Geary Street in San Francisco, CA, a vital artery stretching across the city, is undergoing a significant transformation. The Geary Boulevard Improvement Project is set to enhance public transportation, pedestrian safety, and overall street functionality. This comprehensive guide addresses frequently asked questions about the project, providing clarity and detailed insights for residents, commuters, and anyone interested in the future of Geary Street.
1. Understanding the Need for Further Improvements on Geary Transit
While Geary Street’s transit service is currently functional, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) recognizes the necessity for ongoing enhancements. Past initiatives like the Geary Rapid Project and the 38 Geary Transit Lanes have delivered improvements, but persistent service inconsistencies remain. Muni riders on the 38 Geary and 38R Geary Rapid lines frequently encounter service gaps due to unpredictable delays, leading to overcrowding and extended travel times. Furthermore, promoting public transportation is crucial in combating climate change and fostering a more sustainable urban environment.
The Geary Boulevard Improvement Project directly tackles these issues. By extending the existing side-running transit lanes further into the Richmond District and marking them with red colorization for better visibility, the project aims to create a more efficient bus corridor. Optimizing bus stop locations, constructing bus bulbs at 38R Geary Rapid stops, and incorporating right-turn pockets to minimize conflicts with vehicles are additional key components. These improvements are designed to work synergistically, ensuring a faster, more reliable, and appealing public transit experience on Geary Street.
Learn more about the comprehensive benefits of the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project.
2. Side-Running vs. Center-Running Transit Lanes: Effectiveness and Rationale
A key consideration in the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project is the choice between side-running and center-running transit lanes. Evaluations of existing side-running lanes installed on Geary as part of previous projects demonstrate their positive impact on bus travel time and reliability. Based on these findings, the SFMTA is advocating for side-running lanes for the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project, moving away from earlier considerations of center-running lanes.
Although center-running transit lanes are projected to offer a slightly greater improvement in travel time (25% compared to 22% for side-running), the reliability benefits are anticipated to be comparable, with a 20-40% improvement depending on the bus service type and direction. A significant advantage of side-running lanes is the ability to maintain both Rapid and local bus services. Center-running lanes would necessitate consolidating these services due to the inability of buses to pass each other within a center median transitway.
Moreover, implementing side-running lanes allows for quicker realization of transit and safety benefits. A center-running project would be more expensive, require a longer construction period, and necessitate complete project and utility work completion before transit lanes could become operational. In contrast, side-running transit lanes can be implemented within a few months following project approval, offering a faster and more efficient path to improvement for Geary Street, San Francisco, CA.
Map illustrating the proposed transit lane expansion on Geary Street in San Francisco. Upon implementation, transit lanes will provide near-continuous coverage from 33rd Avenue to Market Street. Download a PDF version.
3. Enhancing Pedestrian Safety and Accessibility on Geary Street
The Geary Boulevard Improvement Project is integral to San Francisco’s Vision Zero initiative, aimed at eliminating traffic fatalities. This segment of Geary Street is unfortunately part of the city’s High-Injury Network, where 13% of streets account for a staggering 75% of severe and fatal collisions. Between 2010 and 2021, this section of Geary Boulevard, from 34th Avenue to Stanyan Street, witnessed 437 injury collisions, injuring 578 individuals and tragically resulting in five fatalities. Alarmingly, 145 of these injuries involved pedestrians. This translates to an average of one pedestrian injury per month within the project area, a disproportionately high collision rate compared to the rest of San Francisco.
To address this critical safety concern, the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project incorporates several key pedestrian safety measures. Redesigning intersections to enhance safety, introducing pedestrian bulb-outs, implementing daylighting to improve visibility, and expanding median refuges are all crucial components. Traffic signals along the corridor have been retimed and coordinated to provide more crossing time for individuals of all abilities, particularly near senior centers. Furthermore, restricting left turns at select intersections reduces conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians, improving overall traffic safety by increasing driver visibility and providing space for larger median pedestrian refuges. These changes are vital to making Geary Street in San Francisco, CA safer for everyone.
4. Parking Considerations and Overall Impacts of the Project
The Geary Boulevard Improvement Project acknowledges that parking adjustments are a necessary trade-off to achieve enhanced bus service and safer pedestrian environments. These objectives are primarily met through:
- Extending side-running transit lanes into the Central Richmond area, addressing a previous gap. To accommodate a transit lane and maintain two general-purpose lanes in each direction, angled parking is being converted to parallel parking.
