August 7, 2025
Crews have completed painting a street mural in the horseshoe area outside West Portal Station.
Planters and a bikeshare station will soon be added to the newly-painted street mural outside of West Portal Station.
This week, crews have been placing planters with drought-tolerant plants along the west side of the horseshoe. The planters come with a self-watering insert that supports efficient maintenance. The contractor will provide an initial eight-week establishment period. After that, SFMTA's landscaping staff will water the plants.
The planters will help beautify the area. They are designed to discourage people from walking across the rail tracks outside of designated crossing locations.
Next up: bikeshare station installation and nighttime work to paint decorative crosswalks
The week of August 11, crews will install the bikeshare station on the east side of the horseshoe. Starting as soon as Thursday, August 14, crews will begin painting decorative crosswalks at all crosswalks at Ulloa Street and West Portal Avenue. They will also paint a decorative crosswalk on Ulloa Street crossing Lenox Way. Most of this work will take place late at night to minimize disruptions.
If you live close to the locations of this work, you may have received a notice from the contractor performing this work, Hernandez Engineering. This notice included information about what to expect when this work is completed. It is anticipated to only require two nights of work. As a contingency, the notice says work could take place over six nights.
What to expect
We expect this work to last two weekday nights. We expect work to take place between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. Work next to the tracks will occur between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. when rail is not operating.
Muni service impacts:
- We do not expect any impact to Muni service. Work next to the tracks will occur when rail is not operating.
- Crosswalk locations may change while work is being performed at Ulloa Street and West Portal Avenue. Follow posted signage.
Traffic Impacts:
- Crews will work on one side of a crosswalk at a time. The intersection will never be fully closed.
- There may be times when northbound drivers on West Portal Avenue (toward Ulloa Street) or eastbound or westbound drivers on Ulloa Street (toward West Portal Avenue) will need to use alternate routes.
- Follow any posted temporary detours. Be mindful of workers in the intersection.
Parking impacts:
- Crews will temporarily reserve several parking spaces at two locations. These locations are Lenox Way as well at Ulloa Street between West Portal Avenue and Claremont Boulevard. Watch for signs.
Noise impacts:
- There may be some noise during this work.
These changes are being implemented as part of the West Portal Station Safety and Community Space Improvements Project. These improvements are the last items to be installed as part of the project. Later this year, we expect to share a draft evaluation on all project changes. The goal of this evaluation will be assessing how closely we are meeting the project's goals.