6th Street Pedestrian Safety Project Quick-Build Improvements

Earlier this month, SFMTA staff implemented quick-build safety improvements as part of the 6th Street Pedestrian Safety Project. The 6th Street corridor is an important north-south artery for people in vehicles as well as on foot. The street has also been identified as an area where vulnerable populations are in particular need of pedestrian safety improvements. Here Tom Maguire and Viktoriya Wise, the Interim Directors of Transportation and Sustainable Streets, are supporting our paint and sign crews to install a painted safety zone at 6th and Jessie streets. Painted safety zones have a dual purpose of slowing down vehicles that are turning at the intersection while improving visibility between drivers and pedestrians.

Implementing pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements that make streets and sidewalks safer can sometimes take years to design, bid, and construct. Since safety can’t wait, we have committed to deliver 15 quick-build projects through 2020, while also working on long-term capital projects, on the Vision Zero High Injury Network. Reversible and adjustable, examples of quick-build improvements include repainting streets, curbs, installing signs or plastic barriers, retiming traffic signals, or constructing transit boarding islands.

In addition to painted safety zones, other quick-build improvements on 6th Street, between Market and Howard streets, included removing a southbound lane of traffic, restricting left turns and removing parking spaces at intersections. All of these improvements will allow pedestrians and others to navigate this stretch of 6th Street more safely. Working with businesses, employers, residents and community representatives, this project offers a clear path toward improvements that will improve 6th Street for everyone.