Signal retiming completed in Spring 2024 successfully reduced average midblock speeds on Franklin Street from 27 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour. Read the latest Project Update for details:
Franklin Street is a north-south roadway that extends from Market Street to Fort Mason. Between Broadway and Lombard streets, Franklin Street has three travel lanes in the northbound direction with residential permit parking on both sides of the street. The section of Franklin Street between Broadway and Lombard Streets is heavily residential, and there are two nearby schools: Saint Brigid School and Sherman Elementary School.
From 2017 to 2021, 38 collisions occurred on Franklin Street between Broadway and Lombard Streets. On November 10, 2021, a person walking to Sherman Elementary School was struck and killed by a person driving a vehicle at the Franklin and Union streets intersection.
The Franklin Street Quick-Build Project seeks to improve pedestrian and traffic safety on Franklin Street between Broadway and Lombard streets. Safety improvements aimed at reducing vehicle speeds and the number of conflicts between people who drive and people who walk will create a safer experience for all roadway users.
Project goals include:
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Improve pedestrian safety by increasing the visibility of people walking and reducing potential conflicts between people walking and driving.
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Improve traffic safety by slowing down vehicle speeds while keeping traffic moving.
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Improve safe access to schools along Franklin Street for all roadway users through targeted improvements.
This project supports San Francisco’s Vision Zero commitment to eliminate all traffic deaths and serious injuries.
- Completed
What is a Quick-Build project?
Quick-build projects focus on implementing safety improvements on streets identified on San Francisco's Vision Zero High Injury Network (HIN).
Quick-build projects are adjustable and reversible traffic safety improvements that SFMTA crews can install quickly. Unlike major capital projects that may take years to plan, design, bid, and construct, quick-build projects are buildable within weeks and months and are intended to be evaluated and reviewed within the initial 24 months of implementation.
Typical quick-build type improvements include:
- Paint, traffic delineators, and street signs
- Parking and loading (curb management) adjustments
- Traffic signal timing changes
Project Benefits
Improvements within the project area will increase safety for all users of Franklin Street, whether they drive, walk, or roll. The focus of this project is to reduce conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians. Bike infrastructure is not included in the current Franklin Street Quick-Build scope due to roadway geometry and safety constraints given the number of driveways along this section of Franklin. The proposed improvements will support the City’s Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic deaths.
Project Evaluation Process
All SFMTA quick-build projects are intended to be evaluated through our Safe Streets Evaluation Program within the initial 24 months of construction. The Safe Streets Evaluation Program will analyze the project before and after implementation to review outcomes and determine design effectiveness. Evaluations will inform near-term modifications and a long-term design for this street.
