The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board of Directors is set to deliberate on a proposal seeking to enhance the speed and reliability of public transit along the bustling Geary Boulevard, on Tuesday.
The Geary Boulevard Improvement Project is an initiative by San Francisco Muni, aiming to address service gaps on the 38 Geary and 38R Geary Rapid bus lines. The project plans to provide faster service by extending side-running transit lines and optimizing bus stop locations, among other changes.
The board’s decision is anticipated to be controversial, as it includes whether to delay the implementation of some transit lanes or not. The agency faced opposition from some merchants over the conversion of parking spots from slanted to parallel, a measure deemed necessary by staff to add new lanes.
The initial project proposal led to a net loss of 70 parking spaces along Geary from 15th to 28th avenues. However, following discussions with small business owners and San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan’s office, project planners reduced this number to 31.
The proposed project is divided into three parts – a “quick build” phase, which includes the parking conversion