Improvements Proposed for 3rd Street in SoMa

In the South of Market neighborhood, 3rd Street is one of San Francisco’s busiest transportation corridors. Five of Muni’s busiest bus lines run on 3rd Street, including the 45 Union-Stockton, 30 Stockton, 8 Bayshore, the 8AX and 8BX Bayshore Express. Cars and trucks use 3rd Street to head downtown and to the Bay Bridge and Highway 101. Crowds of people walk to the area’s many businesses, cultural and civic destinations.

The 3rd Street Transit and Safety Project aims to reduce bus delays and improve safety for people walking on 3rd Street between Townsend and Market Streets, as well as to re-configure traffic lanes to better accommodate existing travel patterns. 

Reducing Transit Delays and Improving Safety

During the busiest hours, 3rd Street is used by close to 40 Muni buses carrying thousands of passengers – one bus every 90 seconds. But during rush hour, the transit lane is clogged by cars, delaying thousands of Muni customers. By shifting the dedicated transit lane away from the curb, bus delays would be reduced, and an additional right-turn lane would better accommodate Bay Bridge traffic. The project also would update bus stops to be more evenly-spaced (on every other block) to provide better transit access and reduce delays.

As a one way street with up to six lanes, 3rd Street is one of the city’s high-injury corridors that have the most severe and fatal traffic injuries in San Francisco. The project proposes to improve safety for people walking through improvements including sidewalk extensions at intersection corners for shorter crossings, high-visibility crosswalks and pedestrian signals that give people walking a head start crossing intersections.

Detailed information about block-by-block transit and safety improvements is available.

SFMTA Board Review

The project proposal was developed with input from over 200 Muni customers, 3rd Street pedestrians and motorists. Feedback was received from local merchants, senior communities, neighbors, community organizations and institutional stakeholders.

The project will be presented to the SFMTA board of directors for approval on Tuesday, February 19, 2019. If you would like to comment on the proposed changes, you may attend the SFMTA Board Meeting or file your comments in writing before the hearing.

• Attend the SFMTA Board Meeting on February 19, 2019 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 Street Transit and Safety Project”. (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.)

Learn more about the 3rd Street Transit and Safety Project at SFMTA.com/3rdStreet.