3rd Street Transit and Safety Project

The aims of the 3rd Street Transit and Safety Project are to reduce bus delays and improve safety for people walking on 3rd Street between Townsend and Market Streets, as well as to reconfigure traffic lanes to better accommodate existing travel demand patterns. The SFMTA Board of Directors unanimously approved the 3rd Street Transit and Safety Project on February 19, 2019. Learn more about the project's improvements: 

• Block-by-block transit and safety improvements

Additional Improvements Proposed for Transit on Townsend Street

Thank you to community members who provided feedback on proposed improvements at the January 24, 2020 SFMTA Public Hearing. The proposal has been updated with changes to the use of curb space on Townsend between 3rd Street and Lusk. The proposed improvements for transit include: 

• Adding a bus zone at Townsend east of Lusk: This update would better accomodate Muni buses that drop off customers near the Caltrain station. Moving the layover location for 45 Union/Stockton half a block east to this new location would provide space for the 30 Stockton to drop off customers closer to Caltrain.
• Adding a bus-only left-turn lane on Townsend eastbound at 3rd: Adding a second left-turn lane for buses only would reduce Muni delay for buses turning left onto 3rd Street from Townsend. This change would allow the 30 Stockton and the 45 Union/Stockton to turn at the intersection more efficiently and reduce time spent in traffic waiting to turn left. The left-turn lane for regular traffic would remain the same.
• Updating existing bike lane: To improve safety, the existing bike lane on Townsend between Lusk and 3rd Street would no longer have cars parked to the right of the lane, moving it out of the "door zone" . The bike lane would be located to the right of all vehicles on the approach to the 3rd.
• Updating parking and loading: With the exception of an accessible parking space, curbside parking on Townsend between Lusk and 3rd Street would be removed to accommodate the changes. Additionally on Townsend east of 3rd Street, the bus zone would be extended to ensure there are no conflicts between buses turning left onto 3rd Street and the 10 Townsend stop. Additionally, commercial loading spaces would be added on Townsend east of 3rd Street to address demand. 

There are three ways to comment on the proposed changes for 3rd Street and Townsend:

• Attend the SFMTA Board of Directors Meeting on March 17, 2020 at 1:00 p.m., ​​​​​​Room 400 City Hall, San Francisco. (Note that the actual time the item will be heard may be considerably later than 1:00 p.m.)
• Email comment to: MTABoard@SFMTA.com with subject line “3rd St and Townsend Item”. (Submit comments before the hearing.)
• Mail comment to: Board of Directors, One South Van Ness Avenue, 7th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-5417. (Submit comments before the hearing.)

The SFMTA Board of Directors will make the final approval at the hearing. All comments will be heard by project staff and the SFMTA Board of Directors and will be entered into the public record.

Implementation and Construction

The 3rd Street Transit and Safety Project will be implemented in two phases. Learn about what improvements are happening near you:

• Weekly construction forecast
• Sign up for construction updates by email or text

Phase I 

Phase I of the project started construction on September 21, 2019. Construction will occur on 3rd Street between Townsend and Mission streets and continue into the winter. 

Phase I improvements include:

1. Relocated transit-only lane and dedicated right-turn lanes
2. Boarding islands and evenly-spaced bus stops
3. Painted safety zones and walk sign head starts
4. Upgrades to existing crosswalks, stop bars for autos and right turn-only signals reducing conflicts with pedestrians

To accommodate these improvements, some parking and loading changes are occurring as well.

Phase II

Following the completion of Phase I improvements, the SFMTA and San Francisco Public Works will begin to develop detailed designs for Phase II. Phase II improvements include wider sidewalks at bus stops (transit bulbs), extending sidewalks at intersection corners (pedestrian bulbs) and adding new crosswalks at Bryant and Folsom streets. Phase II is expected to start construction in 2023. 

Intersection Improvements 

The sample intersection illustrated below shows upcoming improvements to 3rd Street for transit and people walking. By shifting the transit lane away from the curb, the project will reduce bus delays and provide an additional right-turn lane to accommodate Bay Bridge traffic. Pedestrian improvements will improve safety for people walking. In order to accommodate these improvements, one through lane of traffic will be removed outside of rush hour, and some curbside parking will be converted to a traffic lane during rush hour. Some curbside parking will also be removed to accommodate right turn lanes.

Bus Stop Changes

The project updates bus stop to be more evenly-spaced, on every other block. These changes allow for better transit access and reduce transit delays.