Construction is starting on the Transbay Howard Streetscape Improvement Project
Work is starting February 2026 and is expected to continue through late 2028. Construction will be managed by SF Public Works and carried out by Esquivel Grading & Paving from January 2026 through 2028.
Most work will happen on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. To reduce traffic impacts, some areas will have shorter construction hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. During major events and conventions, work will be paused near Moscone Center.
Visit Public Works’ website (sfpublicworks.org/TransbayHoward) to learn more about construction and sign up to receive email updates.
Howard Street between 4th Street and The Embarcadero features a variety of commercial retail, restaurants, bars and night clubs, light industrial space, and hotels. In addition to the vibrant businesses, this section also contains a high number of high-rise residential and office buildings. Howard Street is a vital transportation corridor that provides access to destinations like Moscone Center and The Embarcadero, access to regional transportation connections including the Transbay Terminal and the Ferry Building, and serves as a well-traveled east-west bike route for the neighborhood.
In Winter 2020, through the SFMTA’s Vision Zero Quick-Build effort, the SFMTA implemented traffic safety improvements along Howard Street between 3rd Street and the Embarcadero. The Howard Street Quick-Build Project included removing a lane of traffic to accommodate a parking-protected bike lane, daylighting intersections and driveways to improve intersection visibility, and various road striping changes to increase pedestrian safety, among other safety improvements. The Transbay Howard Streetscape Improvement Project builds off of these quick-build improvements and the San Francisco Planning Department’s South Downtown Design + Activation (Soda) Plan to implement permanent, high-quality streetscape infrastructure along Howard Street between 4th Street and the Embarcadero to improve the safety and travel experience of all road users.
The SFMTA Board of Directors unanimously approved the Transbay Howard Streetscape Improvement Project at the April 16, 2024 meeting.
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Link to meeting agenda: Meeting Agenda PDF
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Link to Recording: Video Recording 4/16 MTAB Meeting
Once completed, the Transbay Howard Streetscape Improvement Project, together with the Folsom-Howard Streetscape Project to the west, will provide people traveling by bike with a continuous, protected bike lane along Howard Street in both directions, stretching nearly two miles from The Embarcadero to 11th Street. In addition to the bikeway, this project will also implement pedestrian, greening, and transit improvements throughout the corridor.
- 實施或施工 (Implementation / Construction)
Safety Needs
Howard Street is intersected by several high-injury network streets, the 12% of city streets that account for over 68% of serious injuries and fatalities.
- In the five years spanning 2016-2020, there were over 90 reported collisions along Howard Street from 4th Street to the Embarcadero that resulted in injury or fatality.
- The top three collision causes along Howard Street are failure of drivers to yield to pedestrians at a crosswalk, speeding, and unsafe turns or lane changes.
- 44% of the collisions (41 collisions) on the project corridor between 2016 and 2020 involved a pedestrian, and 13% of the collisions (12 collisions) involved a bicyclist. There was one pedestrian fatality on the project corridor in 2019.
The Transbay Howard Streetscape Improvement Project supports San Francisco's Vision Zero commitment of eliminating all traffic-related deaths and severe injuries.
Recent Efforts
A number of safety measures have been implemented along Howard Street as a part of the Howard Street Quick-Build Project. This early effort stemmed from the SFMTA’s Vision Zero Quick-Build Program, which was created as a result of a mayoral directive to install faster and low-cost treatments to reduce collisions and improve traffic safety.
Recent improvements include:
- A westbound parking-protected bikeway from The Embarcadero to 3rd Street to improve bicycle safety.
- Daylighting intersections and driveways to improve intersection visibility.
- More yellow loading zones throughout the corridor based on outreach with businesses.
- Transit boarding islands throughout the corridor for Muni and Golden Gate Transit.
- Advanced limit lines and updating crosswalks to continental crosswalks at all intersections that were not already high visibility.
- A traffic lane reduction to redistribute roadway space for all road users.
- Traffic signal retiming to provide pedestrians a head start and more time to cross the street overall.
- A bike signal at 3rd Street and Howard Street to help separate out traffic movements at the intersection.
Transbay Howard Streetscape Project Changes
Some of the project proposals include making the changes from the Howard Street Quick-Build Project permanent. Project changes include:
- Permanent streetscape updates to Howard Street from 4th Street to The Embarcadero, including new landscaping, furnishing, lighting and repaving
- Lane reduction to accommodate a two-way, parking-protected bike lane (moving the bike lane from the north to the south side of the street)
- An average reduction of 2-3 parking spaces per blockface to accommodate safety improvements such as wider sidewalks and improved visibility at intersection corners; emergency access; and adjustments to loading zones to better support businesses’ curbside needs and reduce double parking
- New turn signal phases will be added at some intersections to make turns easier and safer for drivers and people walking and cycling
- Improved circulation in the downtown core by converting Steuart and Spear streets from one-way to two-way streets
Project Outreach
The Transbay Howard Streetscape Improvement Project incorporates extensive community input collected through mailed notices, door-to-door outreach, open houses, office hours, email/text updates, mailers and posters along the corridor.
In fall 2022, the team met with corridor businesses, distributing factsheets, sharing draft designs, and walking the corridor with people to show them proposed changes. Businesses were also invited to complete a loading needs survey.
In December 2022, the team hosted a two-week Virtual Open House where participants could view proposals and provide feedback. The team also held online and in-person office hours and met with local community organizations. This input helped to shape the final project design.
Between 2022 – 2024, outreach included:
- Meetings with 11 community organizations
- Dozens of responses to loading and open house surveys
- 13,800 project information mailers delivered
- 13,800 open house notification postcards delivered
- 2,800 people signed up for email updates
In fall 2025, the team conducted another round of door-to-door outreach and handed out updated project factsheets, which included information about construction. Team members also tabled at Sunday Streets and distributed project information to attendees.
