX NEWS https://ift.tt/3BQEKE3

FOX NEWS: Mom accidentally walks by daughter’s Zoom call naked, recalls story in hilarious Facebook video: 'Humiliating'

Mom accidentally walks by daughter’s Zoom call naked, recalls story in hilarious Facebook video: 'Humiliating' This first-grade class got quite the eyeful. via FOX NEWS https://ift.tt/3gw5HCs

New top story from Time: The 5 Best New TV Shows Our Critic Watched in May 2021

https://ift.tt/2RRfMSR Finally: the sun is shining , the weather is warming, COVID-era regulations are relaxing as infection rates plummet and vaccination numbers (slowly) keep ticking upward. It may not be time to hang the “mission accomplished” banner—is it ever time to hang such a banner?—but as immunity sets in, May 2021 has seen America’s masked, distanced millions begin to venture out of our living rooms and back to some semblance of in-person social life. So, of course, this is the month that the TV gods chose to deliver the year’s biggest and best selection of new programming to date. Isn’t that always the way? [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] It was a struggle to narrow down the list to just five highlights. I also suggest checking out Starz’s Run the World , Apple TV+’s 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything , Showtime’s Ziwe and HBO’s rebooted In Treatment . For even more recommendations, here are my favorite new and returning shows of the year so far. ...

New top story from Time: China Says It Will Provide COVID-19 Vaccines to Almost 40 African States

https://ift.tt/3f34nYP BEIJING — China said Thursday it is providing COVID-19 vaccines to nearly 40 African countries, describing its actions as purely altruistic in an apparent intensification of what has been described as “vaccine diplomacy.” The vaccines were donated or sold at “favorable prices,” Foreign Ministry official Wu Peng told reporters. Wu compared China’s outreach to the actions of “some countries that have said they have to wait for their own people to finish the vaccination before they could supply the vaccines to foreign countries,” in an apparent dig at the United States. “We believe that it is, of course, necessary to ensure that the Chinese people get vaccinated as soon as possible, but for other countries in need, we also try our best to provide vaccine help,” said Wu, who is director of the ministry’s Africa department. While the U.S. has been accused by some of hoarding vaccines, President Joe Biden on Monday pledged to share an additional 20 mi...

New top story from Time: Maryland In-Custody Death Reports to Be Reviewed After Medical Examiner’s Testimony in Chauvin Trial

https://ift.tt/3vgA5r0 BALTIMORE — Maryland officials said they will review all in-custody death reports during the tenure of the state’s former chief medical examiner after he testified that former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was not responsible for George Floyd’s death. Dr. David Fowler, Maryland’s chief medical examiner from 2002 to 2019, was a key defense witness for Chauvin, who was convicted Tuesday of murder and manslaughter for kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. The announcement of the investigation came from Attorney General Brian Frosh and Gov. Larry Hogan on Friday, less than 24 hours after the attorney general’s office received a letter from D.C.’s former chief medical examiner Roger Mitchell, and signed by 431 doctors from around the country, saying Fowler’s conclusions were so far outside the bounds of accepted forensic practice that all his previous work could come into question. “Dr. Fowler’s stated opinion that George Floyd...

'Severe': Delhi air pollution soars to season's high, AQI mounts to 448 https://ift.tt/3evOKam

Delhi's air quality on Friday continued to deteriorate to its worst level 'Severe category', according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). It said that Air Quality Index is at 422 in Anand Vihar, 407 in RK Puram, 421 in Sector 8 of Dwarka, and 430 in Bawana. At ITO, the board said that AQI was at 448. All are in the 'Severe category'.

New top story from Time: The Overlapping Worlds of Author Amor Towles

https://ift.tt/3AUkxMM Amor Towles had never actually been beneath the vaulted ceiling of an Adirondack lake house when he described the one in his 2011 debut, the best-selling Rules of Civility . He could only imagine the appeal of such an exalted communal space—“this great room where the family gathers”—until, while shopping for a second home with the money from that book, he found himself touring a property an hour and a half north of Manhattan. “I was like, This is it!” says Towles, throwing his arms toward a 30-ft. ceiling that, like the glistening lake outside, now belongs entirely to him. “It was this weird thing where I was kind of buying the living room that I had written about,” he says. “Which, in a Stephen King novel, would end badly.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] In the storybook life of Amor Towles, however, the new owner lays down thick Oriental rugs (thicker still where they overlap), sets his laptop on a long oval table by floor-to-ceiling windows and—...

My precise view

Search This Blog