The Safer Taylor Street Project was substantially completed in 2024
In collaboration with the Tenderloin community, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) developed a new vision for Taylor Street between Market Street and Sutter Street that improves transportation safety and livability for all users of this corridor. Based on input from Tenderloin residents, merchants, social services and advocacy groups, the project was approved by the SFMTA Board of Directors and construction has been completed. Thank you for your support!
- Completed
The Safer Taylor Street project is a critical component of the City’s Vision Zero goal to eliminate all traffic deaths. From 2015 to 2020, there were 94 collisions and 3 fatalities on this segment of Taylor Street from Market to Sutter streets, 65 of which involved pedestrians and cyclists. This means, on average, each month one person walking or biking is injured in a traffic collision within the project area. Therefore, this represents a disproportionately higher collision rate relative to the rest of San Francisco.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Quick-Build Evaluation: The evaluation team looked at several key metrics to evaluate the Safer Taylor Quick Build Project including vehicle speeding, vehicle travel time, and conflicts at key crossings. Overall, our intersection treatments (turn pockets, painted safety zones, and a turn signal at Ellis) have yielded higher rates of yielding to pedestrians by drivers and fewer close calls, while the lane reduction has curtailed severe speeding on the corridor (30+, 40+ mph). Click here to view the evaluation summary.
- Community working group: Throughout the development of the project, key community leaders and residents met regularly with the SFMTA project team to learn about progress and make critical decisions collaboratively.
- Neighborhood partnerships: Through more than 30 unique events and meetings, the project team has received input from more than 1,000 Tenderloin residents, workers and community leaders. The SFMTA has prioritized events that give the most vulnerable people a voice.
A Space For All to Enjoy
- What we learned: Taylor Street is home to a vibrant, dense and diverse mix of residents and workers. The neighborhood has historically struggled with socio-economic and traffic safety issues. People hope to reclaim street space for safe and enjoyable walking.
- The Project: Wider sidewalks create more public space for walking, shorter crosswalks, landscaping, art and neighborhood amenities. The project widened sidewalks and installed bulbouts and decorative crosswalks between Turk and Ellis streets. Together, more space and more amenities can lead to better public health outcomes for all.
Safer Streets Through Safer Speeds
- What we learned: More than 50 percent of injury collisions along the corridor involved pedestrians, with most resulting from a driver failing to yield while turning. In addition, over half of auto collisions were caused by risky driver behaviors such as red light running and traveling at unsafe speeds.
- The Project: Widened the sidewalk, and in turn reduced the number of travel lanes, providing critical roadway safety improvements with minimal impacts to traffic congestion most of the day. Taylor Street is now one lane with turn pockets south of Ellis Street, and expands to two lanes north of Ellis. This new design still accommodates existing traffic on Taylor Street while substantively improving public safety. People walking have shorter crosswalks and more time to cross, while drivers have dedicated turn signals separate from pedestrian crossings.
Tailored Curbside Access
- What we learned: Improved passenger loading is critical for supporting residents and businesses on Taylor Street, especially for SROs, social service organizations, hotels and event venues. Pickup and dropoff is currently difficult and blocked travel lanes from double-parked cars is a common occurrence.
- The Project: The new design provides improved loading zones with up to five foot buffers from travel lanes, allowing for safer pickup and dropoff for tourist buses, large event trucks, mobile neighborhood services and paratransit vans.
PROJECT TEAM
We thank our project partners, who have provided us invaluable expertise throughout: SF Public Works, SF Department of Public Health, Tenderloin Safe Passage, WalkSF, Civic Edge, Katz & Associates, Fehr & Peers, Alfred Williams, and Hood Design Studio.
FUNDING
Safer Taylor Street was funded through a Caltrans Sustainable Communities grant along with San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA), Prop K and Prop B funds.