- Installing pedestrian bulb-outs at certain intersections and implementing daylighting at all intersections to significantly improve pedestrian safety. Safety enhancements contribute to approximately 40% of the overall project-related parking adjustments.
- Lengthening bus stops that are currently substandard in length, ensuring articulated buses can properly pull up to the curb to serve passengers. High-demand 38R Rapid stops are being extended to allow simultaneous loading of two buses, with new bus bulb-outs planned for installation in 2027.
The project team has diligently explored all feasible options to minimize parking impacts. To partially compensate for parking removals, angled parking is being introduced on some cross streets near Geary, converting existing parallel parking spaces. This mitigation strategy reduces the net parking reduction to 31 spaces, averaging less than one parking space removed per block.
Review the detailed breakdown of parking changes by block along Geary Street.
Recognizing the importance of customer access for local businesses, the SFMTA conducted a merchant loading survey. This survey aims to identify locations where adjustments to curb space, such as adding passenger or commercial loading zones, can effectively support the needs of businesses along Geary Street, San Francisco, CA.
5. The Rationale Against Retaining Angled Parking with Transit Lanes
A frequently asked question is why transit lanes cannot be implemented while preserving angled parking on Geary Street. While retaining all project proposals except the angled-to-parallel parking conversion would preserve approximately 13 parking spaces, the physical constraints of Geary Boulevard must be considered. Despite its width, the public right-of-way is limited by the property lines of adjacent buildings. This limits the available space for sidewalks, parking, vehicle travel lanes, and essential streetscape elements.
While technically feasible to reconstruct the street to accommodate a transit lane alongside angled parking and two vehicle travel lanes, this would necessitate either eliminating the entire center median and all left-turn opportunities or significantly reducing the width of both the median and sidewalks. However, these design modifications are not recommended as they would compromise pedestrian and driver safety and comfort. Furthermore, such reconstructions would substantially increase project costs and construction disruption due to roadway reconstruction and relocation of existing utilities, streetlights, and traffic signal infrastructure. Significant traffic circulation challenges and the removal of numerous mature trees are also major drawbacks of these alternative designs. Therefore, the conversion to parallel parking is deemed a necessary compromise for the overall benefits of the Geary Street, San Francisco, CA improvement project.
6. Benefits of Far-Side Bus Stop Relocation for Transit Performance
Relocating bus stops from the near-side to the far-side of intersections is a strategic move to enhance transit performance on Geary Street. Far-side stops enable buses to clear an intersection before stopping, optimizing traffic flow. This relocation also allows buses to leverage transit signal priority technology. This technology facilitates communication between buses and traffic signals, increasing the likelihood of buses catching green lights. Near-side stops, conversely, prevent effective signal priority activation because the unpredictable dwell time at the stop (for passenger loading/unloading) makes signal timing optimization unreliable.
Furthermore, far-side stops eliminate conflicts with right-turning vehicles. These conflicts can cause vehicle backups and pedestrian safety hazards as vehicles attempt to maneuver around buses and through crosswalks. By streamlining bus operations and minimizing conflicts, far-side bus stop relocation contributes to improved travel times and reliability for transit users on Geary Street, San Francisco, CA.
Map depicting planned bus stop modifications, including the removal of stops at 12th Avenue, to optimize travel efficiency and dependability. Download a PDF version.
7. The Role of Left-Turn Restrictions in Enhancing Traffic Safety
The alarming statistic of approximately one person injured in a collision each month on Geary Street underscores the critical need for safety improvements. Intersections where both eastbound and westbound vehicles can turn left often create hazardous situations. Opposing left-turning vehicles frequently obstruct each other’s views while waiting for traffic gaps. This obstructed visibility forces drivers to manage multiple conflict points simultaneously: pedestrians in crosswalks, oncoming through traffic, and opposing left-turning vehicles. These complex scenarios can lead to hurried or poorly informed decisions, increasing the risk of collisions.
Left-turn restrictions are a proven safety tool the SFMTA utilizes to mitigate these risks and improve pedestrian safety. By reducing conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians and enhancing driver visibility, left-turn restrictions create safer intersection environments. Experience from other locations on Geary Street where similar turn restrictions have been implemented demonstrates a reduction in reported vehicle collisions related to left-turn maneuvers, with no subsequent reported pedestrian collisions. Building upon these positive outcomes, the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project proposes removing one left-turn opportunity within each “couplet” (pairs of adjacent intersections allowing left turns in both directions) throughout the project area. Decisions regarding which direction to restrict within each couplet are based on collision history and access considerations.
