SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority announced on Thursday, August 5 that improvements are being made to the lanes of 1 California which is part of improvements approved in April to maintain time and reliability for over 10,000 daily customers that rely on the east-west connector.
In April 2020, when traffic levels were reduced because of the Coronavirus pandemic, it led to the reduction of buses on the line-requiring two to three fewer buses per day. The focus on transit is important for almost 2/3 of homes along the 1 California route in Chinatown and Nob Hill where residents don’t own cars and rely on the transit for transportation.
The new temporary emergency transit lanes on Clay and Sacramento Streets downtown and on California Street west of Steiner will “lock these service improvements in place by protecting the bus from delays as the city reaches pre-pandemic traffic congestion levels.”
Ridership has increased as public health orders have eased in recent weeks and the economy reopening.
On Clay and Sacramento Streets, the SFMTA made part-time transit lane hours more consistent and focused on expanding lanes at locations where the data has demonstrated the greatest potential benefit. They also implemented transit lanes on California Street from Steiner to Presidio without removing parking.
Observe parking signs on Clay and Sacramento streets where transit lanes are located, as tow-away restrictions are now being enforced.
Earlier this winter and spring, the SFMTA conducted outreach and revised the final project design based on what was heard from the public. Public input, along with our technical analysis of traffic patterns, Muni performance and other factors will help determine whether transit lanes for the 1 California. Residents can take the survey at 1 California Temporary Emergency Transit Lanes Survey (alchemer.com).
