If you tried to catch a bus along Bernal’s stretch of Mission Street over the weekend, you might have noticed some changes. As part of SFMTA”s effort to speed up bus transit along Mission Street, several stops along Bernal’s Mission corridor have been removed from the 14 & 49 bus lines, and even bigger changes are in store for Mission Street north of Cesar Chavez.
Specificially, the inbound 14 and 49 bus stops at 29th Street, Fair, and Precita Avenue have been removed, and a new stop has been created at Powers Avenue. Outbound, the same removals are in place, but the stop at Mission/Valencia remains unchanged. The stop at 30th Street remains in place for both directions. (Additional details provided below.)
We’re changing the number of travel lanes to widen the street, rolling out a new transit-only lane, and much, much more. Let’s walk through it.
Transit-only Lanes
These lanes give Muni its own right-of-way to bypass traffic congestion, reducing delays and improving reliability. Transit-only lanes will be installed on Mission Street traveling southbound between 14th and Cesar Chavez, and both southbound and northbound between Cesar Chavez and 30th.
Rendering of bus-only lanes on Mission @20th St. (Image by SFMTA)
Stop consolidation
This allows Muni customers to travel the same distance in less time. Heading toward downtown, stops will be removed on Mission at 29th, Fair, Precita, 23rd, 21st, 19th and 15th, and a new stop will be established at Powers. Towards Daly City, stops will be removed at 15th, 19th, 21st, 23rd, Precita, and 29th.
Turn restrictions
These reduce delay for through traffic and keep pedestrians safe as they cross the street. Left turn restrictions will be put in place at every intersection on Mission Street between 14th and Cesar Chavez.
Northbound required right turns
Requiring right turns will divert northbound traffic off Mission Street, easing traffic flow along the street and improving local access to Mission Street destinations. Right turns will be required going northbound at 26th, 24th, 22nd, 20th, and 16th. Transit, emergency vehicles, taxis and bicyclists will be exempt from required right turns.
All of these improvements are hitting the street starting this month!
Timing & What’s Happening
This Saturday, February 13, 2016 – Select bus stops removed for the 14 and 49
February 22 – March 7 – Red lanes painted from 30th St to Cesar Chavez
March 7 – early April – Red lanes painted and road re-striped from 14th St to Cesar Chavez
Rolling basis between March and April – Required right turns and left turn restrictions will be implemented block-by-block as the transit-only lanes are striped
- As the SFMTA paint crew moves through the project area, expect the following during construction hours:
- Curbside parking and loading will be temporarily unavailable.
- Muni bus stops may be temporarily re-located to a nearby stop.
- Through auto traffic will be allowed but alternative routes are encouraged.
- Signs prior to construction on each block will be posted for all bus stop changes and parking restrictions.
Here’s the Bernal-relevant detail:
Changes to Inbound 14 & 49 service:
Changes to Outbound 14 & 49 Service:
Bernalwood 
didn’t they just add covered bus stops at the Mission/Precita stops? I hope they plan to move that over to the new stop at Powers…
Wow, huge changes! Thanks for the detailed heads-up!
What are “required right turns”? Mission St. turning into southbound only street for regular cars?
That’s how I read this. Very odd that its only for northbound traffic. Not sure what becomes of the parking spaces that will then become inaccessible to anyone that might want to use them.
I’m confused whether there will be a left turn restriction onto Cesar Chavez from Mission southbound. There really should be – it’s a very dangerous turn for pedestrians.
And the left turn from Mission northbound is dangerous because of the curve and lack of visibility.
+1
While my in-laws live in the Mission District, they are on Bryant St., so I’m never much around Mission St. When I have been, it’s always very, very congested – cars, buses, trucks, bicyclists, pedestrians, you name it…there is a lot going on down there! Will be interesting to see how this all ends up working out for those who use Mission St.
I’m hoping that automobile traffic doesn’t take to using Coleridge street as a bypass for those not wanting to get caught up in this traffic on Mission street.
I live on Coleridge and was just thinking the same thing. It’s already a short cut speedway for people coming to/from Cortland, now it looks as though it will become worse. Anyone interested in petitioning for speed bumps along Coleridge?
I also live on Coleridge and have lost count of the number of cars that speed up/ down the street heading to/from Cortland Ave. I’d love to have speed bumps installed and would be happy to sign a petition for this. It may also deter all the cars that continually circle btw Mission and Coleridge, looking for free parking.
Wonder if the 14 is part of the extended traffic ticket camera pilot? With the amount of cars double-parked on Mission the city could make a fortune.
@Robert – I second that, but I don’t think Coleridge will really save anyone any time, especially since to reconnect with mission they’ll either have to navigate around the grass park at the end of Coleridge or try their luck getting back into traffic at Powers, which can be tough in traffic. Also, the city was supposed to be reinstalling the speed bumps the water dept removed at that end there but it looks like they… forgot?
So does this mean the MUNI buses will only take up 1 lane while driving down Mission or is that just wishful thinking?
At least I can say it’s good that the bus-only lane is on the outside Mission St.. Maybe the impact of double parkers on the MUNI buses will result in the MTA actually doing something about them.
actually I think they will. They currently take up two lanes because the buses are wider than the lanes.
Thanks for this detailed update! I think these changes will greatly improve bus trips on mission.
The one thing that seems a little odd about the “required right turn” thing is that it turns a street which should be used as a thoroughfare (assuming we are allowing automotive traffic, which we are…) into something that can’t be used that way, which will push traffic onto other streets. While I applaud the goal of improving travel time/speed on MUNI down this corridor, I’m not sure where all the overflow traffic is going to go. Well, I can only assume it will go to other streets in the Mission.
I don’t believe Mission st actually carries much private auto traffic as a through route. I’ll bet most people are driving on it for a couple of blocks at the most – like lower Market st. Why would someone cruise through the Mission on Mission when South Van Ness is one block away and much more accommodating?
Do the new transit lanes south of Cesar Chavez mean that they will finally resurface Mission street along those blocks??
I am extremely skeptical of the bus only lanes on mission st. Will they actually stop the double packers who always keep the right lane clogged up anyway? More likely not.
Any thought given to the impact on folks who have trouble walking or parents with 2 or 3 little ones in tow? Getting to public trans is an accessibility issue I think.
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All that work will result in a transit-only lane and a general traffic lane in the southbound direction between 11th and Cesar Chavez streets, with a single shared lane in the northbound direction.