Sanchez Slow Street
The Sanchez Slow Street is an effort to improve safety and support active transportation on this corridor, which spans the Noe Valley commercial corridor of 24th Street and connects community destinations like the Upper Noe Recreation Center and Noe Cafe. Sanchez Street was initially designated as a COVID-19 Response Slow Street in June 2020, and approved by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board as a post-pandemic Slow Street in August 2021. On December 6, 2022, the SFMTA Board affirmed Sanchez Street’s inclusion in the ongoing Slow Streets program.
Learn more about the Slow Streets program
Next Generation Sanchez Slow Street
The Sanchez Slow Street is undergoing the early stages of its newest update, referred to as ‘Next Generation Slow Sanchez’. Sanchez Street was evaluated along with all other Slow Streets in early 2023 against the newly-established Slow Streets program (see Evaluation section below). Sanchez was found to be the highest performing Slow Streets, having met speed and volume targets. During this new project iteration, the SFMTA will be exploring how to improve community safety and sense of place by combining roadway safety treatments with community art and placemaking efforts. The Sanchez Next Generation Slow Street project is funded by the SFCTA and the District 8 Supervisor’s Office. Potential design treatments under consideration as part of the Next Generation Slow Sanchez project include:
- Painted Safety Zones to increase pedestrian safety and provide space for community activation such as murals, planters, and other materials.
- Landscaped Islands to calm speeds and reduce vehicle volumes while also providing more greenery to the street.
- Wayfinding and signage to improve awareness of active transportation users on the Slow Street and to connect Sanchez Slow Street to the wider San Francisco bicycle network.
- Landscaped Traffic Circles to slow speeds at intersections and provide space for community art and greening.
- Roadway Narrowing to increase space for pedestrians and community activation.
- On-Street Bike Parking to promote bicycle travel to and from Sanchez Slow street.
Sanchez Slow Street Evaluation
Following the SFMTA Board’s approval of Sanchez Street, the SFMTA Project team collected additional data analysis to assess how the street is performing against the Slow Streets Program targets:
- Vehicle speeds at or below 15 mph
- Vehicle volumes less than 1,000 per day
For additional information on how this street compares to others in the Slow Streets program, or for overall program findings, please see the 2023 Evaluation Report.
Background
Sanchez Street was initially introduced as a Slow Street during the pandemic response phase of the program in 2020. Following a program-wide outreach process to measure the effectiveness of COVID-19 Response Slow Streets in 2021, Sanchez Street proved to have high rates of use, and vehicle speeds and volumes that met criteria for a low-stress street. Based on the outcome of that evaluation, the SFMTA Slow Streets team recommended that Sanchez Street—along with Golden Gate Avenue, Shotwell Street, and Lake Street—be made post-pandemic Slow Streets by SFMTA Board. The Board approved the recommendation, and outreach to develop a more robust design for Sanchez Street began in the Summer of 2021. This phase of outreach included a survey, a virtual open house, and numerous community meetings. As of the Fall of 2022, the design was substantially implemented.
In December 2022, the SFMTA Slow Streets team brought a plan for an ongoing Slow Streets Program to the SFMTA Board for approval. Because this represented the creation of a new program for the City, it was necessary to re-authorize the four previously-approved “post-pandemic” Slow Streets as part of the new Slow Streets Program. On December 6, 2022, the ongoing Slow Streets Program for San Francisco was approved, and Sanchez Street was among the 16 initial corridors included in the Program. The ongoing Slow Streets Program establishes a set of data-driven criteria for measuring the success of Slow Streets, and includes an expanded design toolkit for implementing Slow Streets. The Slow Streets Program team evaluated Sanchez Street to determine if the previously-implemented design needs to be refined to meet the new Program criteria for vehicle volumes and speeds following the approval of the permanent program. The Sanchez Slow Street was found to have met the speed and volume threshold goals for the program.
In February 2023, the SFCTA Board allocated funding to SFMTA for the design and construction of ‘next generation’ Slow Street improvements along Sanchez Street from 23rd Street to 30th Street. The SFMTA has begun exploring how to improve safety and incorporate community placemaking into the Slow Street design process.
Sanchez Slow Street Design
This design was approved on September 10, 2021 to calm traffic and lower vehicle volumes using Slow Streets delineator signs, pavement markings, and new continental crosswalks at seven intersections along the project area. View the complete design here.
As part of the ongoing Next Generation Sanchez Slow Street Project, the SFMTA will be exploring additional design treatments starting in summer 2023
Next Steps
Next Steps
As of January 2023, Sanchez Street meets volume and speed targets for the Slow Streets program. A separate project to develop a design for next-generation Slow Streets treatments on Sanchez Street kicked off in Summer 2023.
Sign up for updates via the link on the righthand side of the page, and email SlowStreets@SFMTA.com with “Sanchez Street” in the subject line with any questions or feedback.