We wanted to provide you with an update on implementation of the West Portal Station Safety and Community Space Improvements Project.
Pedestrian crossing beacon installed
A new flashing beacon was recently installed to improve visibility of people crossing Ulloa Street at Wawona Street.
At Ulloa and Wawona streets, we activated a new flashing beacon on the east crosswalk of Ulloa Street earlier this month.
Lenox Way passenger loading zone adjustment at Public Hearing on Friday, May 16
At the Friday, May 16 SFMTA Engineering Hearing, staff will seek feedback on a proposed change to the location of the passenger loading zone on the west side of Lenox Way at Ulloa Street.
As part of the project, we added more passenger loading zone space at the corner of Lenox Way and Ulloa Street on the east side of the street (closest to the station). Additionally, we added two Muni-only parking spaces behind this passenger loading zone to serve Muni maintenance vehicles.
Since then, we’ve received feedback from residents on Lenox Way that the beeping sound SFMTA’s larger vehicles make when backing up was causing disruption for those who live near the southern end of Lenox Way.
To address the issue quickly, we temporarily switched the locations of the Muni-only parking spaces and the passenger loading zone. The Muni-only parking spaces are now located nearest to Ulloa Street. The passenger loading zone has moved just north of the Muni-only parking space. These changes were implemented on a temporary basis to provide timely responsiveness to Lenox residents’ concerns. The hearing is to seek feedback prior to making these changes permanent.
Community members can learn more and share their feedback at the Engineering Hearing on Friday, May 16 beginning at 10 a.m. online on Microsoft Teams. The above change appears as Item 5 on the agenda. You can also share feedback before the meeting via email to Michael.Tamin@SFMTA.com with the subject line “May 16 Public Hearing.”
This passenger loading zone is one of three passenger loading zones serving West Portal Station. The other two are:
- On the north side of Ulloa Street just east of West Portal Avenue, just outside of the Bullshead Restaurant.
- On the south side of Ulloa Street just outside of Squat & Gobble.
Horseshoe Design: work on decorative crosswalks, murals and planters coming in June
The remaining elements of the planned West Portal horseshoe upgrades are expected to start implementation in June.
We will be painting decorative crosswalks at the intersections of Ulloa Street and West Portal Avenue and Ulloa Street and Lenox Way.
Additionally, we will add a street mural, planters and bikeshare station to the horseshoe area. In addition to beautifying the area, these elements are designed to discourage people from walking across the rail tracks outside of designated crossing locations.
Next steps: project evaluation
We have begun work on an evaluation of all project changes with a goal to assess how closely we are meeting the project’s goals. We are in process of collecting data on traffic speed, traffic volume and compliance with the vehicle restrictions implemented last year.
Prior to the project’s implementation, we collected data to document conditions prior to project implementation and will collect more data to reflect conditions after implementation later this year after horseshoe changes are completed. When draft evaluation results are available, we will share them with community members and can consider whether any additional project adjustments are necessary.