In 2022, the 1 California Temporary Emergency Transit Lanes project was approved to become permanent, except for the 800 block of Clay Street between Stockton and Grant streets, where afternoon transit lane hours remained in effect on a temporary basis.
Based on community feedback, the SFMTA is no longer pursuing the proposal to make the afternoon transit lane on Clay Street between Stockton and Grant permanent, including the paired proposal to remove afternoon tow-away on Sacramento Street between Mason and Stockton streets as a parking offset. The temporary transit lane on Clay Street will expire and will be removed no later than June 2023. The existing morning transit lane on this block and other transit lanes along the 1 California will remain in effect.
Meeting the transportation needs of San Francisco is always a challenge. For people who don’t have a car—including 80% of Chinatown residents—Muni is a lifeline. The SFMTA is working every day to make our service more reliable and to minimize wait times and crowding. While installing new transit lanes along the 1 California has helped reduced travel times for riders, the 1 California continues to be one of Muni’s slowest routes and most in need of improvements.
However, we have heard concerns from numerous Chinatown stakeholders, many of whom rely on cars to keep their businesses running or to drop off aging relatives to critical services. A towed car can have a devastating effect both on merchants and the customers they depend on, especially as businesses seek to recover from the pandemic.
The SFMTA will continue to analyze the 1 California to see how buses perform without the afternoon transit lane on this block. If service begins to degrade significantly, we may revisit the idea or explore other ways to address transit delays.
We will also be pursuing further improvements to the entire 1 California line in the coming 1-2 years through the Muni Forward program to address reliability, travel time and pedestrian safety issues on the entire line. We look forward to continuing to partner with Muni riders, residents and merchants to develop these proposals.
Learn more about the Temporary Emergency Transit Lane program.