Better Market Street

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A renewed Market Street will anchor multiple downtown neighborhoods and link public open spaces. It will also connect the city’s Civic Center with cultural, social, convention, tourism, and retail destinations, as well as the Salesforce Transit Center, the regional transit hub. The vision is to make Market Street a place where people will want to stop and spend time, meet friends, people-watch while sitting in a café, or just stroll and take in the urban scene.

The Better Market Street Project includes a complete makeover of 2.2 miles of Market Street, from Steuart Street to Octavia Boulevard. In addition to addressing key safety needs, the multi-agency project will replace and upgrade aging infrastructure including traffic signals, streetlights, streetcar tracks, BART grates, overhead wires and underground utilities while also repaving the roadway from curb to curb. These renovations will improve the speed and reliability of surface Muni service. Additionally, the Better Market Street plan will ensure that all transit stops, curb ramps and paving meet current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.

The project will be constructed in multiple phases, with construction on the first phase, Market Street between Fifth and Eighth streets, anticipated to begin in late-2022. The Phase 1 Contract will include traffic signal upgrades, repaving the curb lane and intersections, constructing ADA-compliant curb ramps and four curb bulb-outs, new sidewalk pavers at multiple corners and streetscape improvements including new trees, benches and bicycle racks.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic's severe impact on the project's budget, some design elements, such as sidewalk replacement, relocation of the Path of Gold light poles, and relocation of the curb line will be deferred. Priority has been given to the most critical infrastructure repairs, replacement, and improvements that cannot be postponed. This also will help us mitigate construction impacts and disruption to local businesses as they work to recover from the pandemic's impacts.

San Francisco Public Works is leading the project in collaboration with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Other City agencies involved include the Department of Technology, SF Planning, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, the Mayor’s Office on Disability and the Office of Workforce and Economic Development.

On Oct. 10, 2019, the San Francisco Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve and certify the project’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR); on Oct. 11, 2019, San Francisco Public Works held a hearing to accept comment on the Public Works Director's Order approving the project; and on Oct. 15, 2019, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s Board of Directors passed a unanimous vote approving the project.

In early 2020, project partner SFMTA implemented Quick Build enhancements that made Market Street a car-free zone east of 10th Street; added 100 new passenger and commercial loading zones on cross streets; extended center Muni-only lanes; provided new painted safety zones and bicycle safety improvements at multiple intersections along the corridor.

For further information, please visit https://bettermarketstreetsf.org

Project Updates:

3/20/2024

STARTING NEXT MONDAY, March 25th - Center transit lanes on Market Street will be closed until April 6th.

From Monday, March 25th to Saturday, April 6th, PG&E will be relocating a utility vault on Market Street just east of the 6th Street intersection to support future phases of Better Market Street. This work requires us to close the center transit lanes on Market Street between 5th and 8th Streets. We are also using this time to reconstruct crosswalks and install new traffic signal conduits within the trackway on Market between 7th Street and McAllister/Jones.

Our crews will also be making improvements to SFMTA's Overhead Catenary System (OCS) on Market Street between 7th Street and McAllister/Jones starting on March 25th. In order to safely and efficiently coordinate this work with other infrastructure improvements taking place in the area, we will need to perform this work at night. We expect night work to last about one month.

Please note: sidewalks will remain open to pedestrian traffic, and all below-ground BART and Muni service will maintain normal service hours during this period. All streets that cross this portion of Market (5th Street, 6th Street, 7th Street and 8th Street) will remain open as well.

Transit Impacts

To safely and efficiently complete this work, we will need to motorize the F line for its full route and replace it with bus service during this period, as the tracks will not be available for use by historic streetcars.

The following bus lines will have minor re-routes:

5 Fulton and 5R Fulton Rapid Inbound - re-routed at McAllister and Hyde - will turn right onto Hyde, left onto Market and proceed along its usual route.
19 Polk inbound - re-routed at 7th and Mission - will turn left onto Mission, right onto 9th, cross Market onto Larkin and proceed along its usual route.

