Photo by SFMTA Photography Department
At the July 14 Transportation Authority Board meeting, our Board approved $400,000 in Prop L transportation sales tax funds for the SFMTA's Safe Streets Evaluation Program, which tracks how well traffic calming, bicycle, and pedestrian safety projects are performing across the city. The board gave final approval at the July 28 meeting.
The funds will support data collection and analysis, before and after construction, for at least 18 quick-build and safety projects. The work also includes the annual citywide bike count and a study of rectangular rapid flashing beacons, or pedestrian-activated warning lights at crosswalks. Evaluations will be completed by June 2028.
Previous evaluations show safer streets
The program's most recent annual report, the 2024 Safe Streets Evaluation Summary, includes dozens of project evaluations completed between 2018 and 2024 across quick-build and near-term projects. Quick-build projects are reversible, adjustable traffic safety improvements that can be installed relatively quickly, such as paint, delineators, street signs, traffic signal retiming, and more.
2024 Safe Streets Evaluation Report Findings:
- Across all evaluated quick-build and near-term projects in the 2024 report, traffic vehicle speeds fell slightly at project locations, vehicle-pedestrian interactions fell slightly, and close calls dropped substantially.
- Of the 27 quick-build projects where collision data was collected before and after implementation, collisions involving a driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist at project locations fell by 2%, pedestrian-related collisions fell by 32%, and bicycle-related collisions fell by 15%.
These results help the SFMTA refine project designs, inform future street improvements, and demonstrate to the public how effectively safety investments are performing on their streets.
Resources
July 14 Transportation Authority Board Meeting Prop L Allocations Memo (PDF)
July 14 Transportation Authority Board Meeting Prop L Allocations Enclosure (PDF)