SFMTA Transit and Traffic Advisory for Thursday, October 19 through Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Thursday, October 19, 2023

San Francisco—The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) releases the following upcoming event-related traffic and transit impacts for Thursday, October 19 through Wednesday, October 25, 2023.

For real-time updates, follow us on https://twitter.com/sfmta_muni or visit SFMTA.com/EmailText to sign up for real-time text messages or email alerts. For details of Muni re-routes, visit SFMTA.com/Updates. This website will be updated when it is closer to the event date. For additional notifications and agency updates, subscribe to our blog, Moving SF for daily or weekly updates.

Masks Recommended

Following the latest guidance from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), masks are strongly recommended but no longer required in any SFMTA facilities, transit hubs or on vehicles including Muni buses, streetcars, light rail vehicles or cable cars or in taxis or on paratransit.

Better Market Street Construction

Saturday, Oct. 14 through Saturday, Oct. 28: Better Market Street is an ongoing, collaborative effort to redesign San Francisco’s most important street. Market Street can become a place where people can gather, spend time and enjoy the sights of the city, as well as a convenient way to access transit, connect by bicycle and walk to diverse destinations along the corridor.

As work continues, crews will begin work in the roadway and near Muni tracks on Saturday, October 14, and we will be temporarily moving above-ground transit off Market Street from October 14th through Saturday, October 28th during all hours of service. This will allow San Francisco Public Works to install underground electrical conduits for new traffic signals and construct new concrete crosswalks.

Street Closures

Market Street will be closed between 5th and 8th streets, however, transit and bicycles will be rerouted off Market between 3rd and 10th Streets. Cross-street traffic will still be allowed at the intersections at 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th, 9th and 10th.

Muni Reroutes

Muni will replace the F Market & Wharves Line with buses and reroute the F Market & Wharves Bus Substitutions, L Taraval Bus, N Judah Owl, 5 Fulton, 5R Fulton Rapid, 6 Haight/Parnassus, 7 Haight/Noriega, 9 San Bruno and 9R San Bruno Rapid routes off of Market Street and onto Mission Street in both directions. Additionally, the 19 Polk, 21 Hayes, and 31 Balboa routes will experience more minor reroutes in the Market Street area.

Lesbians Who Tech Conference 2023

Monday, Oct. 16 through Saturday, Oct. 21: The 10th Annual Lesbians Who Tech & Allies Summit event takes place in the Castro Theatre and on Castro Street from Wednesday, Oct. 18 to Friday, Oct. 20, with street closures beginning on Monday, Oct. 16. For event details visit https://lesbianswhotech.org/sanfrancisco2023/.

Effective from 12:01 a.m., Monday, Oct. 16 through 9:30 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 21, Castro Street between Market and 19th streets is closed. The intersection of Castro and 18th streets remains open.

The SFMTA parking lots at 457 Castro Street and 4116 18th Street will also be closed from Monday, Oct. 16 through Saturday, Oct. 21.

The 24 Divisadero and 35 Eureka lines will be rerouted.

Events at Chase Center

Thursday, Oct. 19 through Tuesday Oct. 24: The Golden State Warriors will play one pre-season game at Chase Center before they begin their regular season with a home game on Tuesday, Oct. 24. The start times for these upcoming Warriors events are listed below:

Thursday, Oct. 19: The Golden State Warriors are holding an open practice beginning at 5:30 p.m. Tickets can be found at warriors.com/openpractice.
Friday, Oct. 20: The Golden State Warriors will play a pre-season game against the San Antonio Spurs beginning at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 24: The Golden State Warriors begin the NBA regular season with a home-opener game against the Phoenix Suns beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Supplemental Muni Service

Muni will operate supplemental 78X Arena Express service:
Pre-event express shuttle service from 16th Street BART Station to Chase Center will start two and a half hours before each game/event and will end one hour after game/event starts.
Post-event express shuttle service from Chase Center on 16th Street to 16th Street BART Station will run until the area clears.