All SFMTA bus lines that run along this stretch of Market Street (between 5th and 8th Streets) will run in the curb lanes and will be picking up passengers from stops at the curb, rather than the center boarding islands. This includes:

5/5R Fulton
6 Haight-Parnassus
7 Haight-Noriega
9/9R San Bruno
N Owl
L Owl
L-Bus
N-Bus
19 Polk
21 Hayes
27 Bryant

For complete information about transit impacts, please visit www.sfmta.com/projects/better-market-street.

Bicycle Detour Routes

During this period, the Better Market Street bicycle detour routes will be in place. As a reminder:

Eastbound bicycle traffic will still be detoured off of Market Street and rerouted to Folsom Street from 9:30am to 7:30pm Monday-Friday
Westbound bicycle traffic will be detoured off of Market Street and rerouted through the Tenderloin from 7:30am to 3:30pm Monday-Friday.

2/14/2024

Despite the winter storms and consistent rain in recent weeks, our crews have been making great progress installing new pavers and bricks and preparing the foundations for traffic signal and Overhead Catenary System (OCS) poles at the 5th Street and Mason/Turk intersections.

In the beginning of February, our crews built the foundation for a combination traffic signal and OCS pole at the Market, Mason and Turk Street intersection, as shown in the photo above. As a reminder, OCS poles are those that support the system of cables that drive SFMTA's trolley buses and streetcars.

Over the past few weeks, they have been constructing the foundations for temporary OCS poles at at the Market, 5th, Cyril Magnin Street and intersection. This week is expected to be complete by the end of this week.This week, we will begin similar work at the Market, Grove, Hyde and 8th Street intersection, most likely starting at the corner of Hyde and Market outside the BART portal and Orpheum Theater. Full access to both BART and the Orpheum Theater will be maintained at all times throughout this work.

Since mid-January, we have been preparing the corner of Market and Turk Street for a major makeover. At this corner, we are constructing a sidewalk bulb-out, building all new curb ramps, installing new granite curbs and finishing the sidewalk with brand-new custom pavers. At this point, we have the new granite curbs in place, the area has been fully re-graded, the sidewalk sub-base has been placed and new curb ramps have been constructed. We expect to begin installing the new pavers sometime within the next two weeks.

1/4/2024

With the holiday construction moratorium coming to an end this week, our contractor is preparing to resume work on Market Street between Fifth and Eighth streets. They are first re-mobilizing onto the work site, bringing back equipment and materials they'll need for upcoming work. Then, they will remove and demolish the temporary paving and asphalt work that was installed in November. This work will be replaced by permanent curb ramps, concrete pavers, widened sidewalks, and paving. The remaining work in phase 1 will mostly take place at intersections and includes installing new traffic signals and Overhead Contact System (OCS) poles, constructing the final few curb ramps and curb bulb outs, and repaving.

Next week, our contractor will continue full-time construction work and will begin with the construction of a few OCS pole foundations. OCS poles are those that support the system of cables that drive SFMTA's trolley buses and streetcars. They will also continue constructing new curb ramps and curb bulb outs at the Market/Mason/Turk, Market and 6th Street, and Market/Taylor/Golden Gate intersections.

11/20/2023

In order to minimize impact to local businesses, residents, tourists and commuters during the holiday season, we will be pausing all construction on this project between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. During this brief pause in construction, our project team will be gearing up and strategizing for the final few months of construction, which we expect to be complete in late Spring 2024. The remaining work in phase 1 will mostly take place at intersections and includes installing new traffic signal poles, constructing the final few curb ramps and curb bulb outs, and repaving. We expect construction to be complete in late Spring 2024.

9/18/2023

Roadway and Sidewalk Improvements

Sidewalk and curb ramp work on Market between 7th and 8th Streets wrapped up earlier this week.

Now that work between 7th and 8th is complete, we'll be starting the same type of work on both the north and south sides of the block between 6th Street and the Mason/Turk intersection. We expect this work to take roughly two to three weeks to complete.

Afterward, we will move further east and perform work on Market between Mason/Turk and 5th Street.

New Traffic Signals

This week, we installed new electrical conduits and started constructing the foundation for a new traffic signal pole at the Market, Grove and Hyde intersection.

