As part of its Muni Forward program, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has proposed significant changes to Chestnut Street the agency says will increase pedestrian safety and improve Muni service. As with its changes in other major streets, the Chestnut modifications would include dedicated transit lanes during morning rush hour, widening sidewalks with “bulb outs” at bus stops, reducing the number of bus stops along the street to speed up service, reducing parking, and creating bulb outs at additional street corners.
SFMTA claims the changes will increase travel time in the project area by four minutes, allow it to provide 13 percent more service, and make eight intersections safer for pedestrian crossings and bus boardings.
The changes, in particular reduced bus stops, have not been welcomed by some Marina residents. One attendee at an open house on the project told SocketSite, “I’ve seen more polite crowds at a witch burning.” Other residents have complained that the changes will actually make Chestnut more congested as buses
stop all traffic behind them instead of pulling into pick-up lanes at bus stops.
SFMTA has a short online survey about the project at surveymonkey.com/s/chestnutsurvey.
