Columbus Avenue Safety Project

The Columbus Avenue Safety Project is an effort to make transit improvements and pedestrian safety improvements on Columbus Avenue from Washington Street to Filbert Street. This project is in support of San Francisco’s Vision Zero goal of eliminating all traffic deaths by 2024. These safety and transit improvements are being coordinated with Muni and an existing repaving project led by San Francisco Public Works (Project 2267J).

Proposed pedestrian safety improvements are being funded through a combination of SFMTA revenue bonds (approximately $509,000) and Proposition B funds (approximately $800,000.)

Project Details

Columbus Avenue is a commercial corridor that extends from the Financial District to Fisherman's Wharf, and provides critical access to North Beach, Chinatown, and Russian Hill. The Columbus Avenue Safety Project is an effort to make transit improvements and pedestrian safety improvements on Columbus Avenue from Washington Street to Filbert Street.

The project aims to support Vision Zero, to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2024 in San Francisco. Currently sections of Columbus Avenue appear on the city’s High Injury Network, the 13% of city streets where 75% of the severe and fatal collisions occur.  These safety and transit improvements are being coordinated with an existing repaving project led by San Francisco Public Works (Project 2267J). The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is also performing sewer and water main replacement on Columbus Avenue.

IMPROVEMENTS UNDERWAY

• Pedestrian Improvements
  • Pedestrian bulb-outs
  • High-visibility crosswalks and yield markings in advance of crosswalks at intersections without a signal or stop sign
  • Pedestrian “head-start” signal timing that gives pedestrians a walk symbol before traffic is allowed to enter the intersection
  • Advanced stop lines on the roadway to encourage a greater vehicle stopping distance from crosswalks
  • “Daylighting” intersections to improve visibility by increasing the sight distance between pedestrians and approaching motorists
• Transit Improvements
  • Transit bulb-outs to reduce transit delay

PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS

• Columbus Avenue, from Washington Street to Broadway
  • Bicycle lanes are being proposed on Columbus Avenue in each direction from Washington Street to Broadway. The bicycle lanes would be made possible through the removal of a northbound vehicle lane for two blocks from Jackson Street to Broadway.
  • Peak-hour tow-away parking restrictions on the three southbound blocks from Washington to Broadway would be rescinded, allowing drivers to park in this parking lane full time.  

A plan view of proposed improvements on Columbus Ave can be found using the links below:

• Filbert to Union
• Green to Broadway
• Broadway to Montgomery

TENTATIVE TIMELINE (Repaving and associated improvements)

• Pre-Development/Follow-up-TA Columbus Avenue Neighborhood Plan: September 2012 - December 2013
• Planning: January 2014 - April 2014
• Outreach & Legislation: May 2014 – March 2015
• Environmental Review: June 2014 - August 2014
• Detailed Design: June 2014 - April 2015
• Construction Advertise: April 2015
• Estimated Construction: January 2016
• Estimated Construction Completion: Late 2017

RELATED COLUMBUS AVENUE MEASURES

San Francisco Public Works Columbus Avenue Renovation Project

• The Columbus Avenue Safety Project will be coordinating with San Francisco Public Works' paving project along Columbus Avenue.

Proposed SFMTA Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP) Improvements for the 30-Stockton 

• SFMTA’s Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP) identifies a variety of Travel Time Reduction Proposals (TTRPs), which are engineering strategies oriented to specifically address the delays vehicles face along rapid routes. As a part of the TEP's proposed Rapid Network, the 30-Stockton has its own toolkit of TTRPs, which specifically target the evaluated causes of delays within the 30-Stockton corridor. Click here to learn more.

ADDITIONAL POTENTIAL COLUMBUS AVENUE PROPOSALS

Potential Temporary Sidewalk Widening

• The San Francisco Planning Department is studying the potential for temporary sidewalk widening on Columbus Avenue. Initial concepts include creation of a "promenade" space for pedestrians to use where the existing parking lane is located between Union and Green Streets. 

SFCTA Columbus Avenue Neighborhood Plan

• The San Francisco County Transportation Authority's Columbus Avenue Neighborhood Plan Study’s objective was to identify changes to transportation infrastructure and policies that could enhance the livability and economic viability of the Columbus Avenue corridor, benefit residents, merchants and visitors, and enjoy broad community support. The study area included Columbus Avenue between the Transamerica Pyramid and Ghirardelli Square and was completed in 2010. Click here to find out more about this study.  

Privately Sponsored Plaza on Vallejo Street (Columbus Avenue to Grant Avenue)

• This project is no longer being pursued.