We have also started construction on the foundations for a new traffic signal pole at the Market, 6th Street, Golden Gate and Taylor intersection and for a new Muni overhead line support pole at the Market, Mason, and Turk intersection.

Improving the Urban Forest

For the past few weeks, we have been installing 8 soil cells on north side of Market between Taylor and Jones. Once this work is complete, which we expect it to be by the middle of next week, we'll install another 2 soil cells on the south side of Market between 5th and 6th Streets, which should take roughly three weeks to complete.

If you would like more information about soil cells and the benefits they provide to our urban forest, underground utilities and sidewalks, check out the July edition of Public Works' monthly newsletter! We wrote a full length story about this exciting new technology and how we're using it on Better Market Street Phase 1.

8/9/2023

Market Street Shutdown Scheduled for Mid-October

To allow our contractors to work in the roadway and near Muni tracks, we will be shutting down Market Street between 3rd and 10th streets from Saturday, October 14th through Saturday, October 28th. During this period, all above-ground transit on Market Street, as well as bicycle traffic, will be re-routed off of Market Street.

We have not yet determined how impacted routes will be detoured and where transit stops will be relocated, but we will begin doing additional outreach as soon as this information is confirmed.

The following routes will be re-routed off of Market during this two week period:

5 Fulton
6 Haight/Parnassus
7 Haight/Noriega
9 San Bruno
19 Polk (inbound only)
21 Hayes (outbound only)
31 Balboa (oubtound on weekdays, inbound on weekends)
F Line Streetcar
L Taraval Bus

Please note: sidewalks will remain open to pedestrian traffic, and all below-ground BART and Muni service will maintain normal service hours during the shutdown. All streets that cross this portion of Market (5th Street, 6th Street, 7th Street and 8th Street) will remain open as well.

Phase 1 Construction Update

The eastbound curb lane along Market between 5th and 8th streets has been repaved! You'll notice a smoother surface as you ride your bike or take transit down Market Street. The intersections will be re-paved during the Market Street shutdowns.Starting on Monday, August 14th, we will be performing this same work on the north side of Market, in the westbound curb lane. Demolition and street base repairs will take place August 14th-17th, and paving along the westbound curb lane will take place on August 18th.

Most of the work taking place throughout late July and early August has been on Market Street's roadway and sidewalks between 7th and 8th Streets. Over the past few weeks, our concrete and masonry crews have built two new curb ramps to improve accessibility at the loading bays along this block - one in front of 1177 Market and the other in front of 1155 Market - and are currently replacing the brick sidewalk near these newly-built ramps as well.

The majority of the brick work currently taking place is to cover up the soil cells that have been installed to support 15 new trees to be planted on this block. We should be wrapping up this portion of brick work on both the north and south sides of this block within the next two weeks.

This week, we've begun installing electrical conduits for new traffic signals at the Market, Golden Gate and Taylor and 6th Street intersection. We expect this work to last until August 15th. Once we finish at that intersection, we will perform the same work at the Market, Cyril Magnin Street, and 5th Street intersection. This work should last until the end of August.

Last week, we wrapped up soil cell installation on the north side of Market between 7th and 8th Streets, right at the edge of UN Plaza. We are now moving up to the north side of Market between Taylor and Jones, where we'll install 8 more soil cells. Then, starting the week of August 14th, we'll install another 2 soil cells on the south side of Market between 5th and 6th, which should take roughly a week and a half to complete.

6/23/2023

As summer approaches and Market Street once again plays host to some of the City's most cherished events, the Better Market Street team is focused on providing a safe and inviting space for these events to take place while still making progress on phase 1 construction between Fifth and Eighth streets.

We continue to perform improvements concurrently on different sections of the project limits in order to get this project done as quickly as possible. Below is a brief rundown of what we've had going on this week and have planned for the weeks to come. A reminder to walk your bike on the sidewalk if you are going around the construction zone. Detour routes are also provided if you need to go more than one block on Market Street.

This weekend: Some water-filled barriers are scheduled to remain in place on Market Street during this weekend's Pride Parade. The barriers could not be removed due to excavated areas behind the barriers. We apologize for any inconvenience.

