Fulton Street Safety and Transit Project
April 2024 Update: The construction of six bulbs at 10th, 8th, 6th avenues and at Arguello Boulevard is moving forward in the coming months. These bulbs will narrow the crossing distance, slow turning vehicles and improve visibility for people walking in addition to speeding up the 5 Fulton and 5R Fulton routes.
We anticipate construction to start in the fall, beginning with the Arguello Boulevard bulb.
Fulton Street is a main traffic and transit thoroughfare in the Richmond District, bordering the northern edge of Golden Gate Park. Every day, residents and visitors cross Fulton Street by foot and bicycle to access the park, for commute and for recreational trips. Two of Muni’s busiest routes also serve this area, the 5 Fulton and 5R Fulton Rapid, which together averaged more than 22,000 combined boardings per weekday before the pandemic and have seen ridership recover to over 15,000 people per day in recent months.
Through street improvements, the Fulton Street Safety and Transit Project’s goal is to improve safety and accessibility between Golden Gate Park and the Richmond District across Fulton Street, as well as help reduce travel time for the busy 5 Fulton and 5R Fulton Rapid and make boarding easier for customers.
Addtional Work on Fulton Street
The SFMTA’s work on Fulton Street is bigger than one project. We are continuing to prioritize Fulton Street for more safety improvements across our programs.
Vision Zero Toolkit
By the end of 2024, we will implement any missing continental crosswalks and advanced limit lines on High Injury Network portions of Fulton Street. The other tools (leading pedestrian intervals, lowering the walk speed on traffic signals and daylighting, have already been completed.
Speed Limits
We are evaluating if the current speed limit of 30 mph can be lowered to 25 mph. We expect this evaluation to be completed in summer 2024.
Automated Speed Enforcement
Speed safety cameras are a proven tool to address excessive speeding and reduce severe and fatal injury traffic collisions. Fulton Street is one of few streets where we are proposing two camera locations, and both would be in Richmond District: between Arguello Boulevard and 2nd Avenue and between 42nd and 43rd avenues. We expect cameras to be activated by early 2025.
Traffic Signals
New traffic signals are planned on Fulton Street at 4th and 39th avenues. This will close two long gaps between traffic signals, which will include new signalized crossings for people walking and discourage speeding. We expected construction to start fall 2025.
Traffic signal upgrades for Fulton Street at 30th and 36th avenues are in design to improve signal visibility (i.e. mast arms) and pedestrian signals. We expect to complete this work in 2026.
Past Improvements to the 5 Fulton and 5R Fulton Rapid
These improvements are the final phase of a larger, long-term project to make major improvements to Muni's 5 Fulton and 5R Fulton Rapid. Over the past decade we have made a series of improvements to both routes, including:
- Extended evening service on the 5 Fulton from McAllister and Jones streets to the Transbay Terminal in 2009
- Converted McAllister Street from a one-way to a two-way street between Hyde and Market streets in 2011, eliminating a detour that added an average of three minutes per trip
- Launched 5 Fulton Limited (later Rapid) service in 2013, reducing travel times by up to seven minutes per trip and reducing collision rates on Fulton between Masonic Avenue and Shrader Street
- Improved frequency in 2015 to reduce crowding
- Introduced larger buses on the 5R Fulton Rapid, further reducing crowding in 2016
- Made a series of improvements in 2017 and 2018 between McAllister and Larkin streets and Fulton and Cole streets, including bulbs at Rapid stops, new traffic signals, and traffic circles in place of stop signs
