16th Street Improvement Project, Phase 2

The 22 Fillmore serves over 20,000 daily riders, but it used to travel at less than 4 miles per hour on parts of 16th Street. The 16th Street Improvement Project implemented several community-informed improvements to make the 22 Fillmore faster, safer, more accessible and more reliable. These included transit-only lanes, transit bulbs, new traffic and pedestrian signals and new streetscape amenities. This project was part of Muni Forward, an ongoing initiative to create a safe, reliable and comfortable experience on and off transit.

The project was split into two phases – the first phase, from Potrero Avenue to 3rd Street, was completed in 2020. The second phase, between Church Street and Potrero Avenue, was completed in 2023. Red transit-only lanes are being added in the second half of 2024 as a separate scope of work.

Project Scope and Construction Timeline

Project Objectives:

• Improve reliability and travel time of the 22 Fillmore for the 18,000 daily riders by nearly 25% in the project area
• Improve safety on 16th Street for people walking, bicycling, and driving
• Improve bike route from Mission to Mission Bay
• Upgrade aging sewer infrastructure, with the addition of water infrastructure improvements for Phase 1 east of Potrero Avenue
• Facilitate zero-emission transit service to connect the Mission Bay neighborhood to the Mission

To better leverage public funds and minimize construction impacts, the project also replaced old underground water lines (Phase 1, 16th Street from Potrero Avenue to 3rd Street only) and sewer lines. 

To provide zero-emission transit service into Mission Bay, the project extended the overhead contact system (OCS) that powers trolley buses on 16th Street from Kansas Street to Third Street. This allowed the 22 Fillmore to be extended into Mission Bay. Additionally, new bike lanes have been added to 17th Street to create a continuous route from Mission Bay to the Mission Neighborhood.

Along with the important improvements to 16th Street, the eastern end of the 22 Fillmore route shifted to serve the growth in jobs, housing and hospitals in Mission Bay. A replacement route, 55 Dogpatch, was created through a community process that ensured service was maintained to Potrero Hill and the Dogpatch areas.

Project Benefits

Improved Transit Reliability and Travel Time: Dedicated transit lanes help buses bypass traffic, reduce delays and make for a smoother ride. Sidewalk extensions at bus stops (bus bulbs) provide more space and allow passengers to board quickly without buses having to leave the travel lane. And bus stop changes, like removing some closely-spaced stops and moving others to the far side of the intersection, help improve travel time and reliability.

Safer Streets: Sidewalk extensions at intersection corners (pedestrian bulbs) shorten the distance for people to cross the street and encourage cars to take turns more slowly. New high-visibility crosswalks help alert drivers to pedestrians.

New Streetscaping: The corridor was enhanced with new trees, landscaping, unique sidewalk designs and fresh bus shelters with locally themed images. Sickly or unsafe trees were removed and replaced by an over 3-to-1 ratio, adding a total of 101 new trees along the corridor.

Utility Improvements: To better leverage public resources and minimize construction impacts to the neighborhood, utility upgrades were included in the 16th Street Improvement Project. In coordination with San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), aging sewer mains were replaced from Dolores to South Van Ness.

Background

Muni Forward

As part of the Transportation Effectiveness Program (TEP), now called Muni Forward, the "22 Fillmore Transit Priority Project" (now called the "16th Street Improvement Project") was part of a larger network of proposed or planned improvements to the Muni system in order to improve reliability and speed, and increase overall system effectiveness. Muni Forward takes a system-wide approach in its assessment with an understanding that for transit to work well throughout the city, key heavy-use routes like the 22 Fillmore need to serve riders and the overall system more efficiently.