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Transportation Authority Convenes Vision Zero Committee, Mayor and Board Members Call for Immediate Safety Fixes

The Transportation Authority’s Vision Zero Committee convened last week following several fatalities on our streets. The deaths included Tess Rothstein, who was killed by a driver on Howard Street in SoMa on March 8, and Janice Higashi, who was killed after a driver struck her as she crossed Leavenworth near Golden Gate Avenue on March 5.

District 7 Supervisor and Vision Zero Committee Chair Norman Yee stated, “All San Francisco residents and visitors have the right to traverse our city safely... we must continue to do everything in our power to get to zero (deaths).” On Tuesday, Supervisor Yee directed the City Attorney’s Office to draft legislation to decrease speed limits and require the installation of safety treatments known as “daylighting” citywide.

At the Vision Zero Committee meeting, representatives from the SFMTA gave an overview of the agency’s work in response to Mayor Breed’s directive to speed up critical safety projects in the Vision Zero High-Injury Network.

The City is expediting its work adding protected bike lanes on Howard.


San Francisco Breaks Ground on Geary

The SFMTA recently invited Mayor Breed, District 5 Supervisor and Transportation Authority Board Member Vallie Brown, local agencies, community representatives, and advocates to celebrate the Geary Rapid Project's groundbreaking at the Buchanan YMCA.

The Geary Rapid Project aims to improve one of San Francisco’s busiest corridors, from Market to Stanyan streets, with much-needed safety improvements and more reliable bus service for the 54,000 daily customers who ride the 38 Geary and 38R Geary Rapid.  

The approved changes on Geary Boulevard and O’Farrell Street between Stanyan and Market streets include transit-only lanes, traffic signal upgrades, roadway repaving, new crosswalks and sidewalk extensions, improvements for cyclists crossing Geary, and more. The Transportation Authority has directed over $12 million to this project to date. We look forward to delivering the full project together.

Read the SFMTA press release and visit the Geary Rapid project page


Caltrain Presents Update on Electrification

Caltrain is in the process of electrifying 51 miles of rail between San Francisco and San Jose, converting the existing diesel system to a cleaner, more efficient electric one. The new system will upgrade capacity, safety, and reliability of Caltrain’s service. 

Caltrain Director Jim Hartnett and presented an update on its modernization plans at our March 12 board meeting. The modernization program, which includes electrification, is on budget and on schedule with operations expected to begin in mid-2022. The Transportation Authority is partnering with Caltrain and local agencies on this project. Our agency has contributed $21.5 million to support Caltrain electrification from San Francisco's half-cent sales tax for transportation and the One Bay Area Grant program.

Caltrain representatives also presented their progress on developing a business plan, which assesses the future potential of the railroad over the next 20-30 years. The corridor is expected to add 1.2 million people and jobs by 2040. With high-frequency, fast service, the corridor could more than triple current ridership of 62,000 trips/day. This includes a future blended system with High-speed Rail with trains extending from the current 4th and King terminus to the Salesforce Transit Center via the planned the Downtown Rail Extension. Watch the presentation to our board (starts at 49:50) and learn more at caltrain2040.org


Better Market Street Project Moves Forward

SF Planning has published the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Better Market Street project. The project proposes improvements to 2.2 miles of Market Street, from Octavia Street to The Embarcadero, upgrading Market Street’s aging infrastructure. The project also proposes a new, fully separated cycletrack, and brings the sidewalk and Muni boarding islands up to compliance with modern ADA accessibility standards. 

The Draft Environmental Impact report shows significant improvements to transit travel times on Market Street, but also notes unavoidable impacts related to the Market Street Cultural Landscape, such as removal of Market Street’s brick sidewalks, and temporary but unavoidable impacts related to construction of the project. SF Planning is accepting public comments on the report through April 15, 2019, and will hold a public hearing on the report at the Planning Commission on April 4th. Learn more and submit comments.

After the environmental impact report is certified, SF Public Works will complete final design and plans to begin construction on the first segment on 5th-8th streets in 2020 pending funding availability. The Transportation Authority supports the Better Market Street Project with funding from San Francisco’s half-cent sales tax for transportation. 


