Photo by SFMTA Photography Department
At the November 28 and December 12 Transportation Authority Board Meetings, board members approved over $59 million in funding from San Francisco’s Prop L half-cent sales tax for transportation to support twelve projects and $6 million in Prop D TNC Tax funds to one project. The approvals culminated several fund programming rounds over the past year as part of the Prop L Strategic Plan development, resulting in $410 million directed to projects over the next five years, following the renewal of the sales tax program last fall. To date, the Board has programmed $410 million to projects over the next five years and allocated $75 million since Prop L allocations began in July 2023.
The twelve projects approved in November and December include these Prop L investments:
- Two Muni Transit Facility Modernizations, including $12.5 million for design for SF Muni’s Potrero Yard Modernization project (reconstruction of the 100+ year old facility at 2500 Mariposa Street) and $5.1 million for the early development phases of the Presidio Yard Modernization project, (reconstruction of the facility at the corner of Geary Boulevard and Presidio Avenue). Both new facilities will store Muni’s growing electric bus fleet, improve efficiency of bus maintenance and repairs, and incorporate adjacent housing into the project designs.
- Three Caltrain Improvements, including $1.2 million for new visual messaging signs to display real-time train service information at Caltrain stations, including at San Francisco’s 4th and King and 22nd Street Stations; $2.1 million to purchase critical track maintenance equipment to keep the Caltrain track in a state of good repair to improve reliability and increase safety of operations; and $1.2 million to update and repair various Caltrain stations to improve customer and employee safety and experience.
- BART Core Capacity and Faregates: $35 million to support the purchase of 54 new Fleet of the Future rail cars to increase train capacity, reduce crowding, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. $12.5 M programmed to replace fare gates at all eight San Francisco stations.
Multilingual Community Outreach and Education Projects
- Bicycle Safety Education Classes and Outreach: $200,000 for classes to help increase safe bicycling in San Francisco through a multilingual and equitable approach.
- Vision Zero Education: $150,000 to support implementation of the speed safety camera pilot program authorized by Assembly Bill 645, through public information activities. Speeding is a leading cause of crashes that result in injuries and fatalities. We were proud to advocate for this bill and will continue educating the community about the new speed safety camera pilot program anticipated to begin in early 2025.
Traffic Signal Improvement Projects
- Sloat and Skyline Intersection Improvements: $800,000 for new traffic signals to improve pedestrian and bike safety.
- Western Addition Area Traffic Signal Upgrades: $200,000 to support the design to upgrade pedestrian safety signals at 12 key locations using various speed safety strategies, including curb upgrades and speed safety signage.
- Traffic Signal Visibility Upgrades and Hardware Replacements: $400,000 to upgrade traffic signals with larger and retroreflective lights, increasing driver awareness. Signals will be upgraded at eight key intersections in Equity Priority Communities. $500,000 for traffic signal hardware upgrades, further ensuring a safe and reliable transportation system.
At the November meeting, the Board also allocated $6 million in Prop D TNC Tax funds to the Vision Zero Quick Build Program for location-specific safety improvements along the remaining 50 miles along the city’s Vision Zero High Injury Network. Improvements at these locations would improve safety, close gaps in the pedestrian and bike networks, and improve connections to transit and key destinations.
In addition to the above Prop L project allocations, on December 13, 2023, the US Department of Transportation Safe Streets for All program awarded $8 million to the SFMTA’s Tenderloin Community Safe Streets Project. Every street in the Tenderloin is on the city’s High Injury Network, making safety upgrades a top priority. The Transportation Authority will be providing $2 million in Prop L funds to match the federal grant funds to round out the Tenderloin project’s $10 million budget.
Resources
- Watch the presentations from the November 14 and December 5 Transportation Authority Board Meetings to learn more.