CONTACT: Eric Young (SFCTA) 415-522-4816 office, 415-306-4509 cell, eric.young@sfcta.org

The San Francisco County Transportation Authority and ConnectSF have released the San Francisco Streets and Freeways Strategy, which identifies how San Francisco roadways can best support the city’s Transit-First, Vision Zero, climate action, and equity goals.

This first-ever integrated strategy for the city’s streets and regional freeways was led by a collaboration of the Transportation Authority, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and San Francisco Planning, as part of the ConnectSF long-range planning effort to build an effective, equitable, and sustainable transportation system for the city’s future.

The Streets and Freeways Strategy has identified five ways San Francisco’s transportation infrastructure can help attain ConnectSF’s vision of a growing, diverse, equitable city with transportation options that are accessible and affordable to everyone. The five strategies are:

  • Maintain and reinvest in the current transportation system,
  • Prioritize transit and carpooling on our streets and freeways,
  • Build a complete network for walking and biking,
  • Prioritize safety in all investments and through targeted programs, and
  • Repair harms and reconnect communities.

These strategies will help San Francisco move more people and goods through the city’s limited street space, develop walking and biking networks, advance safety on city streets that have the most traffic collisions, and begin to repair impacts created by past infrastructure investments. The strategy also tackles the city’s ambitious climate and resilience goals by reducing vehicle miles traveled, increasing transit, walk, and bike trips, and supporting needed electrification and adaptation. This is important as the transportation sector accounts for almost 50% of San Francisco’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The five strategies are also designed to position San Francisco for anticipated local, state, and federal funding opportunities. For example, to respond to proposed new federal programs and to advance equity, the Streets and Freeways Strategy features ways to repair past harms caused by historic infrastructure decisions, including pollution, noise, safety conflicts, and divided neighborhoods.

“San Francisco’s streets and freeways connect our neighborhoods, support our economy, and provide a place to gather in the public square,” said Tilly Chang, Transportation Authority Executive Director. “We must continue to maintain, manage, and enhance our valuable infrastructure with care and intention. We have an exciting opportunity to reinvest in our transportation infrastructure, both locally and nationally, to support recovery and for the long-term. I look forward to engaging with our community on our shared path forward.”

Development of the Streets and Freeways Strategy is taking place while the ConnectSF Transit Investment Strategy advances. The ConnectSF Transit Investment Strategy lays a roadmap for raising the speed and reliability of San Francisco’s local and regional transit system.

“With ConnectSF’s Streets and Freeways Strategy, we seek to design ways to efficiently move more people and goods and prioritize those with the fewest choices,” said Jeffrey Tumlin, SFMTA Director of Transportation. “This work, combined with the Transit Investment Strategy, addresses our greatest long-term transportation challenges with achievable near-term actions, like developing safe, high-quality citywide networks for all travelers, especially travelers using the most space- and energy-efficient modes.”

“Taken together, the Streets and Freeways Strategy and Transit Investment Strategy present an historic opportunity to support our city’s recovery and future growth,” said Rich Hillis, Planning Director at San Francisco Planning. “Through ConnectSF we also commit to working to repair past transportation injustices and responding to new challenges and opportunities from sea level rise to transformational changes to our city’s transportation system.”

Both ConnectSF strategies will inform the Transportation Authority’s countywide transportation plan known as the San Francisco Transportation Plan. The San Francisco Transportation Plan is the long-range investment and policy blueprint for the city’s transportation system, a major input to the regional transportation and land use plan known as Plan Bay Area 2050.

The ConnectSF strategies also inform San Francisco Planning’s update of the Transportation Element of the General Plan, which lays out policies that guide transportation plans and programs. 

Visit connectsf.org to learn more about the Streets and Freeways Strategy, give feedback, and access a Zoom link for a virtual town hall on Wednesday, July 21, 2021 at 5:30 pm-6:30 pm.

About the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (sfcta.org)
The San Francisco County Transportation Authority’s mission is to make travel safer, healthier, and easier for all. We plan, fund, and deliver local and regional projects to improve travel choices for residents, commuters, and visitors throughout the city. The Transportation Authority Board consists of the 11 members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, who act as Transportation Authority Board Members. Board Member Rafael Mandelman is Chair of the Board. Tilly Chang is the Transportation Authority’s Executive Director.