Local Agencies Meet With Small, Local, And Disadvantaged Businesses

Last week, we hosted an event to encourage small businesses, local businesses, and socially or economically disadvantaged business owners to participate in contracts with local agencies like the Transportation Authority, SFMTA, and SF Public Works. This annual event spreads awareness about upcoming contracting opportunities and encourages small and large firms to collaborate on upcoming procurements. At this year’s event, attendees heard about opportunities ranging from construction contracts, to communications and outreach services, to arborists’ services. 

Visit our website to access materials from the meeting.
Sign up to get information about related events and contracting services.


We're Hiring

Deputy Director for Planning
We’re hiring a Deputy Director for Planning to lead our work on San Francisco’s rail and bus rapid transit network, congestion pricing, emerging mobility, and more. Share on LinkedIn.

Transportation Planner
We're looking for a planner to join our Policy and Programming team to work on policy, legislation, strategic financial planning, fund programming, planning, and more. Share on LinkedIn

 


Walk to Work Day: April 10

Walk to Work Day is about noticing what it’s like to walk in San Francisco, and considering what would make walking better. Pledge to walk, sign up to volunteer, find a Walk to Work Day hub, and more.

The Transportation Authority is a proud sponsor of Walk to Work Day.


Bike to Work Day: May 9

Bike to Work Day is San Francisco’s biggest day of the year to show that San Francisco bikes. Pledge to bike, find a commuter convoy, sign up volunteer, and more.

The Transportation Authority is a proud sponsor of Bike to Work Day.


Attend a meeting with the Transportation Authority

Attend an upcoming Transportation Authority meeting to hear project updates and share your thoughts at public comment. View agendas.

Transportation Authority Board 
The Transportation Authority’s governing board consists of the 11 members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Our board meets twice monthly to receive updates on transportation projects, allocate funding, and make decisions on project planning and delivery.

Upcoming board meetings located at City Hall, Room 250:

  • Tuesday, April 9, 10:00 a.m.
  • Tuesday, April, 23, 10:00 a.m.
Treasure Island Mobility Management Agency
The Treasure Island Mobility Management Agency was created to coordinate the transportation needs of Treasure Island. The agency is governed by a board comprised of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Upcoming committee meeting located at City Hall, Room 250:
  • Tuesday, April 23, 10:30 a.m. (immediately following Transportation Authority board)

Transportation Authority Citizens Advisory Committee
The Transportation Authority’s Citizens Advisory Committee consists of 11 members of the public. The committee provides the Transportation Authority with feedback on transportation projects and communicates about these projects to the community.

Upcoming Citizens Advisory Committee meetings held at 1455 Market Street, 22nd Floor:

  • Wednesday, March 27, 6:00 p.m.
  • Wednesday, April 24, 6:00 p.m.

Venture-Backed City: Why are investors pouring so much cash into urban tech? Transportation Authority Senior Planner Warren Logan talks about how cities cope with all the disruption in the epicenter of venture-backed tech. [CityLab Technopolis Podcast]

Managed Lanes breaks ground in San Mateo County: The ultimate goal: To have an express lane network throughout the Bay Area, including continuous express lanes between San Francisco and San Jose. [San Mateo Daily Journal]. Related: The Transportation Authority is studying how to convert existing freeway lanes to carpool or express lanes.

New escalators coming to downtown San Francisco: The BART Board of Directors has approved the single largest contract to replace escalators in BART’s history. The $96.5 million contract is funded by voter-approved Measure RR and will target escalators that regularly malfunction in downtown San Francisco. [BART]

SF to declare ‘climate emergency,’ bolster plans to reduce carbon emissions: San Francisco is expected to officially declare a “climate emergency,” following the lead of other Bay Area cities as it strives to reduce carbon emissions by turning to more aggressive tactics. [SF Examiner]

Study finds racial gap between who causes air pollution and who breathes it: "If want to ameliorate this inequity, we may need to rethink how we build our cities and how they grow, our dependence on automobile transportation." [NPR]

The San Francisco County Transportation Authority

We plan, fund, and deliver projects to improve travel choices citywide. Visit our website to learn more. For information on projects in your neighborhood, visit MyStreetSF, our interactive project map.

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Our mailing address is:
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San Francisco, CA 94103

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