Left-turn restrictions also create valuable space for constructing larger median pedestrian refuge islands. These refuges provide pedestrians crossing Geary Street with a safe waiting area in the center of the roadway should they be unable to cross completely within a single traffic signal cycle. This feature is particularly important in proximity to senior centers, enhancing safety and accessibility for vulnerable populations on Geary Street, San Francisco, CA.
Map identifying proposed turn restrictions on Geary Street and indicating locations where left turns will still be permitted. Download a PDF version.
8. Benefits for Cyclists within the Geary Street Improvement Project
While Geary Street’s high traffic volume and width make parallel corridors like Anza Street more suitable for dedicated east-west bike routes, the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project does incorporate benefits for cyclists. Improvements primarily focus on enhancing safety for cyclists crossing Geary Street along north-south bike routes, including 8th, 15th, 23rd, and 34th avenues. These enhancements include daylighting at intersections to improve visibility and advanced limit lines to provide cyclists with safer positioning at intersections. Sharrows, indicating shared lane usage, are already in place on Geary Street. These targeted improvements aim to create a safer and more predictable environment for cyclists interacting with Geary Street in San Francisco, CA.
9. Tree Management: Removals and New Plantings
The Geary Boulevard Improvement Project involves minimal tree impact. Only two small Victorian box trees are slated for removal. These trees are located within the southwest corner of the Park Presidio greenway near 14th Avenue at Geary Street and need to be removed to facilitate the relocation of a Bay Wheels bike share station. However, to offset this minimal loss and enhance the green streetscape, four new trees will be planted in the immediate vicinity, resulting in a net gain of trees in the area. This demonstrates a commitment to balancing project improvements with environmental considerations on Geary Street, San Francisco, CA.
10. Shift in Approval Process: From SFCTA to Statutory Exemption
Initially, project approval was anticipated to proceed through the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) Board. This was based on utilizing the Geary Bus Rapid Transit Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which included a similar package of transit and safety improvements (Alternative 2). The Geary BRT EIR, compliant with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), was certified in 2017 by the SFCTA.
However, recent legislative developments have altered the approval pathway. Senate Bill 922, enacted in late 2022, provides a statutory exemption from CEQA for sustainable transportation projects like the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project. Consequently, instead of relying on the Geary BRT EIR, the SFMTA is collaborating with the San Francisco Planning Department to prepare a Statutory Exemption, leveraging this newly available legislative avenue for project approval. This streamlined approach allows for a more efficient and expedited project progression for Geary Street, San Francisco, CA.
11. SFMTA Board Decision: Options for Project Implementation
The SFMTA staff is presenting two distinct options to the SFMTA Board of Directors for policy direction regarding the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project:
Option 1 – Staff Recommendation: Immediate Implementation. This option aligns with the staff’s recommendation to approve the project as proposed and implement all new transit lanes in 2023. This approach prioritizes rapid delivery of transit and safety benefits to Geary Street, San Francisco, CA.
Option 2 – Delayed Transit Lane Implementation: This option involves approving the project but directing staff to postpone the implementation of certain transit lanes until the commencement of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) water and sewer construction. This option is presented in response to stakeholder feedback and concerns surrounding the proposed conversion of angled parking to parallel parking. Under this option, the project’s Quick-Build phase would still proceed in Fall 2023, encompassing bus stop relocations, bus zone extensions, new angled parking on cross streets, turn restrictions, daylighting, and the implementation of select transit lanes. The remaining transit lane implementation would be coordinated with the start of planned SFPUC construction within the corridor.
Map indicating transit lane segments that would be delayed under Option 2. Quick-Build implementation would primarily focus on locations where parallel parking yields more spaces than angled parking, such as blocks with relocated bus stops.
Detailed information regarding these options will be provided in the staff report for the SFMTA Board meeting, accessible on the August 15 Board meeting page approximately one week prior to the meeting. The Board’s decision will determine the implementation timeline and approach for the Geary Street, San Francisco, CA improvement project.
