UPDATE: San Francisco Safer Market Street

UPDATE - November 12, 2015

Since August 11th, paint crews have completed the red lanes on Market Street from 8th to 3rd streets, and extended or added transit-only lanes on 3rd, 7th and O’Farrell streets. The lanes on O’Farrell and 7th streets were in response to feedback and aim to improve bus service on those streets. The transit-only lanes will be complete by the end of this month.

In addition to completing the transit-only lanes, the final two turn restrictions will go into effect upon completion of Central Subway construction on Ellis Street and once Ellis Street reopens to traffic. Variable and static messaging signs are now in place to notify drivers of the upcoming changes. The graphic below indicates in red the existing turn restrictions, and in black the upcoming turn restrictions at 5th and Ellis streets. With these new restrictions, people driving north on Market Street will be required to proceed onto Cyril Magnin; access to 4th Street will be available via Ellis Street. Taxis, buses, bikes, paratransit commercial and emergency vehicles are exempt from the restrictions.

Stay tuned for more information on the upcoming implementation of the final turn restrictions and next steps on this project page: https://www.sfmta.com/safermarketst

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UPDATE - August 7, 2015

A Safer Market Street is just days away with the upcoming turn restrictions on Market Street going into effect Tuesday, August 11th

Turn restrictions between 3rd and 8th streets will prohibit private vehicles at most intersections from turning onto Market Street eliminating conflicts at the intersection, increasing transit reliability, and improving safety for all users. Instead, private vehicles will proceed straight across Market Street.The locations of the turn restrictions are indicated in the following turn restriction notice.

Safer Market Street is one of over 24 Vision Zero high-priority projects to be completed by February 2016.

The SFMTA Board unanimously approved the Safer Market Street project June 16, 2015. It includes a series of traffic engineering solutions, such as turn restrictions, extension of existing transit-only lanes, and new loading and painted safety zones.

One advantage of these solutions is that they can improve safety conditions quickly with minor disruptions and without major construction. Less than two months after board approval, the majority of work at the intersections is complete, and the remaining intersection work will be complete later this month. The turn restriction signs will continue to go up throughout this week and will remain bagged until Monday, Aug. 10. Beginning Tuesday morning, Aug. 11, the turn restrictions will be enforced, and violators may be ticketed. Parking control officers (PCOs) will be at every intersection beginning at 7 a.m. on Tuesday to assist in guiding traffic across Market Street in accordance with the upcoming turn restrictions. PCOs will be on hand Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for two weeks following the unveiling.

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UPDATE - June 25, 2015

On June 16, 2015, the SFMTA board unanimously approved the Safer Market Street project; a critical Vision Zero initiative that will help the City reach its goal of eliminating all traffic fatalities by 2024. Safer Market Street will reduce the number of private vehicles on Market Street between 8th and 3rd Streets, extend the existing transit-only lanes, add loading zones and install painted safety zones.

IMPLEMENTATION

The paint crew began restriping at Hyde Street in preparation for the turn restrictions yesterday (June 23rd), just a week after board approval. The paint crew will continue their work through July along with the sign and meter shops, to install the turn restriction signage and loading zones respectfully. It is expected that the work for the turn restrictions, loading zones, and painted safety zones will be complete by early to mid-August. The signs will be bagged until all are complete, at which time the turn restrictions will go into effect, and will be enforced by SFMTA parking control officers and SFPD. In preparation for this, staff will post re-route maps as well as work with mapping/GPS providers to ensure directions are updated to safely navigate the project area. The transit-only lanes will be complete by January 2016.

Keep checking the project page for more information in addition to our FAQ and factsheet.