Special Event Parking Rates

During basketball games and other major events with more than 10,000 expected attendees at the arena, parking meters close to the arena will charge a special event rate of $10 per hour. These rates help reduce congestion and keep parking spots available in the neighborhoods near the arena, discouraging circling for free or cheap parking. Start times for special event rates vary based on the start time of the event. More information on special event parking regulations can be found on www.sfmta.com/special-event-parking.

Street Closures

To accommodate events that will take place at the arena, the following street closures will be enforced two hours before and one hour after each event:

16th Street between 3rd Street and Terry Francois Boulevard
Warriors Way between 3rd Street and Terry Francois Boulevard

Northbound 3rd Street between 16th Street and Warriors Way will also be closed approximately 30 minutes before and 45 minutes after an event.
Only local access will be allowed on Northbound Illinois Street between Mariposa and 16th streets.

No Parking Zone

To facilitate loading and pick up for Muni customers and patrons, NO PARKING will be in effect at these locations during events:

16th Street between 3rd Street and Terry Francois Boulevard
Warriors Way between 3rd Street and Terry Francois Boulevard
Between the 500 and 700 blocks of Terry Francois Boulevard (TFB)

Taxi Stands

There is one taxi stand located on southbound Terry Francois Boulevard.

Ramp Taxis should use the loading zone on eastbound Warriors Way at Bridgeview Way.

Additional Passenger Loading

4th Street which connects to Chase Center via Gene Friend Way pedestrian path which cuts through UCSF campus.
Owens Street connects to Chase Center via Gene Friend Way pedestrian path which cuts through UCSF campus.

For details about transportation to the Chase Center, including Muni service and connections from the Bay Area transit system to Muni, visit SFMTA.com/ChaseCenter.

Potrero Hill Festival

Saturday, Oct. 21: The annual Potrero Hill Festival will take place in the Potrero Hill neighborhood from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on 20th Street between Wisconsin and Missouri streets. An attendance of 1,500 is expected. For event details, visit http://potrerofestival.com/.

The following street closures will be required from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.:

20th Street between Wisconsin and Missouri streets
Connecticut Street between 19th Street and southerly terminal
Missouri Street between 19th and 20th streets
Intersection: Connecticut and Missouri streets at 20th Street

There will be reroutes to the 55 Dogpatch.

Music City Songwriters Festival

Saturday, Oct. 21: The Music City Songwriters Festival, organized by Music City San Francisco, aims to strengthen the ecosystem of live music in San Francisco while adding vibrancy to the Lower Polk Neighborhood. This year’s event will take place from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday. For event details visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2nd-annual-music-city-songwriters-festival-tickets-692820072487

The following street closures will be required from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Saturday:

Polk Street between Bush and Sutter streets
Fern Street between Van Ness Avenue and Larkin Street

The 19 Polk will be rerouted.

CONSTRUCTION WORK AND OTHER UPDATES

UPDATE: 16th Street Improvement Project

As part of the Muni Forward Program and to improve reliability, speed and increase overall system effectiveness for the key 22 Fillmore route, the 16th Street Improvement Project is part of a larger network of proposed or planned improvements to the Muni system.

There is no active construction scheduled for this weekend.

For more project details and the latest construction updates, visit www.sfmta.com/16thStreet.

UPDATE: L Taraval Improvement Project—Segment B

The L Taraval Improvement project continues construction along Segment B replacing and repairing the infrastructure along the L Taraval line between Sunset Boulevard and 15th Avenue, and on Ulloa Street near West Portal.

The project is a comprehensive infrastructure rehabilitation of sewer and water lines and streetscape project. The project will address safety concerns for customers boarding Muni, address the much-needed rehabilitation of aging sewer and water lines while bringing streetscape improvements to the Taraval corridor for added vibrancy.

