Concrete Boarding Platforms Coming to Eight Intersections
By Paul Kozakiewicz
The SF Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA) board of directors voted
unanimously on Dec. 5 to remove the Muni L-Taraval streetcar stop at 35th
Avenue and Taraval Street in an effort to reduce transit times from the SF Zoo to
downtown.
The directors also kept a transit stop and sustained the closure of a stop, but will look at
the issue again in the future. Muni, which is run by the SFMTA, says changes are being
made to make the L-Taraval line faster and safer.
Loading platforms at transit stops are designed to protect transit riders from vehicles
when they are boarding or disembarking from a streetcar. In a recent five-year
period, 22 people were injured getting on or off L-Taraval streetcars.
Local merchants are concerned because Muni’s plan, with the construction of loading
platforms and sidewalk bulbouts, includes the removal of parking spaces and two of
Taraval’s four vehicle lanes for streetcars only, which could have a negative impact on
the community.
The SFMTA ran a test program to see if it could get more than 90 percent of the vehicles
passing a streetcar to stop when the streetcar stops, but only 72 percent of the vehicle
traffic stopped, risking transit riders’ safety, so loading platforms at eight intersections
between West Portal and the Outer Sunset will be constructed.
Albert Chow, a local merchant and secretary of the People of the Parkside, Sunset (POPS)
neighborhood organization, said the removal of left-hand turns on Taraval would drive
traffic to Santiago, Ulloa and other streets in the residential neighborhood. He also said
the loss of parking will hurt local merchants.
At the 35th Avenue transit stop, Muni was unable to install a loading platform in the
middle of Taraval because of the track “crossover” configuration at the intersection.
The directors also voted to
keep the stop at 44th Avenue and Taraval, at least temporarily. The SFMTA’s staff will
report back to the directors in about six months as to how the stop is affecting
overall transit performance.
Brenda Peralta, an Outer Sunset resident, urged SFMTA directors to keep the 44th
Avenue stop. She said she depends on hearing the streetcar’s arrival for transit trips and
she could not do that if the stop is moved two blocks away.
A third transit stop on the SFMTA’s agenda was the eastbound stop at Taraval and 17th
Avenue, which is located next to a Safeway supermarket. A number of local residents
argued the stop should stay for the convenience of senior, disabled and other residents.
The removal of the stop means shoppers will have to walk uphill two blocks to 15th
Avenue to catch the streetcar. (Shoppers traveling westbound will need to walk two
blocks and catch the L-Taraval at 19th Avenue.)
But the directors, who approved closure of the stop at an earlier meeting, refused to rein-
state the stop. Instead, it said it would revisit the issue in about six months and asked
SFMTA staff to report back as to the impact on local transit riders.
Inga Horton, a former city planner who has lived on 44th Avenue since 1972, said
seniors, disabled and other transit riders should not bear the brunt of Muni’s changes
just to slightly speed up transit.
“I’m very devastated about saving a minute or two in time and inconveniencing seniors
and others,” Horton said.
After public testimony ended, the directors took action, citing the need to improve the
overall efficiency of the transportation system for it to be relevant in the future.
Cheryl Brinkman, chair of the SFMTA’s board of directors, said the vote was “about
transit efficiency.” She said Muni was losing riders to ride-share services and other forms
of transportation because Muni is too slow.
The SFMTA delayed taking action on the creation of a parking- time-limit zone in the
Outer Sunset and Parkside districts.
Categories: Muni