Posts

We all love Valencia Street. Let’s make sure it works for everyone.

Image
We all love Valencia Street. Let’s make sure it works for everyone. By Jeffrey Tumlin The center running bikeway installed in 2023 as part of the mid-Valencia pilot. San Francisco is a high-density city. This helps neighborhoods like the Mission thrive because they are where people live, work, visit restaurants and shop at our small businesses. It’s where different communities intersect with different needs. It’s where we come together. It’s the best of urban living. When we make decisions about improving our neighborhoods, we have to consider all of this. How can we advance goals that we all share, even when those goals conflict with each other? What’s happening right now on Valencia is a perfect example of this. Valencia is one of our city’s amazing merchant corridors with incredible restaurants and retailers that draw people from all over San Francisco and beyond. It’s also a key artery for bicycle commuters – with thousands of bicyclists using Valencia every day to avoid the
Post a Comment
Read more

SFMTA Awarded Federal Grant for Safe Streets

Image
SFMTA Awarded Federal Grant for Safe Streets By Erica Kato Street safety improvements are coming to San Francisco's Tenderloin with the help of a federal grant.  We are thrilled to announce we are the recipient of an $8 million grant from the US Department of Transportation (US DOT) Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program . The funds will be used for street improvements that are part of the Tenderloin Traffic Safety improvements Project . We are thankful to Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Dean Preston for their strong advocacy and letters of support in our application.   The Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program was established by President Biden’s historic infrastructure law, and provides $5 billion over five years for regional, local and Tribal initiatives — from redesigned roads to better sidewalks and crosswalks — to prevent deaths and serious injuries on the nation’s roadways.     Larkin Street traffic signal modif
Post a Comment
Read more

‘Muni Is My Ride’: A Celebration of Muni Riders and Operators

‘Muni Is My Ride’: A Celebration of Muni Riders and Operators By Sophia Scherr Muni is more than just a system of buses, trains, streetcars and cable cars. It's a living entity that pulses through the streets of San Francisco, connecting riders to the neighborhoods and people that they love. In the vibrant pages of "Muni Is My Ride," artist Keith Ferris and writer Lia Smith invite readers to celebrate the soul of Muni.   The project began as a collection of sketches depicting interesting passengers that caught Ferris’ eye. After a few years, he realized those sketches were something special: a mosaic of people who make up the heart of Muni. Ferris and Smith, who are both passionate about the transit system, found inspiration in each other as the project unfolded. What started as a passenger showcase grew to include portraits of Muni operators.   Ferris and Smith then embarked on a journey (during COVID no less!) to capture the essence of riding and operating Muni. The
Post a Comment
Read more

“120 years: SFMTA Photo Archive 1903-2023” Exhibit Opens Dec. 16

Image
“120 years: SFMTA Photo Archive 1903-2023” Exhibit Opens Dec. 16 By Jeremy Menzies On Saturday, Dec. 16, a new exhibit featuring photographs from the SFMTA Photo Archive is opening at the Harvey Milk Photo Center with a reception from 2 – 5 p.m. The show,“ 120 years: SFMTA Photo Archive 1903-2023 " taps into twelve decades of image making by photographers working for our city’s transit agencies.   View east towards Ferry Building on Market Street from 4th Street, October 1, 1948. Since 1903, the development of San Francisco has been documented through the lens of our transportation system by more than two dozen people. Today, these photographs make up the vast collections in the SFMTA Photo Archive . With well over 100,000 images, the archive is one of the largest repositories of photos focused on our transit network.  West Portal Station with new Light Rail Vehicles at platform, February 18, 1982.  From glass plate negatives to digital image sensors, the tools of the trade
Post a Comment
Read more

SFMTA Pilots a New Artistic Way to Store Bikes

Image
SFMTA Pilots a New Artistic Way to Store Bikes By Jason Hyde The SFMTA’s new bike hangar storage.  Are you looking for a more secure, and affordable new way to store your bike around town? The SFMTA recently installed two new eye-catching bike hangars decorated by local artists with room for up to 12 bikes per hangar for just 5 cents per hour.   These hangers are a two-year Mayor-directed pilot intended to provide secure, medium-term bike storage. Hangars have limited, monitored access to make them more secure than our short-term bike racks.   We have partnered with the Yerba Buena Community Benefit District (YBCBD) and eLock/BikeLink on this pilot. Customers will need to download the BikeLink app to use the hangars and are encouraged to use their own bike lock inside them for added security. The hangar doors are designed with a hydraulic assist to facilitate opening and closing. We will assess whether the bike hangars are a good fit for San Francisco based on usage (number of re
Post a Comment
Read more

New MuniMobile® App Available Today!

Image
New MuniMobile® App Available Today! By Kharima Mohamed The SFMTA has released a new version of the MuniMobile® app, providing enhanced trip planning, service alerts and real-time transit predictions. The mobile app will continue to offer mobile ticketing people can access on their smartphones.   Meanwhile, the original version of the MuniMobile® app will be phased out and shut down on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.   What does that mean for MuniMobile customers?  MuniMobile® customers now can now download the new app to their smartphone. Customers will need to create a new user account with the new MuniMobile® app as accounts are not transferrable. Anyone with active tickets on the previous MuniMobile® app can use those tickets until they expire or until Jan. 15, whichever comes first.   However, as of today (Dec. 4, 2023), customers using the previous MuniMobile® app will not be able to buy new tickets. In order to ensure an easy transition before your next Muni trip, please take a mo
Post a Comment
Read more

It’s Electric! Battery Buses Then and Now

Image
It’s Electric! Battery Buses Then and Now By Jeremy Menzies Battery-electric buses and cars have been hitting the streets around the nation in recent years, and here in San Francisco, the SFMTA is currently running a pilot program to test battery powered buses across the system. The pilot analyzes not only the buses themselves, but also how the technology works in the real world of stop-and-go traffic and hill-climbing.    Surprising as it may seem, this pilot program is not the first time battery electric buses appeared on the streets of SF. Here’s a look back at one test that took place over 50 years ago.  While battery electric vehicles date back nearly 200 years to the 1830s, it took over a century for them to see widespread commercial success due to the limitations of the battery technology.  One of the first times Muni tested a battery-powered bus was in November 1972.  Dubbed the “Electrobus”, this small vehicle was tested on the 39 Coit route up Telegraph Hill. This rout
Post a Comment
Read more