On April 16, Tenderloin residents and community based organizations turned out for a public hearing on two Tenderloin quick-build projects, Leavenworth Street and Golden Gate Avenue. We’re thrilled that City planners approved both projects and began construction immediately, just one day after the celebration of new 20 mph speed limit and no turn on red signs installed in the neighborhood.
The Golden Gate Avenue quick-build upgrades a painted bike lane from Polk to Market Street into a protected bike lane, creating an eastbound connection to match the westbound connection on Turk Street. The Leavenworth quick-build focuses on pedestrian safety by removing a lane of traffic, which will help to slow down drivers, and improving intersections between McAllister and Post Street.
Though the approval of these projects is worth celebrating, the City took far too long to get these projects to construction. In late 2019, the Tenderloin Traffic Safety Task Force wrote a letter demanding that the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) deliver projects more urgently in the Tenderloin. SFMTA responded shortly after and stated, “We fully commit to quick-build projects on both Golden Gate and Leavenworth in 2020.” We are now five months in 2021 and the Tenderloin community has had to wait too long for change that was promised. When quick-build projects are no longer implemented quickly, residents are the ones most impacted by those decisions and inaction.
Now that construction crews have broken ground, we expect that the Leavenworth and Golden Gate Avenue quick-build projects will be completed by the end of May. We continue to urge the SFMTA to act with urgency, and we are pushing them to implement two additional quick-builds in the Tenderloin by the end of 2021. Join us in our advocacy and be a part of the conversations to advance more projects like these in the Tenderloin.
