San Francisco County Transportation Authority
Moving the City

Better Market Street Pilot Improvements and Planning Process Underway!

A collaborative effort between the Department of Public Works, the Planning Department, the Municipal Transportation Agency, the Mayor's Office of Workforce and Economic Development, and the Authority to make Market Street one of the City's most vibrant public spaces. Visit the Better Market Street Website or contact Michael Schwartz ( , 522-4823) for more details.

FINAL STRATEGIC ANALYSIS REPORT ON TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS
FOR A BETTER MARKET STREET, JULY, 2009.

This SAR, initiated at the request of Commissioner Daly in 2008, analyzes the topic of auto restrictions on Market Street. The SAR focuses on current conditions on Market Street and the context within which auto restrictions would be implemented. It also analyzes opportunities to address transportation and other related issues in the short, medium- and long- term planning, design, and implementation of improvements on Market Street. The main purpose of this SAR is not to adjudicate the issue of whether auto access restrictions are advisable or not, but rather to propose an appropriate framework for how to comprehensively study such a proposal, as part of the larger picture of how to clarify the role of Market Street in the city's transportation system and help with the revitalization of the corridor. Additional information is available from the sources cited within the document and on this website, or by contacting Michael Schwartz, Transportation Planner, at or 415.522.4823.

The revised draft was presented to the Authority Board Finance Committee (on which Commissioner Daly sits) at its meeting on July 14 and to the Citizen Advisory Committee at its meeting on July 15. Both committees voted unanimously to recommend adoption of the final strategic analysis report. The final draft of the Strategic Analysis Report will be presented to the Authority Board on Tuesday July 28th at 11:00am in City Hall, Room 250. Meetings of the Authority Board are open to the public.

• Final SAR on Transportation Options for a Better Market Street (July, 2009)
• Case studies of other streets in North America with automobile restrictions, and their relevance to Market Street
• Strategic Analysis Report on Restricting Private Vehicle Traffic on Market Street (1997)

View SFGTV video and caption notes for the presentation of the SAR to the Authority Board on May 19th, 2009 (Item 15 begins approximately 56 minutes after the beginning) or to the Finance Committee on July 14, 2009 (Item 6 begins approximately 30 minutes after beginning of meeting). Download presentation to the Citizens Advisory Committee on July 15th. 

2004 MARKET STREET STUDY AND ACTION PLAN

We have updated project implementation status!

The Market Street Study, led by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, is an examination of pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicle circulation issues on the two-mile length of Market Street between Justin Herman Plaza and Octavia Street. The purpose of the study is to address the following four goals while preserving Market Street's character and its preeminence as one of San Francisco's truly grand streets:

• decrease transit travel time and improve transit reliability;
• improve pedestrian circulation and safety;
• create a safer, more inviting bicycle route; and
• accommodate necessary motor vehicle trips.

The intent of the Market Street Study is to identify a series of cost-effective short-term improvement measures that meet the above goals. The challenge is reaching consensus despite sometimes conflicting goals, and to produce a plan that can be implemented technically, politically, and financially.

This Action Plan describes the recommended improvements, and lists them in different phases, providing a clear road map for implementation even if funding is limited. Where appropriate, some improvements are suggested for later implementation and/or follow-up studies.

IMPLEMENTATION IS UNDERWAY

The following projects are outlined in the Market Street Action Plan as early-action and short-term items:

*TBD = several proposed projects in the Market Street Action Plan require further study to determine whether implementation is necessary because other short-term projects may be sufficient to address the same issues in the corridor; early projects will be evaluated as outlined in the Market Street Action Plan.

Market Street Action Plan, Approved by the Authority Board
on February 24, 2004 

The final product of the Market Street Study is the Action Plan, which describes a series of complementary, low cost improvements that can be implemented in the next one to five years to improve Market Street for transit users, cyclists and pedestrians while accommodating necessary motor vehicle traffic.

The Final Action Plan is a large file. If you have trouble opening it, click on the links below to go directly to specific sections, in smaller files.

Click here to view the Final Action Plan (3.8MB PDF)
Text-Only Version

Cover Page
Introduction
Recommendations
Project Monitoring, Funding Strategy,
Next Steps and Acknowledgements

In addition to the Final Action Plan, there were several other documents associated with the Market Street Study.

Technical Memoranda:

Automobile Circulation Report

Bicycle lanes east of 8th Street

Bicycle facility east of 8th Street

Bicycle lanes from 8th to Octavia

Bicycle Origins and Destinations Report

Existing Conditions Report

Loading Bays and Illegal Parking Report

Pedestrian Circulation Report

Transit Island Gore Point Signage Report

Transit Lane Violations Report

Transit Performance Report

Transit Travel Time and Delay Report

Vehicle Classification Report

Wayfinding and Transit Island Signing Report

Wayfinding Signage Digital Library Report

Other Documents:

Pedestrian Safety

Auto circulation survey

Thanks to the City and County of San Francisco and a Transportation for Livable Communities Planning grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission who funded this study.