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    1. Alt. Mobility

    SFMTA announces car-free Market Street starts Jan. 29

    Jan. 3, 2020
    The Better Market Street program aims to increase safety for pedestrians and bikers with new safety features such as intersection improvements and extending SFMTA-only lanes.
    Related To: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA)
    Rendering courtesy of SFMTA
    Sfmta 5e0f782390caa

    The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has announced starting Jan. 29, Market Street will become car-free eastbound from 10th to Main and westbound from Steuart to Van Ness through SFMTA’s Better Market Street.

    Better Market Street is set to transform the city’s busiest street for people walking, biking and riding transit over the next few years, but SFMTA says it doesn’t need to wait for construction to make it safer and improve Muni.

    With SFMTA’s Quick-build program, Market Street will become car free, and in addition to restricting private vehicles, the quick-build includes extending SFMTA-only lanes, new loading zones and much-needed intersection safety improvements.

    SFMTA says Market Street is home to half of the top 10 intersections for pedestrian and bicycle collisions. Each year since 2014, the area averaged more than 100 injury collisions per year -- 75 percent of them involving people walking or biking. By reducing conflicts with proven safety measures like turn restrictions, painted safety zones and safe-hit posts, SFMTA can get closer to the city’s Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries on San Francisco roads.

    In addition to safety benefits, going car-free on Market Street will prioritize transit on a street that sees upwards of 200 buses per hour during peak times. With bus lines branching throughout San Francisco, boosting SFMTA’s reliability on Market street will positively affect the whole city.

    While Market Street officially becomes car-free on Jan. 29, other changes listed below are set to be implemented over the first few months of 2020. Quick-build Elements starting in January include:

    Vehicle Changes

    • No private vehicles allowed on Market Street eastbound from 10th to Main and westbound from Steuart to Van Ness -- including app-based ride hail companies like Uber/Lyft.
    • All traffic can continue to cross Market Street at intersections.
    • Vehicles with commercial plates, taxis, emergency vehicles and paratransit will still be able to use Market Street.
    • Vehicle direction changes for sections of Ellis, Jones, Second and Steuart Streets to improve safety and vehicle circulation.
    • Right turns onto Valencia from eastbound Market Street will no longer be allowed, Page Street will become a bike-only connection to and from Market Street.

    Transit Enhancements

    • Extending existing transit-only lane east from Third to Main Street, the segment of Market with the most transit service, and making it SFMTA-only (taxis and non-SFMTA buses will no longer be allowed in center lane)
    • Converting the existing red transit-only lane to SFMTA-only between 9th and Third streets
    • Converting the existing red transit-only lane to SFMTA and taxi only between 12th and 9th Streets
    • Buses in the curb lane will benefit from the car-free restrictions as well.

    Loading Changes

    • There will be 100 new cross-street passenger and commercial loading zones to accommodate safe loading.
    • Peak hour loading restrictions on Market Street to reduce conflicts between people on bicycles, transit and commercial vehicles.
    • No southside loading in the eastbound direction (towards the Ferry Building) on weekdays 6:00 am to 9:30 am.
    • No northside loading in the westbound direction (towards Twin Peaks) on weekdays between 3:00 pm and 7:30 pm.

    Additional Safety Improvements

    • Installing painted safety zones at eight intersections to make crossing the street safer and shorter.
    • New bicycle intersection improvements at Eighth, Page, Battery, and Valencia streets.

    Project information

    Quick-build is just the first step in implementing Better Market Street, the city’s multi-agency project to transform 2.2 miles of Market Street from Octavia Boulevard to Steuart Street. The project’s goal is to enhance safety and accessibility, improve transit performance, replace aging infrastructure and revitalize the corridor’s streetscape.

    Construction on the full project will be managed by Public Works and is expected to start in late 2020 or early 2021. For project details, visit Better Market Street San Francisco website.