San Francisco: Mission Street and Muni Lines Set for Transformation

[marmar]

Feb. 13--Change is no stranger to the Mission District, and this time it's the main drag -- Mission Street -- and the heavily ridden Muni lines that are set for transformation.

The bustling thoroughfare is gaining some red transit-only lanes, while losing a lane of traffic, in a bid to clear out many cars -- especially double-parkers -- and speed up buses that is reminiscent of transit-first efforts in other parts of the city, including Market Street downtown.

The shifts, which cover a 2 1/2 -mile stretch of Mission, begin Saturday, when Muni pares back what it considers an inefficient series of bus stops by eliminating 13 stops serving three bus lines -- the 14-Mission, 14R-Mission Rapid and 49-Van Ness/Mission -- and adding one.

Public-works crews will also break out paint and brushes and start adding red transit-only lanes between 11th and Randall streets.

The painting should be done by March or April, at which time the Municipal Transportation Agency will start banning left turns at every intersection between 14th and Cesar Chavez streets and requiring right turns off of Mission Street at 16th, 20th, 22nd, 24th and 26th streets. ...................(more)

http://www.masstransitmag.com/news/12169880/big-changes-coming-to-the-busy-lanes-of-sfs-mission-street

[nxylas]

1. Never been to SF

But it's always struck me as a city with a very positive attitude to transit. The anti-Columbia (SC, where I lived for 4 years), if you like.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Lived and worked there for 6 years, left about 10-11 years ago...

There are more cars than places to put them in SF, esp. downtown area.
Reason is million people come into city each day from outlying areas to work. Traffic in the whole bay area is wall to wall.

Buses have to contend with cars.
I worked at 16th and Mission, parking was horrible but so was trying to park anywhere near a BART stop.
When I worked in the Haight, parking was a bit easier, but still difficult.
Problem was I often had to work mornings at Mission and then go to offices in the Haight. So needed a car, couldn't really afford taxis.

BART helps.
You can pay for monthly parking at a BART Station, which is expensive, plus at the time BART was 2.50 one way...so figure 200.00 a month just for both.