City Adds Mission Street to Better Market Street Study

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, February 5, 2013 

Contact: Mindy Linetzky, Department of Public Works, 415-554-4829

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CITY ADDS MISSION STREET TO BETTER MARKET STREET STUDY

Three design options move forward to improve pedestrian safety, bicycling and transit reliability

San Francisco, CA—After two rounds of public outreach and extensive preliminary analysis, the City’s Better Market Street project team has chosen three design options to study in more detail as the proposed makeover of Market Street progresses. Details of the three options, as well as the findings from last summer’s public workshops, are posted on the Better Market Street website atwww.bettermarketstreetsf.org.

All three options include intersection and traffic-signal improvement, Muni boarding-island upgrades, transit-stop consolidation and service changes, potential auto restrictions, Streetlife Zones, lighting improvements, landscaping, restored plazas and street trees. Over the next few months, the team will study the existing conditions of Mission Street; transit, traffic and vehicular circulation patterns of both Market and Mission streets; and how the two streets connect and relate to each other.

Under the Market Street Shared Lane option, bicycles, autos and buses would share travel lanes on Market Street, as is now the case. The Market Street Bikeway option calls for the installation of a dedicated cycletrack on Market Street.

The third alternative, the Market Street Transit Corridor and Mission Bikeway option, takes a new approach. In this scenario, Muni’s 14/14L-Mission lines would move to Market Street, east of Van Ness Avenue, and cyclists would be urged to use the new cycletrack on Mission Street. Both Market and Mission streets would get makeovers.

“All three options have their pros and cons, and deserve further exploration,” said Department of Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru. “Adding Mission Street to the mix opens up new opportunities, such as making Market Street the City’s true transit spine and allowing traffic signals to be retimed on Mission Street to better accommodate cyclists. But more study is needed to see what would work best to promote safe and efficient travel.”

The team also will analyze the origin and destinations of transit riders and bicyclists; ideas to rejuvenate the sidewalk areas; best ways to improve transit time and reliability; ways to upgrade major plazas along Market Street; and strategies for improving the pedestrian experience in the area. Conceptual plans will be presented to the public this summer.

All three options will be studied in detail during environmental review, scheduled to begin this fall. The current schedule shows construction beginning in 2017.

The goal of the Better Market Street project is to revitalize Market Street from Octavia Boulevard to The Embarcadero and re-establish the street as a premier cultural, civic, transportation and economic center of San Francisco and the Bay Area.

The Better Market Street project is led by the Department of Public Works, the San Francisco Planning Department, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development in coordination with the Mayor’s Office and other City departments. To learn more about the Better Market Street project, visit www.bettermarketstreetsf.org.

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