UPDATE: At Church and Market streets, we partnered with local merchants, neighbors and Public Works to design a new plaza that will better service the neighborhood at this key transit hub, creating a lively new gathering space and an improved transit boarding experience. You can view the design concepts by clicking here.
Full construction of the permanent plaza at Church and Market streets is anticipated to begin in mid-2026. The final design may undergo some refinements as the project proceeds through the detailed design phase. These permanent improvements will not change the existing parking or traffic configuration.
On Church Street in Noe Valley, new stop signs were delivered on Friday, November 22, 2024, and the associated J Church transit stop changes were implemented on Monday, November 25, 2024. More information about the stop changes can be found here. The SFMTA Board of Directors approved these safety and transit reliability changes on October 15, 2024.
For information about other J Church related projects, please see the timeline for capital and service improvement projects along the line.
Before the pandemic, the J Church served 17,000 Muni riders each weekday in Noe Valley, the Castro, the Mission, Glen Park and Mission Terrace, and riders continue to return. We’ve heard concerns about Muni service reliability along the J Church corridor including long transit wait times, as well as concerns about vehicle speeding and safety for people walking. As part of the Muni Forward program, the J Church Project will focus on making improvements to address these concerns along Church Street and San Jose Avenue.
Reliability challenges
When delayed, the J Church often sees long gaps in service followed by the bunching of two or more trains in a row. A 2013 project improved reliability for the J Church on Church between Duboce and 16th Street. The project added red transit lanes and left-turn restrictions. The project was able to reduce travel time variability by 27%. It also improved travel times up to 14% on that segment. The SFMTA is building on the success of this project to address delays on the remainder of the line.
Over the last few years, we have heard the following concerns from J Church customers:
- Concerns about transit reliability and travel times
- Requests to improve safety, accessibility and features at train stops
- Requests to improve safety for people walking along and near the J Church
- Planning
Approved Improvements on San Jose Avenue
The project will be planned and implemented in phases. The first phase of planning, outreach and implementation is focused on the San Jose Avenue section of the line and approved by the SFMTA Board of Directors in October 2023. There are a range of approved improvements that will be implemented on San Jose Avenue to enhance reliability, safety and accessibility. Some of the approved upgrades include:
- Transit lanes on San Jose Avenue that allow left turns by private vehicles
- New wheelchair-accessible ramps at some stops to improve accessibility for people who use mobility devices
- Flashing beacons to help improve safety for people walking
- Safety improvements for people walking, including intersection daylighting (corner red zones) to improve visibility for people crossing the street
- Traffic signal improvements
For more information on the locations of these approved treatments along San Jose Avenue, please see the project scope boards that show block by block details and the map of the corridor.
Future projects phases
These proposals are a part of a larger effort to improve Muni reliability, service and safety amenities along Church Street and San Jose Avenue. In addition to the proposed improvements along San Jose Avenue, we are working to make improvements at the intersection of Church and Market streets. In the future, work is planned along Church Street. Other corridors where improvements are proposed include Church and Market Street intersection and Church Street from 22nd to 30th streets.
Church and Market streets intersection proposal includes:
- Transit plaza that will also function as a community space for merchant and neighbor use
- Accessibility, safety and customer amenity upgrades
Church Street in Noe Valley
A future Muni Forward project will evaluate potential improvements from 22nd to 30th streets.
- September 2024: A proposal was taken to the engineering public hearing on September 6, 2024. The proposed changes were:
- 1) Change the existing 2-way STOP sign to a 4-way STOP sign at Church and 28th streets to help reduce vehicle collisions and improve safety.
- 2) Adjust the J Church stop spacing to better align with the new stop sign and create more even spacing. By relocating the Clipper Street stops to 26th Street and relocating the 27th Street stops to 28th Street, the proposal's aim is to improve travel times and reliability along the corridor for J Church riders. Stop spacing would be more even and would give more people access to a stop nearby.
- October 2024: On October 15, 2024, the SFMTA Board of Directors approved the proposal to install new stop signs and make changes to some Muni stops on Church Street in Noe Valley.
- These changes are expected to be implemented before the end of 2024.
- Future Considerations: Other proposal details are expected in 2025 and will focus on safety and accessibility improvements at stops.
- Church & 29th Street: A previous proposal to remove the J Church stop on Church Street at 29th Street is no longer being considered.
No changes to the J Church route or frequency are being considered as part of this project.
