On Tuesday, September 20, the SFMTA Board of Directors voted to approve the L Taraval Rapid Project. This project is focused on improving pedestrian safety and transit reliablity along the surface portion of the route on Taraval Street.
The capital improvements approved by the Board were designed through a community-driven process that included several public open houses, small group meetings, walking tours and surveys. Throughout the process we worked closely with Supervisor Tang's office to engage residents and merchants along the line.
The approved project includes the following elements:
- Boarding islands
- Painted safety zones
- Stop removal and optimization*
- Transit-only lanes
- Traffic signals
- Pedestrian bulbs
With the project approved, we're ready to get these critical safety improvements on the ground. Our tentative timeline involves early implementation of painted clear zones, stop consolidation, transit-only lanes and the boarding zone pilot in early 2017. The more permanent street features including concrete boarding islands will be installed with a much larger construction project beginning in 2018.
*The SFMTA Board requested staff further evaluate the removal of the 17th inbound stop. If it is determined the stop should be retained, a boarding island would be installed at the existing stop location.