At the September 15 meeting, the Transportation Authority Board approved San Francisco's project nominations for the fourth cycle of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's One Bay Area Grant County program, also known as OBAG 4. The Board gave final approval at the September 22 meeting.
The program directs federal funds to projects that carry out Plan Bay Area 2050+, the region's long-range transportation plan, with an emphasis on safety, complete streets, transit reliability and access improvements, and keeping infrastructure in good repair.
As the Congestion Management Agency for San Francisco, the Transportation Authority identifies the city's OBAG priorities and submits them to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, or MTC, which selects projects from a regionwide pool. The Commission asked each county to nominate projects totaling 120% of its funding target. San Francisco's target is $56.7 million over four years, including $48.7 million of investments to be selected through a competitive call for projects.
We received 14 applications from six agencies requesting $89.2 million, nearly twice the funding target. Staff evaluated each application using the screening and prioritization criteria our board adopted in April.
The six projects nominated for the 120% target, in rank order:
Mission Street Safety Improvements (San Francisco Public Works), $23.3 million: sidewalk extensions, curb ramps, lighting, signal upgrades, red transit-only lanes, and resurfacing on Mission Street between The Embarcadero and 3rd Street
Howard Streetscape (SFMTA), $8.9 million: a two-way protected bikeway, raised crosswalks, protected intersections, and pedestrian lighting on Howard Street from 4th to 11th streets
16th Street Plaza Redesign (BART), $1.1 million: final design for the plazas at the 16th Street Mission BART Station, including community-identified improvements to pavement, lighting, wayfinding, and other elements of the plaza environment
Access for All: Downtown Curb Ramp and Access Improvements (San Francisco Public Works), $10 million: 29 curb ramps, accessible pedestrian signals, and restriped crosswalks at six downtown intersections with sub-sidewalk basements
Bayview Caltrain Station (Transportation Authority), $1.1 million: early planning for a new station at Oakdale Avenue to scope a future phase of work to secure environmental clearance for the station
Treasure Island Electric Ferry Pilot (Treasure Island Mobility Management Agency), $4.3 million: the first three years of all-electric ferry service between Treasure Island and the Ferry Building
The board also adopted a contingency list of projects, starting with the remaining $699,000 requested for the ferry pilot, followed by 22nd Street Station ADA Improvement (Caltrain), Geary-19th Avenue Subway (Transportation Authority), 16th Street Mission Elevator Modernization (BART), Chinatown Community-Based Transportation Plan (SFMTA), California Street Transit and Safety (SFMTA), and Traffic Signal Cabinet and Fiber Communications Upgrade Program (SFMTA).
We are recommending that two other applications be prioritized for local funds. The West Portal Station Horseshoe Improvement (SFMTA) can advance with Prop D ride-hail tax funds, and Digital Wayfinding and New Paratransit Software Procurement (SFMTA) with Prop L transportation sales tax paratransit funds. Both awards are subject to future board action.
We will submit the nominations to MTC by October 31. The MTC expects to make final project selections in early 2027.
View the applications and staff recommendations on the OBAG 4 webpage.