Every street in the Tenderloin is on the city’s Vision Zero High Injury Network, the 13% of city streets where 75% of severe and fatal collision occur. The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated the challenges of addressing the safety needs of the neighborhood.
Tenderloin COVID emergency streets were implemented in 2020 and 2021 to expand walking space to enable physical distancing and respond to emerging needs, such as temporary street closures to support small businesses & neighborhood services. This response work included the Jones Street Physical Distancing Lanes, the Turk Street Safe Passage, the 100 block of Golden Gate, and the 300 block of Ellis.
Without additional action from the City, these projects will expire within 120 days of the emergency declaration being lifted. The SFMTA is committed to working with the Tenderloin community to determine next steps for current COVID-19 transportation efforts in the Tenderloin, starting with Jones Street.
Jones Street Physical Distancing Lanes
In 2020, the SFMTA installed temporary physical distancing lanes on Jones Street from O’Farrell Street to Golden Gate Avenue to allow people to practice physical distancing for essential travel and services. This change included converting one car travel lane and parking to add the additional walking space. The walkway and vehicle lanes are separated by concrete barriers or “k-rail” and flex posts. One, three, and six-month evaluation summaries for this response project are now available.
As of October 2021, the concrete barriers between O’Farrell Street to Golden Gate Avenue were removed due to increasing safety and quality of life concerns along the corridor. City crews also re-striped Jones Street, installing two travel lanes with painted buffers between the travel lanes and parking. Parking spaces also returned to both sides of Jones Street, similar to the pre-pandemic conditions.
What is a Quick-Build project?
The Jones Street Quick-Build will build off COVID-19 response work completed in 2020 and 2021.
Quick-build projects are adjustable and reversible traffic safety improvements that can be installed relatively quickly. Unlike major capital projects that may take years to plan, design, bid and construct, quick-build projects are buildable within months and are intended to be evaluated and reviewed within 24 months of construction.
Typical quick-build improvements can include:
- Road diet (i.e. remove one or two travel lanes)
- Paint, traffic delineators, and street signs
- Parking and loading adjustments
- Traffic signal timing
- Transit boarding islands
Project Outreach
SFMTA staff will work with community stakeholders over the next several months to determine priorities and needs. There will also be opportunities for the community to provide direct input to inform the project design. This project will need to go through a City approval process, including outreach, public hearing, and possibly Board approval.
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- Completed