Below are links to recent related news articles:

http://www.citylab.com/design/2015/06/to-improve-street-safety-san-francisco-bans-cars-from-turning/396473/

http://sf.streetsblog.org/2015/06/17/sfmta-bucks-uber-bans-private-autos-from-turning-on-to-mid-market-street

http://hoodline.com/2015/06/safer-market-street-plan-sparks-opposition-from-uber-hearing-to-be-held-tomorrow

http://sf.streetsblog.org/2015/06/15/tomorrow-support-car-restrictions-for-a-safer-market-which-uber-opposes/

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SFMTA-OKs-safety-measures-for-Market-Street-6331508.php

http://www.kgoradio.com/common/page.php?id=129041

http://sf.streetsblog.org/2015/06/17/sfmta-bucks-uber-bans-private-autos-from-turning-on-to-mid-market-street/

http://sfappeal.com/2015/06/sfmta-approves-plan-to-ban-turns-on-market-street-despite-uber-opposition/

http://sfist.com/2015/06/17/sorry_uber_no_turn_for_you.php

https://medium.com/urban-design-and-planning/sfmta-it-s-time-to-prioritize-buses-bikes-and-pedestrians-on-market-street-97ae398cee57

http://www.sfbike.org/news/mid-market-street-win/

http://walksf.org/sfmta-backs-turning-restrictions-on-market/

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UPDATE - June 9, 2015

The City is one step closer to Vision Zero pending SFMTA Board Approval of the Safer Market Street project.

Market Street is the City’s premier civic and commercial corridor hosting hundreds of thousands of people arriving by means of transit, walking, biking or driving. More bikes travel down Market Street than vehicles, making it one of the busiest bikeways west of the Mississippi.

High collision rates, however, also make Market Street a high-injury corridor, with four of the top 20 intersections for pedestrian-injury collisions and the top two intersections for bicycle injury collisions. Safer Market Street is one of over 24 Vision Zero projects being expedited to address the recent spike in fatalities along high-injury corridors such as Market Street. The proposed changes, including a package of turn restrictions, the extension of existing transit-only lanes and supplemental safety treatments, will help the city reach its Vision Zero goal of eliminating all traffic fatalities by improving safety conditions for all users.

The team recently submitted its environmental documentation to the planning department and completed its third round of outreach, in which it met with community organizations and concerned property owners to inform them of the proposed changes and address any questions or concerns.

Years of analysis and outreach to the community have informed the proposed changes and pending the approval of the SFMTA Board of Directors June 16, 2015 construction can begin within the month. The turn restrictions would be unveiled as a package once complete later this fall.

Question or concerns please contact Kate Elliott at kate.elliott@sfmta.com

Date, time and location of SFMTA Board of Directors Meeting:

City Hall Room 400, June 6, 2015 1:00 pm

1 Charles B. Goodlett Drive

San Francisco, CA 94102

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UPDATE - May 20, 2015

BOMA San Francisco Members:

BOMA's Government Affairs Committee members have been meeting with public officials to represent your interests.
Recently, representatives from the SFMTA Safer Market Street initiative spoke to our members about the project. Please click here to review the project fact sheet and here for the presentation.

Questions or concerns? Feel free to contact Kate Elliott at kate.elliott@sfmta.com or at (415) 701-2483.

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Original Post - March 4, 2015

The Safer Market Street team is planning changes to the way various modes of transportation move up and down on Market Street.  These updates will commence in the Spring/ Summer of this year and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is hosting a public hearing next Friday March 6 to solicit public feedback on the project.

Safer Market Street is one of over 24 projects to be expedited to address the disproportionately high number of severe and fatal collisions along high-injury corridors such as Market Street. Safer Market Street will help achieve the Vision Zero goal of eliminating all traffic fatalities citywide by improving safety across all transportation modes. The extension of transit-only lanes and turn restrictions between 3rd Street and 8th Street on Market will reduce conflicts between pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists.

To date they have held two Community Workshops to receive feedback on the proposed transit-only lanes and turn restrictions as well as informational signage as you approach Market Street and potential new loading zones. Click here for the Public Hearing Notice that provides details on the location and conditions of the transit-only lanes, turn restrictions, loading zones and parking changes incorporating public and SFMTA feedback. Additionally, an updated fact-sheet can be found here with more details and graphics regarding the proposed conditions.

The Public Hearing is Friday, March 6, 2015 @ 10:00 am City Hall Room 416 (Hearing Room 4) 1 Dr Carlton B Goodlett Place.

Safer Market Street website

Questions? 

Kate Elliott

Public Information Officer

SFMTA | Municipal Transportation Agency

kate.elliott@sfmta.com

1 South Van Ness Avenue, 3rd Floor

San Francisco, CA 94103

Phone:  415-701-2483

www.sfmta.com