Work continues on water lines, as well as on the overhead contact system (OCS) that powers the trains. OCS work has transitioned to underground conduit work to support power to the trains and the new and existing streetlights. Curb ramp work has started with demolition and grading areas in preparation for construction of the new boarding ramps and to upgrade existing boarding ramps. Track work is expected to begin over the next few weeks.

The rail tracks west of the intersection of Ulloa and Madrone streets have been taken offline to facilitate the reconstruction of the water and sewer mains as well as replace the tracks and overhead lines. The upgraded sewer and water lines, permanent boarding islands and increased accessibility will make riding safer and more reliable.

The L Bus now runs between West Portal and the SF Zoo. Customers can transfer to a train at West Portal Station to travel downtown.

To facilitate the project during track in each section (except at 15th Avenue), there are temporary bus stop changes:

The inbound bus stop at Taraval Street and 15th Avenue has been relocated across the intersection until fall 2024.

The following stops will be relocated during construction through October 28:

Inbound

Taraval and 15th to 15th and Taraval northwest corner
Taraval and 17th to Taraval and 15th and Taraval northwest corner
Taraval and 19th to 19th Avenue and Taraval, at the northbound 28 19th Avenue stop
Taraval and 22nd to Ulloa and 22nd, southwest corner
Taraval and 26th to Ulloa and 26th, southwest corner
Taraval and 30th to 30th Avenue and Taraval, northwest corner at the 66 Quintara stop
Taraval and 32nd to Santiago and 32nd, southwest corner

Outbound

Taraval and 19th to 19th and Taraval, at the southbound 28 19th Avenue stop
Taraval and 23rd to Ulloa and 23rd, northeast corner
Taraval and 26th to Ulloa and 26th, northeast corner
Taraval and 30th to 30th Avenue and Taraval, southeast corner
Taraval and 32nd to Santiago and 32nd, northeast corner

Track Work

The tracks along Taraval Street are actively being installed. Crews have been excavating, removing, pulling rails in to install, building new foundations, pouring concrete slabs, setting rails, block-by-block in track areas.

Areas of current track work:

15th to avenues – curve work (anticipated to begin October 31)
16th to 19th avenues – curb and sidewalk, constructing ADA compliant ramps
22nd to 25th avenues – track installation
25th to 28th avenues -- excavation and removal
28th to 31st avenues – street base, ADA boarding ramps and islands
31st to 34th avenues – form and pour track pavement

Please note the following impacts to travel during track work:

Parking: No parking in track work areas
By car: Taraval Street will be open to through traffic traveling east- and westbound, however, vehicles approaching areas with active track installation will only be able to access Taraval Street by making right turns.
By bus: The L Bus may be rerouted around the construction area when heavy equipment is present.
On foot: Pedestrians will be able to cross Taraval Street in the construction area at 18th Avenue via a pedestrian access during non-construction hours and weekends.

Overhead contact system (OCS) pole, overhead wiring and permanent pole placement will happen along the L Taraval line from Ulloa and Funston to Taraval and Sunset. This work will be conducted overnight between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. and is anticipated to start Sunday, October 22 and expected to be complete June 2024. Work on any given block will vary and is expected to take a few hours to a few days per location.

Construction is scheduled to take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Extreme weather conditions may impact the construction schedule.

For additional project details, visit SFMTA.com/LTaraval Project. For project updates of work from Monday, October 16 to 28 , visit the Project Update.

ONGOING

ONGOING: Northeast Van Ness Station Entrance Closure

Since Saturday, April 1, due to installation of the roll-up gate, the entrance located at the northeast corner of Market Street and Van Ness Avenue (next to the construction site) is closed for approximately three months.

To access Van Ness Station, customers can use the other three entrances on Market Street and Van Ness Avenue located at the:

Southeast corner
Southwest corner
Northwest corner

For more information, visit SFMTA.com/VNentranceClosure.

