At the July 16, 2024 SFMTA Board of Directors meeting, the Board voted unanimously to approve the revised proposal of the West Portal Station Safety and Community Space Improvements Project.
Thank you to the Welcoming West Portal Committee, neighbors, merchants, transit riders and other community members who shared their feedback in recent months. We are so appreciative of the community’s time and collaborative spirit. Your input resulted in additions and revisions to the original proposal that are informed by local knowledge. As a result, the project will help holistically improve safety near the West Portal Station by:
- Installing traffic calming treatments on Ulloa, Vicente and Wawona streets
- Adding vehicle restrictions and transit lanes
- Converting Lenox Way to one-way traffic, and
- Implementing other changes to improve safety and calm traffic in the area
Implementation Schedule
Summer changes:
One-Way Lenox Way: We will be converting Lenox Way to one-way southbound traffic in advance of the first day of school on Monday, August 19. This schedule responds to input from West Portal Elementary School. The work will include updating street signage and paint. Additional outreach will be conducted to Lenox Way community members prior to implementation.
Horseshoe redesign: The half circle outside West Portal Station, known as the “horseshoe” will be redesigned as a welcoming station entrance with elements including planters, a bikeshare station and a street mural. We’ll be working to finalize these designs and begin implementation later this summer.
Changes planned for the fall and beyond:
Traffic calming and vehicle restrictions: We expect to install vehicle restrictions at West Portal Avenue at Ulloa and Vicente streets (e.g. two left-turn movements and one through movement will no longer be allowed) when the L Taraval returns to rail service this fall. This schedule is in response to community input. Traffic calming improvements on Ulloa, Vicente and Wawona streets will be installed at the same time.
Pedestrian crossing beacons on Ulloa and Wawona streets will be installed later this year or in early 2025. This improvement needs additional time for design and construction.
Separate from this project, the SFMTA, working with SF Public Works, expects to install concrete islands to calm traffic at the five-way intersection of Madrone Way and Vicente and Wawona streets by September.
We will share additional details on what to expect as we get closer to construction.
Monitoring and Evaluation
After implementation is complete, the project team will monitor and evaluate how things are working. Some key metrics we plan to include are:
- Changes in traffic speeds on select streets, including Ulloa Street, Wawona Street and Lenox Way
- Compliance with new traffic restrictions (e.g. no left turn or no through traffic)
- Perceptions of safety by community members at key intersections
This monitoring and evaluation will be used to inform possible additions or changes to the project.
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