In a resounding victory for safer SoMa streets, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board of Directors unanimously approved the Second Street Improvement Project at their meeting this week. The project includes raised bikeways in the north and southbound directions from Market to King Streets, sidewalk widening and raised crosswalks at alleyways, and streetscape improvements including rain gardens and street furniture.
Second Street is part of the City’s original Bicycle Plan, and after many years of delay and environmental review, will be one of the last projects from that plan to be completed.
Project staff introduced the improvements as some of the most ambitious and transformative of any street project undertaken by SFMTA and the Department of Public Works (DPW). To see such a momentous complete streets project approved in SoMa is a sign that we can reclaim streets for people walking and biking in our downtown core.
Vision Zero Improvements Also Included
As part of these approvals, the SFMTA and DPW will make much-needed interim safety improvements to Second Street. Part of the City’s Vision Zero commitments includes a bike lane from Market to Mission and green-backed sharrows the rest of the way to King. These temporary improvements could be in the ground by the end of the year, replaced eventually with the proposed bike lanes.
Many thanks are due to the hundreds of members who submitted letters and testified and the many partners that have been fighting for a safer Second Street for decades. Special thanks go out to David Baker, Sup. Jane Kim and Mark Eliot for their tireless efforts and support in getting this project to final approval.
The final design and construction schedule is as follows:
- Winter 2016: Final design completed
- Spring 2016: Construction bidding
- Fall/Winter 2016: Construction begins
- Fall 2017: Construction completed