San Francisco, CA – District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) gathered with community members to mark the completion of efforts to beautify and improve the West Portal Station entrance as part of the West Portal Station Safety and Community Space Improvements Project.
The half circle outside West Portal Station, known as the “horseshoe”, was redesigned as a welcoming station entrance with elements including planters, a bikeshare station and a street mural. These additions allow residents and visitors to access other modes of transportation, while making access safer for those coming to and from the neighborhood’s Muni station.
The most recent additions include:
- A street mural and decorative crosswalks comprised of colorful circles that evoke a west side sunset
- Station murals that welcome Muni riders to West Portal and help riders navigate the Muni station
- Planters with drought-tolerant plants
- A Bay Wheels bikeshare station, the first in the West Portal neighborhood
Designed in collaboration with community members and San Francisco Public Works, these improvements beautify the area and create more clearly defined pedestrian crossings.
In October 2024, as part of this project’s initial phase, the SFMTA completed changes to holistically improve safety within the West Portal neighborhood, including turn restrictions and traffic calming. In March 2025, a new pedestrian crossing beacon was installed. People crossing Ulloa at Wawona streets can now push a button to activate flashing lights that signal to drivers to slow down approaching this crosswalk.
Later this year, the SFMTA expects to share a draft evaluation on all project changes.
"I am so grateful for so many members of the West Portal community — from business owners and neighbors, to students and youth — who came together to collaborate on a pathway forward in a difficult time,” said Supervisor Myrna Melgar. “While the changes are small, it is essential progress towards a West Portal that is more safe and welcoming. I look forward to more community collaboration to ensure that this neighborhood will adapt and thrive alongside our ever-changing City."
“For over 100 years, West Portal Station has been an important connector in San Francisco,” said Julie Kirschbaum, SFMTA Director of Transportation. “Five Muni routes, with over 55,000 daily riders, intersect here. Together these improvements are one big ‘Welcome to West Portal’ for those visiting this wonderful neighborhood and those who call it home. I’m grateful to the Welcoming West Portal Committee for helping us make the station area safer and more welcoming.”
West Portal is home to a vibrant commercial corridor full of unique restaurants and shops. Many youth travel in the area, including students from nearby schools like Hoover Middle School and St. Brendan Parish School, who cross the intersection outside West Portal Station to board transit and visit neighborhood businesses. Just a block away from the station, West Portal Elementary, West Portal Playground and West Portal Library generate significant travel activity from families with children.
West Portal Station is a key connection point in San Francisco’s transportation system. Three rail lines and two bus routes intersect at West Portal Avenue and Ulloa Street, where the Twin Peaks Tunnel links the light rail lines to the Market Street Subway.
Launched in April 2024, The West Portal Station Safety and Community Space Improvements Project was developed in response to the March 16, 2024 collision that claimed the lives of a family of four, as well as ongoing community requests to make the neighborhood safer. The project goals are to:
- Calm traffic in the West Portal neighborhood so people driving know to slow down as they approach an area with significant pedestrian activity.
- Simplify the West Portal Avenue and Ulloa Street intersection to discourage through-traffic and better define the right of way in this unusually busy node of pedestrian activity.
- Redesign the station entrance “horseshoe” to visually enhance the station entrance, provide more room for people, and help direct riders to the safest path of travel.
- Support a vibrant West Portal commercial corridor to ensure customers traveling by all modes of travel are able to easily access shops, restaurants, and offices.
For more information, visit the project webpage (SFMTA.com/WestPortalProject).