New Traffic Signals

Our crews are continuing to excavate along the curb line to install electrical conduits, which will help power the 5 new traffic signals that we'll be installing later on this year.

This past week, we've been finishing up conduit installation on Market between 7th and 8th Streets and beginning conduit installation at the intersection of 8th Street/Grove Street/Hyde Street. We expect work at this intersection to last until the end of the month.

Once we're all wrapped up with conduit work in and around 8th Street, we will then move to the 6th Street/Golden Gate Avenue/Market Street/Taylor Street intersection.

Roadway Improvements

Throughout this week, our concrete crews have been pouring new gutters, street base and loading bays on both the north and south side of Market between 7th and 8th Streets. Once all work on this block is complete, they'll be pouring gutters, street base and loading bays on the south side of Market between 5th Street and the Turk Street/Mason Street intersection.

We have also started our first sidewalk brick replacement and curb ramp construction work at three separate locations this week:

The south side of Market between 7th and 8th Streets.
The south side of Market between 6th Street and the McAllister Street/Jones Street intersection.
The south side of Market between 5th and 6th Streets.

Improving the Urban Forest

Soil Cell installation is continuing to progress on the north side of Market between 7th and 8th Streets, right at the edge of UN Plaza. We expect all soil cells on this block to be fully installed this month, at which point we will be moving up to the north side of Market between 6th Street and the McAllister Street/Jones Street intersection to install a few more soil cells.

Soil cells are pieces of underground landscaping infrastructure that help promote healthy tree and root growth without causing damage to either the sidewalk above or other infrastructure below the roots. This is because their honeycomb shape allows for more un-compacted soil around the trees and provides roots with more directions to safely grow.

5/25/2023

Construction on Better Market Street Phase 1 continues to progress smoothly, and we're excited to share another update on what we're up to as we head into Memorial Day Weekend. We continue to perform multiple different types of improvements in different sections of the project area simultaneously, in order to get this project done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Here's a brief rundown of what we have going on this week and in the weeks to come.

New Traffic Signals

Our crews are continuing to excavate along the curb line to install electrical conduits, which will help power the 5 new traffic signals that we'll be installing later on this year. Throughout the first few weeks of May, we performed this work on Market between 5th and 6th streets, as well as at the 6th and Market intersection.

Currently, we're doing the same work - installing electrical conduits for traffic signals - at the southwest and southeast corners of the intersection of 5th, Market and Cyril Magnin. We expect this work to wrap up by the end of this week. Once it is complete, we will move to the northwest and northeast corners of this same intersection.

Roadway Improvements

Earlier this week, we finished up work on the concrete gutter and loading bays on the north side of Market between Golden Gate/Taylor and Jones/McAllister. We are now starting the same scope of work on the north side of Market between 7th and 8th streets. Once that work is complete, we will move to the south side of this block.

We anticipate work to be finished on the north side of Market between 7th and 8th by the end of next week, and by mid-June on the south side.

The construction of new concrete gutters and loading bays on the south side of Market will allow us to restore the concrete roadway within the curb lane, which is tentatively scheduled to start by mid-June.

These improvements, along with repaving, will drastically improve the safety and overall ride quality for those biking, taking transit, or driving commercial vehicles along the corridor.

Improving the Urban Forest

After experiencing a few unexpected delays due to rain and conflicts with existing underground utilities, we installed soil cells on the south side of Market between 7th and 8th streets this week. We will be installing a total of three soil cells on this side of the block, and expect this work to be complete by the end of the month.

Starting early next week, we will be installing three more soil cells on the north side of this block at the southern edge of UN Plaza and in front of 1170 Market Street.

5/1/2023

Construction on Better Market Street Phase 1 is ramping up and we're excited to fill you in on all the construction tasks that our crews have started this month.

Here's a brief rundown of the work that is currently taking place in the Mid-Market corridor:

Our contractor, Esquivel Grading and Paving, Inc., is performing concrete work between 5^th and 8^th streets along the south side of the street.
Sewer work is beginning at the 5^th Street and Market intersection and moving west.
Traffic signal work is starting at 8^th Street and Market and moving east.
Soil Cell installation is beginning soon, and will be starting on Market between 7th and 8th streets.

