Photo by SFMTA Photography Department
This month the Transportation Authority Board approved $250,000 in Neighborhood Program funding to support planning, outreach, and design of quick-build projects at Lake Merced.
Transportation Authority Board Member Myrna Melgar (District 7) requested funding for the quick-build projects following a fatal collision on Lake Merced Boulevard and hearing on the SFMTA’s Lake Merced Bikeway Feasibility Study and Lake Merced Pedestrian Safety Community-Based Transportation Plan, which documented the need for safety improvements around Lake Merced, particularly along the north side.
The Lake Merced Bikeway Feasibility Study, supported by Neighborhood Program funding requested by former Transportation Authority Board Member Norman Yee (District 7), was completed in January 2021. The primary goal of this study was to understand options for relieving congestion on the multi-use pathway around the lake. This study presents near-term options for adding bikeways at road-level on streets adjacent to the lake and long-term options for widening the multi-use pathway around the lake.
Additionally, the Lake Merced Pedestrian Safety Community-Based Transportation Plan is currently underway with the goal of identifying prioritized recommendations for pedestrian safety improvements around Lake Merced. The Transportation Authority has programmed approximately $400,000 in Prop K funds to implement the highest priority recommendations that will emerge from the study.
Potential quick-build designs for Lake Merced could include buffered or parking protected bikeways, transition zones for bicyclists at intersections, pedestrian refuge islands, narrowed traffic lanes, and more. All improvements that would ultimately be selected would be considered and analyzed holistically to minimize disruptions to transit, impacts to side streets, and conflicts for pedestrian and bicyclists.
SFMTA is planning to begin community outreach for the Lake Merced quick-build project in fall 2021, with implementation of the designs anticipated in early 2022.
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