Hairball Design and Alemany Transportation Study to Begin Soon

At Wednesday evening's SFCTA-CAC meeting, SFMTA presented a funding request to do design work on three sections of the Bayshore-Cesar Chavez-Potrero Ave-US101 "Hairball" plus an overall lighting improvement design.

The three segments chosen - F, G, and N - include the eastbound approach to the Hairball from Cesar Chavez (F and G) plus the segment between Marin St and Jerrold Ave on Bayshore where there is currently only a northbound bike lane, forcing southbound bikes to either travel against traffic for a block on the street or to take to the sidewalk.

The funds being used for this design work are coming from the SFCTA's Neighborhood Transportation Improvement Program, which provides $100000 from the half-cent Prop K sales tax revenue to each of the eleven supervisorial districts for both planning and capital improvements. Supervisors seek input from community organizations to come up with projects that can be funded through the NTIP program. As the D10 representative on the SFCTA-CAC, I have been working with Supervisor Cohen's office to get this the attention it deserves, so I'm extremely pleased that it's moving forward. Upon SFCTA board approval, this will be the first NTIP capital project to be funded. Design work is slated to be completed by summer, 2016.

In a related development, the the Portola Neighborhood Association (PNA) is working with SFCTA, Supervisor Campos, and other stakeholders to begin a study at the Alemany Maze. It is set to see a similar influx of NTIP planning funds to study pedestrian and bicycle safety and accessibility as part of the City's Vision Zero mandate. As Chair of the PNA, this is another project that I've pushed for and am pleased to see it being given attention.