ONGOING: 19th Avenue (CA Route 1) Combined City Project

San Francisco Public Works is leading a multi-agency project to replace aging infrastructure and improve safety along 19th Avenue between Holloway Avenue and Lincoln Way.

Construction work for the first and second segment of this project along 19th Avenue between Lincoln Way and Taraval streets was completed. Construction work for bulbouts in the third and fourth segment along 19th Avenue between Taraval Street and Holloway Avenue is ongoing.

As part of the 19th Avenue Combined City Project, the SFMTA will implement transit priority and safety improvements for people walking along 19th Avenue. The improvements will make it safer to walk, remove stops to make transit service more reliable, and enhance customers’ experiences—on and off the bus.

To improve safety along 19th Avenue, the SFMTA will: 1) install pedestrian bulbs at 19 intersections and transit bulbs at 13 intersections; 2) modify traffic and pedestrian signals to give people who walk more time to cross the street; and 3) extend the bus zone at one intersection. Installing transit bulbs allow Muni vehicles to stop for passengers without having to pull out of traffic, and pedestrian bulbs increase the visibility at intersections of people who walk.

As part of the project, seven Muni stops were removed on 19th Avenue between Irving Street and Ocean Avenue last October. The following Muni routes have been affected with the stop removal:

28 19th Avenue
91 3rd Street/19th Avenue Owl

To find additional information about the transit reliability and pedestrian safety components, visit sfmta.com/28Rapid. For overall project information, visit sfpublicworks.org/19th-Avenue.

ONGOING: Essential Trip Card Discount Program

The SFMTA’s program, Essential Trip Card (ETC) Program, assists people with disabilities and older adults to make essential trips using taxis. The program provides two to three round trips at an 80% discount per month, i.e. rider pays $6 to receive a value of $30 or pays $12 to receive a $60 value. If essential needs require it, riders may receive additional value up to $120 of taxi service per month.

To qualify for the program: customer must be either age 65 or older or an adult with disabilities. Eligible adults may apply for the ETC program by calling the Paratransit Mobility Management office at 415-351-7053. Staff are available weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. Visit https://www.sfmta.com/etc for additional details and for a list of San Francisco taxi companies, visit https://www.sfmta.com/taxi/directory.

SFMTA’s Shop-a-Round program which offers registered seniors and people with disabilities personalized assistance and rides to and from grocery stores and farmers markets is available as well. For more information, visit https://www.sfmta.com/shop-round.

ONGOING: Shared Spaces Program

The city’s multi-agency Shared Spaces program opened some parts of streets in San Francisco to create public space for outdoor dining, retail, cultural activities and physical distancing. The program allows the use of sidewalks, parking space, full or partial streets, or other nearby public spaces like parks and plazas for a wide range of activities responding to the COVID pandemic, as allowed by San Francisco’s Public Health Order.

For details about the new legislated program requirements, permit fees and training opportunities, visit Shared Space/San Francisco(sf.gov).

For details, locations and updates on street closures related to Shared Spaces, visit SFMTA.com/SharedSpaces.

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To help with your travel plans to special events in the City of San Francisco, this release will be updated on a weekly basis. Whether you are a visitor or a local resident in the City, we hope you have an enjoyable weekend!

For more information on Muni service, please call the San Francisco Customer Service Center at 311 or visit www.sfmta.com. For additional information on Muni's Accessible Services Program, please call (415) 701-4485 or TTY (415) 701-4730.

For Muni route, schedule, fare and accessible services information anytime: Visit www.sfmta.com or contact 311 311 Free language assistance / 免費語言協助 / Ayuda gratis con el idioma / Бесплатная помощь переводчиков / Trợ giúp Thông dịch Miễn phí / Assistance linguistique gratuite / 無料の言語支援 / 무료 언어 지원 / Libreng tulong para sa wikang Tagalog / การช่วยเหลือทางด้านภาษาโดยไม่เสียค่าใช้จ่าย / خط المساعدة المجاني على الرقم

Contact

Erica Kato