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Townsend Street, next to the Caltrain Depot, has been a hub of discord, confusion, and danger for years, with Ubers and Lyfts fighting for position with Muni buses, pedestrians, and cyclists. Finally this morning, after a hard-fought, years-long battle, advocates and officials cut the ribbon on a long-awaited safety project that has segregated the different modes and provided a level of safety and order for all.
Mayor London Breed's Transportation Advisor, Paul Supawanich, and SFMTA's Jeffrey Tumlin, arriving at the event... appropriately via e-bike
“These improvements along Townsend Street make it safer and less chaotic for everyone, but especially if you are coming by bike—whether you are trying to catch Caltrain or are going to an office or an appointment,” said Mayor Breed, standing on a newly completed concrete loading island for cars and buses.
Mayor Breed also praised the speed at which her plan for "20 miles of protected bike lanes in the next two years" is being fulfilled.
“We need to ensure bicycling is an attractive, safe, and accessible choice for residents and visitors alike," she added. "We’ve made rapid progress adding more protected bike lanes, and this project is an example of where we are truly starting to build a protected bicycle network, connecting the South of Market neighborhood to the rest of the City.”
New paint and posts protect the bike lane in the eastern direction. In this unusual configuration, pedestrians are to the left of the bike lane (since there's nothing to the right of the bike lane, this should work fine).
"The Downtown Extension has been right around the corner for 110 years," said SFMTA Director Jeffrey Tumlin to Streetsblog. "It will rip all this up," he added, motioning to the newly installed boarding island and fresh asphalt. The challenge, he said, was to "fix the important problems in a way that's fast and affordable."
Our Townsend St "quick"-build project covers all modes: Caltrain Light rail (to Central Subway) Muni and regional buses Pedestrians Bikes and scooters Taxis Ridehail https://t.co/yVwn7YS6Sc
One of the most obvious ways SFMTA and Public Works did this was by working around existing poles, so they wouldn't have to be moved or replaced at great expense, which Tumlin told Streetsblog would cost an additional $5 million (the total project cost is $3.3 million). He praised the city engineers for getting the safety infrastructure in place without upsetting utilities. "I hope this is a pilot for more intensive years of quick build projects."
Concrete, asphalt, and paint all bend around utility poles to save money, since this will all have to be torn up in a few years
Unfortunately, there are some shortcuts that are less than ideal. In the westbound direction, Townsend's bike lanes still aren't protected in front of the post office and Ana Furniture, as seen below. And the intersections are still unprotected, except at one corner of Townsend and 7th.
A couple of blocks heading west are not protected, with the usual results (such as a truck parked in the bike lane).
Tumlin said additional work is still underway on the north side of the street. An SFMTA spokesperson said further improvements should be completed sometime next month.
That caveat aside, the flow of traffic, bikes, scooters, pedestrians and Muni buses is drastically improved over the bedlam that reigned just two years ago, as seen below:
Townsend in front of Caltrain in 2018. Photo: Brian Coyne
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