San Francisco’s Chinatown will get more all-day parking and a new full-time transit lane, according to plans approved on Tuesday.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency unanimously voted for the proposal.
The changes would convert part-time tow-away spots to all-day parking on two blocks of Clay Street, between Kearny and Leidesdorff streets, as well as on one block of Sacramento Street, between Powell and Stockton streets. The middle lane on Clay Street between Kearny and Leidesdorff streets would be converted to a full-time transit lane.
The project was proposed in response to Chinatown merchants asking for more street parking, according to Muni Project Manager Jessica Kuo. The new transit lane would also make the 1 California bus line, which runs slowly at only 3 miles per hour in the neighborhood, more reliable, she said.
The traffic changes are part of a larger suite of projects aimed at improving Chinatown, including demolishing a pedestrian bridge on Kearny Street and building a new public health center.
Kuo and her team predict traffic will not be affected much by the changes.
Public commenters at the meeting were enthusiastic about the project.
“It’s a great example of a win-win scenario for both riders and businesses,” said transit advocate Jaime Viloria.
Resident Barry Taranto agreed.
“They did a good job on this project,” he said. “Who can argue with having longer bus and taxi lanes?”
But some worried about how the transit lane would be enforced. Transport Workers Union Local 250A President Pete Wilson said that, during his time as an operator on the 1 California, the transit lane was sometimes blocked.
“People were parked in the transit lane, and those lanes get busy,” he said.
Wilson also raised concerns that Muni operators had not been included in discussions behind the plan.
“How come no one’s talking to us about this?” he said.
But Kuo is confident that the agency would be able to enforce the lane. More efficient curb parking and loading would mean less double-parking, as will cameras installed on the buses, said Kuo.