As construction expands further into the roadway, we would like to remind cyclists who use Market Street to please obey all posted lane closure and detour signs. Our contractors will have flaggers and signs set up daily during working hours to remind those cycling through the area to either take a detour off of Market (see detour routes below) or dismount your bicycle and walk along the sidewalk. We appreciate your cooperation in helping make these areas as safe as possible for pedestrians construction crews and your fellow cyclists.

2/24/2023:

We have made the following changes to the eastbound bicycle detour route:

Added an additional turn-off of Market at 11th Street
Extended the route along Folsom Street so it stretches from 11th Street to 2nd Street
Eliminated the portion of the route on 3rd Street
Added 2nd Street as the route to return to Market from Folsom Street

Eastbound bicycle traffic will still be detoured off of Market Street from 9:30am to 7:30pm Monday-Friday. To allow easier morning commuting into downtown, work on along the eastbound bicycle lane will not begin until 9:30am. Once work begins each morning, all eastbound bicycle traffic will be re-routed off of Market and through the revised detour outlined below:

Detoured off Market at 11th Street - turn right onto 11th Street
Left turn off 11th Street onto Folsom
Continue along Folsom until 2nd Street
Left turn off Folsom onto 2nd Street
Continue along 2nd Street until Market
Turn right onto Market and proceed eastbound

There are additional re-routes off of Market at 10th Street, 8th street and 6th street. All of these also direct cyclists to the detour route on Folsom Street.

There have been no significant changes made to the westbound bicycle detour route.

As a reminder, westbound bicycle traffic will be detoured off of Market Street from 7:30am to 3:30pm Monday-Friday. To allow easier afternoon commuting out of downtown, work on along the westbound bicycle lane will stop at 3:30pm. Once work begins at 7:30am each morning, all westbound bicycle traffic will be re-routed off of Market and through the detour outlined below:

Detoured off Market at Ellis Street - turn a slight right onto Ellis Street
Left turn off of Ellis Street onto Mason Street
Right turn off of Mason Street onto Turk Street
Left turn off of Turk Street onto Polk Street
Right turn off Polk Street back onto Market and proceed westbound

There are additional re-directions off of Market Cyril Magnin Street, Taylor Street and Charles J Brenham Place. All of these also direct cyclists to the detour route on Ellis, Mason, Turk and Polk.

Cyclists are also encouraged to take alternative routes starting further away from the project area to avoid adding unnecessary travel time to their trips. For a full list of bicycle routes in the area, please visit https://www.sfmta.com/maps/san-francisco-bike-network-map.

1/30/2023: Starting the week of February 6th, our contractor, Esquivel Grading and Paving, Inc., will begin “potholing,” which is the digging of exploratory holes along the project limits to help confirm the depth and alignment of existing underground utilities. Doing so will help us avoid damaging any of these utilities during construction. About two weeks after potholing begins, our contractor will begin performing other scopes of work throughout the project area. These include:

Removal of dead trees: starting the week of February 20th
Electrical work for traffic signal upgrades at 5th and Market intersection: starting the week of February 27th
Installing soil cells in street tree basins: starting the week of February 27th

For the duration of this project, we will provide bicycle lanes along Market to stay open in the peak direction during peak hours (Eastbound before 9:30am, Westbound after 3:30pm). Bicycle traffic during the workday will be detoured off of Market Street to ensure the safety of cyclists, our construction crews, and all others traveling along Market Street. About a week before construction is scheduled to begin, we will install signage throughout the area to guide cyclists to the correct route.

12/15/2022: Things are ramping up on Market Street as we prepare to begin Better Market Street Phase 1. Today, our contractor will begin taking measures to protect 90 street trees located within the Phase 1 project area from the upcoming construction work.

To protect these street trees, our contractor will be constructing protective barriers by inserting steel posts in a square formation into the dirt surrounding the tree, then wrapping orange plastic snow fencing around the four posts and reinforcing the structure using 2 by 4-inch wooden boards. Overall, it will take about two weeks to set up barriers for all 90 trees in the project area that need protection. We're starting on the corner of Fifth and Market and gradually moving to Eighth and Market.

