Supervisor Wiener and the SFMTA Launch Safety Improvements on Upper Market Street

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Press release--Supervisor Wiener and the SFMTA Launch Safety Improvements on Upper Market Street 08.20.pdf

Today, District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees all ground transportation in the city, activated a range of improvements on Upper Market Street to improve safety for people walking and biking.

The Upper Market corridor is currently on San Francisco’s Vision Zero High Injury Network, where 70 percent of the city’s severe and fatal traffic collisions occur on just 12 percent of San Francisco’s streets.

“Improving the safety of our neighborhood streets is one of the most critical investments we can make,” said Supervisor Scott Wiener. “These street improvements will create a more welcoming and walkable space for people who come to enjoy all that this amazing neighborhood has to offer.”

Upper Market is one of San Francisco’s most popular corridors, but it also has some of the city’s highest collision rates. In the five-year period from 2007 to 2012, there were 27 collisions involving vehicles and pedestrians, 32 vehicle-bicycle collisions and 102 vehicle-vehicle collisions on Market between Octavia and Castro.

To address the safety issues on the street, the SFMTA implemented the following improvements:

Upgrading crosswalks to a more visible, geometric design at five intersections: 16th/Noe, 15th/Sanchez, 14th/Church, Dolores/Market, and Guerrero/Hermann/Laguna.
Installing 10 painted safety zones at three Market St. intersections: 16th/Noe, 15th/Sanchez, and 14th/Church. Painted safety zones slow down turning vehicles and improve visibility of pedestrians.
Implementing new No Right on Red restrictions at 16th/Noe and 15th/Sanchez to make Upper Market more intuitive for people driving.

“We worked closely with the Upper Market community to build more safety into this already vibrant and popular corridor,” said SFMTA Director of Transportation, Ed Reiskin. “These improvements are examples of quick and effective safety measures the SFMTA is rapidly activating citywide to reduce traffic injuries and deaths.”

The work on Upper Market is also one of the 24 priority safety projects that the SFMTA has pledged to complete by February 2016 as part of its commitment to Vision Zero. This project marks the 17th project to have been completed. All 24 are slated to be complete by February 2016.

"The Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association works to sustain and improve our unique and special neighborhood,” said David Troup, president of the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association. “The safety refresh on Upper Market creates much more visible crosswalks and we hope they will result in safer intersections. They also create an environment for residents and visitors which looks and feels more attractive and welcoming.”

The SFMTA is currently working on designs for subsequent improvements to make walking, biking and driving even safer on Upper Market. More information on the Upper Market Street Safety Project can be found on the project website.

The city adopted Vision Zero as a policy in 2014, committing to build better and safer streets, educate the public on traffic safety, enforce traffic laws, and adopt policy changes that save lives. The result of this collaborative, citywide effort will be safer, more livable streets as San Francisco works towards the Vision Zero goal of zero traffic fatalities by 2024. For more information, go to: www.visionzerosf.org.