Valencia Bikeway Improvements
MARCH 16, 2023 UPDATE: The mid-Valencia pilot proposal was scheduled to be heard at a joint public hearing and SFMTA Board of Directors meeting on March 7, 2023. The hearing and review for approval of the pilot proposal has now been postponed until the April 4, 2023 meeting.
02/22/2023 Update: Check out our February 2023 project update for the latest on the project.
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Valencia Street is a vibrant commercial corridor with a diverse set of restaurants, shops, bars and services. Valencia also serves as a major north-south bike route for those who live, work, visit and travel through the neighborhood. As the street has become more popular, the city has heard increasing community concern about traffic safety on the corridor. Ride-hailing services, commercial vehicles, and food pick-up services are frequently double-parking in the bike lane, posing safety concerns for all who travel on Valencia Street.
In 2018 and under Mayor London Breed's leadership, the SFMTA Board of Directors approved a project to pilot and evaluate a parking-protected bikeway from Valencia Street from Market to 15th streets. Additional project elements included better intersection visibility, school loading islands and parking and loading changes. In spring 2020, the project team shared a parking-protected bikeway design on Valencia Street from 19th Street to Cesar Chavez, as part of the SFMTA's Quick-Build Program. However, local business were heavily impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Shared Spaces Program became vital for economic recovery, resulting in more demand for curb space for uses such as the Shared Spaces parklets, parking and loading, and queuing of patrons. At this time, the project team shifted their focus to immediate pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements on the corridor.
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Currently, most of the Valencia corridor consists of a standard (Class II) bike lane -
Vehicle loading in bike lane poses safety concerns for all traveling on Valencia Street -
In early 2019, the SFMTA installed pilot parking protected bikeways on Valencia Street from Market to 15th streets. -
In early 2019, the SFMTA installed pilot parking protected bikeways on Valencia Street from Market to 15th streets. Above shows an example of the bikeway design nearby a school
PROJECT GOALS
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Improve safety for all who travel on Valencia Street
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Preserve the economic vitality of Valencia Street
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Ensuring movement and access of goods and people
PROJECT HISTORY
EARLY 2018
The project team kicked off the Valencia Bikeway project, which is a capital project aimed at improving traffic safety and transportation along Valencia Street between Market to Cesar Chavez.
FALL 2018 - 2019 NEAR-TERM SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS
The Valencia Bikeway Pilot Project: in partnership with Mayor Breed's directive, the SFMTA piloted and implemented parking-protected bike lanes on Valencia Street from Market to 15th streets (northern Valencia). After implementation, the project team evaluated the design, which showed the project was successful from a traffic safety perspective. The pilot project was heard at the SFMTA Board of Directors meeting on December 4, 2018. The pilot project was approved to become a permanent project in June 2020.
EARLY 2020
The project team kicked off a planning and design process for the southern Valencia pilot (Valencia Street between 19th Street to Cesar Chavez). Due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for the agency to shift to the pandemic response, the project team paused the southern Valencia pilot. Proposed design concepts from the southern Valencia pilot were never approved or implemented
2021 SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS
During the COVID pandemic, the project team installed immediate improvements, including daylighting (adding red zones at intersections to improve visibility), signal timing changes, and additional bike parking along the Valencia corridor.
2022 MID-VALENCIA PILOT
In 2022, the project team resumed work on the Valencia Bikeway Project and is currently proposing a pilot on a new section identified as mid-Valencia (Valencia Street between 15th to 24th streets). The pilot effort kicked off a planning and design phase in early Summer 2022.
This effort, a continuation of the northern Valencia pilot, involves quick-build type treatments for the corridor and aims to improve traffic safety and transportation in the near-term. Quick-build projects are reversible, adjustable traffic safety improvements that can be installed relatively quickly. Unlike major capital projects that may take years to plan, design, bid, and construct, quick-build projects are constructed within weeks or months and are intended to be evaluated and reviewed within the initial 24 months of construction. Typical quick-build type improvements include:
- Paint, traffic delineators, and street signs
- Parking and loading adjustments
- Traffic signal timing
- Transit boarding islands
Check out the mid-Valencia virtual open house that was live between September 16, 2022, and September 30, 2022, for more information and to see the proposed design.
The public and neighboring stakeholders will be informed of these projects prior to construction and will have the opportunity to provide input at a public hearing. Additionally, the SFMTA, through its Vision Zero Safe Streets Evaluation Program, will analyze projects pre- and post-implementation to review outcomes and determine design effectiveness. These findings will be reported to the public on the SFMTA website as well as reported back to the SFMTA Board of Directors within 24 months. Evaluations will inform near-term modifications and long-term designs for streets.