This tree protection work is taking place in advance of full-time construction on Market Street, which will be starting up in late January 2023. Immediately after tree protection is completed, our contractor will be performing “potholing,” which is the digging of exploratory holes along the project limits to help confirm the depth and alignment of existing underground utilities. Doing so will help us avoid damaging any of these utilities during construction.

08/18/2022: Public Works has given Esquivel Grading and Paving, Inc. Notice to Proceed, or NTP. This designation kicks off a four month pre-construction period, in which the project schedule will be finalized, construction equipment and materials will be procured, and some preliminary construction will take place. Full time construction is expected to begin in January 2023.

05/31/2022: Public Works has officially awarded the construction contract for Better Market Street Phase 1 to Esquivel Grading and Paving, Inc. The contract, which is worth an estimated $29,100,000, will cover the improvements planned for the Mid-Market area between Fifth and Eighth Streets. Notice to Proceed is expected in early July, which will kick off a four-month construction mobilization and outreach period. The project will formally break ground in late 2022.

03/28/2022: A public hearing on the proposed removal and replacement of 21 street trees in the Phase 1 project area (Market between 5th street and 8th street) will be held on Monday, April 25, 2022 at 5:30 PM PST. If you are interested in attending this hearing, which will be held virtually on Zoom, you can log in using the information below.

Zoom meeting login: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85627957854

iPhone one-tap: +16699006833,,85627957854# or+12532158782,,85627957854#

Phone: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782

Meeting ID: 856 2795 7854

If you are unable to attend the virtual meeting on the 25th, you can submit written comments regarding the subject matter to Public Works' Bureau of Urban Forestry at 49 South Van Ness Ave. Suite 1000 94103 or urbanforestry@sfdpw.org.

For more information on the hearing and photos of the trees in question, please visit the Bureau of Urban Forestry's Tree Removal Notifications Page.

10/12/2021: The construction contract for Phase 1 has been advertised and bids are due by Wednesday, November 10, 2021*. Bid details can be found here. (*Bid period end date is subject to change.)

10/22/2020: The Better Market Street Project virtual open house will be available on the project website November 2 - 13, 2020. The interactive, online event can be accessed at any time during the two-week period. Learn more about the project, including the proposed design, schedule and background through virtual informational boards.

There will also be two opportunities to join the project team for a live online public meeting on:

Wednesday, November 4, 2020, from noon-1:00 p.m. and

Monday, November 9, 2020, from 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.

Please plan on joining us to hear the latest project updates. The meeting links and additional details will be posted on the Better Market Street project website.

10/05/2020: The Better Market Street Project will host a Virtual Open House in late October 2020. Two live virtual public meetings will be held. Dates and further details will be available at www.bettermarketstreetsf.org.

05/29/2020: Caltrans published the Notice of Availability and the Draft Environmental Assessment for Better Market Street on Friday, May 29, 2020, and will accept public comment until 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. Comments may be submitted, in writing, by 5:00 PM on July 14, 2020 and addressed to:

Boris Deunert
San Francisco Public Works, 30 Van Ness Avenue, 5th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102
Boris.Deunert@sfdpw.org

Visit bettermarketstreetsf.org/EA for more information.

Open House Boards

Better Market Street Public Meetings June 2019 and August 2019

Urban Design

Site Design/Streetscape

Market Street Today: Transit

Bikes and Safety

Proposed Muni Service

Muni-Only Lanes and Boarding Islands

Transit Stops

Improving Historic Streetcar service

Vehicle Circulation

Loading on Market Street

Project Overview

Market Street, between Octavia Boulevard and Steuart Street.

Project Features

The Better Market Street project proposes a transformative redesign of the city’s busiest corridor. Key features include private vehicle restrictions, repaved curb lanes and intersections, new ADA-compliant curb ramps and pavers at multiple intersections, sidewalk bulb-outs, new street trees and sidewalk furnishings and a loop for the historic F-Market streetcar line that will increase service between Fisherman’s Wharf and Mid-Market.

Streetscapes

Location

Market Street, from Octavia Boulevard to Steuart Street

LOCATE ON PROJECT MAP

District

Project Manager

Cristina Olea

Contact