As was reported here on June 22, SFMTA was considering a plan to create bus-only lanes along major transit corridors in the city. They are anticipating increased traffic as the city gradually opens up from the Covid-19 pandemic and the need increases for essential workers to reach their jobs more reliably and efficiently.
The O’Shaunessy/Bosworth corridor is among eight thoroughfares that serve five critical bus lines, including the 43 and 44, that the city has designated to alleviate the expected congestion of private vehicles. The bus-only lane will be activated on Woodside and an 800-foot stretch of upper O’Shaunessy at the School of the Arts. It will resume on Bosworth between Elk and Diamond.
SFMTA’s thinking can be summed up in this statement they made: “We don’t have a crystal ball to see into San Francisco’s future, but one thing is clear: a citywide economic recovery is dependent in large part on a transportation recovery. And while we work to come back from one crisis, we’re looking to avert another—traffic gridlock.”
When this plan was announced, there were many comments on social media. The majority were negative, citing increased rather than decreased traffic congestion. Many thought the plan was just unworkable and would cause traffic gridlock without the hoped-for increase in public transit ridership. Others were more willing to give the plan a chance, in hopes that buses would be sped up along their routes and people would then opt for transit over congestion caused by private vehicles.
In late summer both theories will be put to the test, as SFMTA approved the bus-only plan last Tuesday, June 30.
The Glen Park Association weighed in before the SFMTA vote, questioning the process by which the agency gathered data and made its decisions about the bus-only lanes, as well as asking how the plan, once implemented, will be evaluated for its results. The GPA also asked the SFMTA to do better outreach to the community in advance of implementing its plans.
The citywide plan is explained, with links to other sources of information, here.
An observation for the 44 route… Please give thought to space on bus routes like the 44 that take parents with kids to parks on packed busses where strollers block the front and disabled struggle to board… And if there’s a wheelchair too…. That’s just begging for a fight. Can we get rid of stairs at bus entrances please! …. And can we have strollers enter via the rear door, please!
I just knew our comments wouldn’t make a difference. Obviously many people had negative comments yet sfmta didn’t reconsider.
Perhaps you wrote to SFMTA with your thoughts. For others who discuss on social media but don’t, in addition, express their concerns directly to the city agencies making policy, your concerns might not be taken into consideration. The Glen Park Association is happy to assist Glen Park residents by advising who to contact in the city bureaucracy. Please reach out to us as well as discussing concerns amongst yourselves.
The problem is that the San Francisco Transit Riders all call into those MTA meetings, so the Board gets the impression that these decisions are popular.
The rest of us need to figure out a way to represent ourselves better.
Are thrse lanes going to be enforced at all hours or within certain hours? Also, taxis are permitted to use the transit lanes. Does that include Uber/Lyft/Company Carpool Vans?
Nothing I’ve read has said anything about bus-only lane configuration being in force at any particular hours so I think it’s all the time. Anything else might be more confusing than it’s already going to be. SFMTA did address the Uber/Lyft issue, explicitly saying that ride share companies must abide by private vehicle rules. Taxis are exempt. Here are some links:
https://www.sfmta.com/blog/everything-you-need-know-about-red-transit-lanes
https://www.sfmta.com/blog/rules-when-you-can-enter-transit-only-lane
Thank you and thanks for the link.
This plan will just push traffic into neighboring streets making them more dangerous. I will not drive this route if it is implemented.
Yep. Diamond Heights Boulevard is about to get a lot more traffic. I’m sure MTA will use this as an excuse to add speed humps there.