Thank you for your interest in the Townsend Street Corridor Improvement Project. The SFMTA remains committed to protected bike lanes on Townsend Street.

For the last two years, SFMTA staff has been working with the community and various users of Townsend Street to better understand their traffic safety needs and concerns when using the corridor.

The agency has combined this community feedback with an engineering and feasibility analysis to design a better Townsend corridor. The agency has arrived at a staff-preferred, long-term design for Townsend Street, which includes protected bike lanes and a block-long sidewalk island (where sidewalks currently do not exist) to accommodate high intensity loading activity at the Caltrain Station. This sidewalk island also acts as a physical barrier to protect the bikeway and reduces the number of conflicts on the roadway.

The SFMTA will coordinate these long-term improvements with the Downtown Extension Project, which is led by the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) and expected to break ground within the next five years. Coordinating these two efforts as one infrastructure project will ensure the most responsible and efficient use of public funds and resources.

In the meantime, SFMTA staff will be reviewing potential opportunities for quick and effective near-term safety upgrades before the Downtown Extension Project starts.

For questions or concerns, please contact Cameron Beck at cameron.beck@sfmta.com.