Upgrades and renovations were unveiled Wednesday at San Francisco’s West Portal station and a nearby busy intersection.
The upgrades were focused on improving both the safety and visual appeal of the station and intersection.
“In addition to it being safer, it is more beautiful,” said Supervisor Myrna Melgar in a speech. Melgar represents the city’s District 7, where the West Portal station is located.
The station sits at the intersection of Ulloa Street and West Portal Avenue, where pedestrians, several Muni Metro lines, buses, and cars converge.
“For over 100 years, West Portal station has been an important connector in San Francisco,” Julie Kirschbaum, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency director of transportation, said in a statement. “Five Muni routes, with over 55,000 daily riders, intersect here.”
The city launched the West Portal Station Safety and Community Space Improvements Project in April 2024 in response to a fatal car crash that occurred just a few dozen feet from the station. In March of that year, a family of four was waiting at a bus stop next to the West Portal station when a car plowed into them at a high rate of speed, killing all four, according to the SFMTA.
While the SFMTA and the San Francisco Police Department did not attribute street design as a factor contributing to the crash, Melgar and former mayor London Breed pushed the SFMTA to add more safety measures to the intersection.
New safety additions have focused on restricting car traffic. Some surrounding streets have become “one-way” roads, with “Do Not Enter” and “Right Turn Only” signs added.
Tom Kanaley lives on Lenox Way, a road adjacent to the station that has now been changed into a one-way street. Kanaley is a member of the Welcoming West Portal Committee, a group of residents and merchants in the West Portal neighborhood that helped provide input for the project.
He mentioned in an interview that the additions have “calmed traffic,” and that driver behavior in the area has been able to adapt to the new changes over time.
Aaron Kitashima is a resident who spends time at the intersection observing and filming driver behavior.
When the new signs were first installed about one year ago, he noticed many drivers making illegal turns and maneuvers. Now, he has seen that drivers have been getting better at obeying the new traffic laws.
“As time has gone by, many are paying attention to the signage,” he said by email.
New murals, brightly painted crosswalks and designated Muni lanes, and eye-popping polka dots painted on the pavement of the intersection make the station more vibrant.
“While the changes are small, it is essential progress towards a West Portal that is more safe,” Melgar said.
“The goal was to make people feel more welcome here so that they would come to West Portal and shop, eat, attend our businesses, and support our community.”