MAYOR LONDON BREED ANNOUNCES EXPEDITED VISION ZERO SAFETY PROJECTS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, October 11, 2018
Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, 415-554-6131
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MAYOR LONDON BREED ANNOUNCES EXPEDITED VISION ZERO SAFETY PROJECTS
Mayor Breed directs SFMTA to implement pedestrian and bicyclist safety measures on Townsend Street, Taylor Street, and 6th Street
San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today instructed the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to expedite safety improvements on Townsend Street, Taylor Street, and 6th Street.
These are the first expedited projects to be announced by Mayor Breed since she stated last month that she would personally review all outstanding Vision Zero safety projects on high-injury corridors to determine which projects could be implemented on an accelerated timeline.
“Moving these safety projects forward on dangerous corridors with a history of collisions will make our city safer for bicyclists and pedestrians,” said Mayor Breed. “I have been personally reviewing Vision Zero projects to determine which ones can be implemented more quickly, and I will continue to do so because we cannot wait any longer for these critical safety improvements.”
Mayor Breed called for the Townsend Corridor Improvement Project to advance on an expedited timeline, with construction of the protected bike lane and new sidewalk beginning in January 2019 and completion scheduled for that spring. Additionally, she instructed the SFMTA to speed up improvements on the 6th Street and Taylor Street corridors, which the City’s Vision Zero program identified as having one of the highest concentration of severe and fatal pedestrian injuries in San Francisco. This project will advance eight to 12 months faster than currently planned, with construction beginning no later than Spring 2020.
“Now more than ever our streets need to be a place where people of all ages and walks of life can move around safely and where no one loses their life just trying to cross the streets, said Ed Reiskin, Director of Transportation for SFMTA. “From Howard to 6th and Taylor to Townsend, we’re committed to quickly making impactful changes that help everyone travel more safely and sustainably."
Townsend Street enjoys one of the richest mixes of travel modes of any street in San Francisco and will receive a suite of upgrades to address the current lack of a physically protected bikeway and limited sidewalk use. Improvements will be focused near the Caltrain Station between 4th and 8th Streets, and will include a protected bike lane through this stretch. Additional improvements will feature the creation of a new sidewalk on Townsend Street from 4th Street to 5th Street, and targeted repaving and striping work. The holistic package of street improvements will provide safe access for all roadway users, including bicyclists, pedestrians and transit riders near the Caltrain station.
“People who bike on Townsend deserve a safe ride,” said Brian Wiedenmeier, Executive Director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. “We are grateful to Mayor Breed for her strong support of this urgently needed project.”
Taylor Street and 6th Street will receive a number of pedestrian safety treatments. Widened sidewalks will be constructed on 6th Street between Market and Howard Streets and on Taylor Street between Turk and Ellis Streets. Corner bulb-outs, another priority within the project scope, will be added on 6th Street between Market and Folsom Streets and on Taylor Street between Market and Sutter Streets. Additionally, new traffic signals will be installed on 6th Street at all mid-block alleys to increase the number of safe crossing opportunities for pedestrians.
"We applaud Mayor Breed's commitment to Vision Zero and her leadership in speeding up improvements to our most dangerous streets like 6th, Taylor and Townsend,” said Jodie Medeiros, Executive Director of Walk San Francisco. “With a little more than 5 years to reach Vision Zero, there is no time to waste. Because 6th Street and Taylor Street are major capital projects that will take some time to build, we look forward to working with Mayor Breed and the SFMTA on implementing cost-effective, near-term temporary improvements that can be made in the next 6 months to increase safety now."
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