Work with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to develop and implement appropriate improvements as part of the Muni Forward Initiative.

 

The Muni Forward Initiative entails a series of service improvements and route changes designed to make getting around San Francisco safer and more reliable through public transportation. In District 4, eight lines are part of Muni Forward, including:  L-Taraval, N-Judah, 7X-Noriega Express (formerly the 16-X), 18-46th Avenue, 28/28R-19th Avenue (formerly the 28/28L), 29-Sunset, 48-Quintara, and the 7/7R-Haight/Noriega (formerly the 71/71L).

 

For each line, proposals include travel time reduction, increases in frequency, changes to route alignments and revised service change proposals. Over the past year, SFMTA has begun to implement changes as part of Muni Forward on lines in our District, and we have worked closely with them to ensure we share community feedback with SFMTA, conduct thorough outreach as proposals are refined, and advocate for changes that match the needs of our residents. Below, you will find a brief description of our work with SFMTA on Muni Forward in our district.

 

• 28/28R-19th Avenue: Formerly the 28/28L, SFMTA changed route names from “limited” to “rapid” to denote lines that have fewer stops and therefore can get riders across the route more rapidly. This project is now in its implementation phase, and consists of a 20% reduction in travel time, changes to the route alignment, and an increase in frequency. Our office reached out to students at Lowell and Lincoln high schools to ensure they attended meetings and provided their feedback, given that their schools are served by these lines. SFMTA worked with these schools to ensure their key stops were retained.

 

• L-Taraval: We are currently working with SFMTA to devise a thorough outreach plan for changes proposed to this line, which includes public meetings, direct outreach to Muni riders, door-to-door outreach to small businesses, neighborhood mailings, and stakeholder meetings. Outreach will be conducted in 2015, with construction estimated to begin in 2016-2017. Changes proposed as part of the L-Taraval project include travel time reduction of 25% - 30% and an increase in frequency. SFMTA proposes to achieve these goals by adding transit-priority signals to Taraval Street, consolidating/removing stops, adding pedestrian boarding islands (and associated parking removal to accommodate those islands), and adding a transit-only lane to be delineated with red surface treatment. Please view the L-Taraval project briefing document here. Additionally, we have received a commitment to replace the L-Taraval tracks, which includes the repaving of Taraval Street, by 2020. Our office will keep our community informed about opportunities for public input on these proposals.

 

• N-Judah: Outreach for the N-Judah line will begin in 2016. We will be working closely with SFMTA as they get closer to conducting their outreach efforts.