12. Understanding the Quick-Build Phase and its Advantages
The Quick-Build phase of the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project is designed to deliver tangible transit and safety improvements to the Geary corridor as rapidly as possible. Utilizing cost-effective and efficient methods like paint and signs, the Quick-Build phase can achieve significant impact through measures such as new transit lanes, relocating bus stops to the far-side of intersections, and “daylighting” curbs at intersections to enhance pedestrian safety. To mitigate parking impacts, replacement parking on cross streets will also be implemented during the Quick-Build phase, preceding transit lane installation.
Initially, new transit lanes will be marked with white paint and stenciling to minimize rework. Following utility and repaving work, the lanes will receive their final red color treatment. The remaining non-transit lane work will be conducted outside the planned SFPUC excavation zones.
The rapid implementation of Quick-Build improvements is crucial for several reasons:
- Supporting Economic Recovery: Enhancing transit travel time and reliability directly supports the city’s economic recovery. Analysis of sales tax data from corridors where similar improvements were implemented (e.g., Mission Street and Taraval Street) indicates that sales tax receipts remained consistent with or exceeded citywide trends post-project implementation.
- Addressing Traffic Violence Urgently: To advance San Francisco’s Vision Zero policy and reduce severe and fatal traffic collisions, swift implementation of safety improvements on high-injury corridors like Geary Street is paramount.
- Mitigating Construction Delays and Maximizing Parking Retention: Currently, most blocks between 28th and 15th avenues on Geary Street only have two travel lanes per direction. Converting angled parking to parallel parking creates an additional lane, providing greater flexibility to maintain through traffic and retain parking during construction activities.
- Securing Grant-Funded Signal Retiming: Grant funding for traffic signal retiming, aimed at providing increased pedestrian crossing time, is time-sensitive and expires after 2023. Signal retiming must be completed by the end of this year and synchronized with bus stop relocations within the Quick-Build phase to prevent potential worsening of transit performance. Signal timing optimization relies on consistent stop spacing and stop locations (near-side or far-side).
The Quick-Build phase represents a crucial step in delivering timely and impactful improvements to Geary Street, San Francisco, CA.
13. Construction Timeline and Duration for the Geary Project
For contractors seeking information, please visit our Info for Contractors webpage for project delivery details and contract opportunities.
The “Quick-Build” improvements, including transit lanes, bus stop modifications, left-turn restrictions, and safety treatments like daylighting, were installed in Fall 2023 by City crews using paint and signs. The remaining project scope, encompassing bus and pedestrian bulbs and traffic signal upgrades, will be constructed by a contractor following a detailed design phase. The approved side-running transit lane design strategically focuses construction on specific locations, significantly reducing overall construction disruption compared to the previously considered center-running design.
While the SFMTA Geary Boulevard Improvement Project elements could be constructed within approximately one year independently, the work is being coordinated with extensive, separate utility work undertaken by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Many water and sewer lines beneath Geary Boulevard are over a century old, representing the oldest 2% of pipes in the city and requiring urgent rehabilitation. Coordinating these projects minimizes community disruption by consolidating activities within a single timeframe. Utility work construction is anticipated to commence in 2025 and span approximately three years, with transportation upgrades, including final roadway repaving, occurring during the final year of this period. The SFMTA is collaborating closely with the SFPUC to develop a comprehensive construction mitigation plan to minimize construction-related impacts, drawing upon successful strategies implemented in past projects.
14. Future Potential for Rail Service on Geary Street
The ConnectSF Transit Investment Strategy outlines a long-term vision for Geary Street, including investment in a Geary-19th Avenue subway. This subway is envisioned to provide rapid, high-capacity transit service and enhance regional connectivity. However, realization of this ambitious project is anticipated to take at least a decade.
The current side-running bus lane project complements this long-term vision by delivering essential transit benefits to the heavily utilized Geary corridor much sooner and at a comparatively lower cost. Furthermore, the precise alignment and station locations for a Geary-19th Avenue subway are yet to be finalized and are not expected to serve the entire length of the Geary corridor. Therefore, bus service on Geary Street will remain a vital link connecting the western Richmond District to any future rail infrastructure. Buses are likely to maintain high ridership as a convenient surface-level alternative, similar to the ongoing importance of the 14 Mission buses operating above the BART subway line. The Geary Boulevard Improvement Project ensures that crucial transit enhancements are delivered to Geary Street, San Francisco, CA, in the near term while paving the way for potential future rail integration.
