Tar or Tree

Two city-sponsored projects are clashing over improved bus lanes or tree growth for one of San Francisco’s major thoroughfares.

“The community wants to see it all. Not just transit, not just green growth, but everything,” Kris Opbroek, the Department of Public Works’ project manager for the Van Ness Avenue Enhancement Project said.

The Van Ness project is part of the Great Streets Capital Streetscape Project, which is a five-year project funded by a multi-year transportation bill called SFETEA along with other state and federal grants amounting to more than $20 million to make improvements to various city streets that are in need of restoration according to Opbroek.

Public Works has coordinated with the Municipal Transportation Authority's (MTA) Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. Their designs include dedicated bus lanes, transit signal priority, pedestrian improvements, and transit platform improvements according to Judson True, spokesman for the MTA.

"We want the improvements to benefit motorists as well as people who ride public transit," True said about the conjunction between the BRT and Van Ness project. “All city departments are working together.”

The main confliction between both the BRT and Van Ness projects stems from two proposed designs for the center median along the San Francisco street.

The Van Ness project hopes to enhance tree growth along the center median through widening a two-block section of it to a little over 14 feet according to Opbroek.

Opbroek says the BRT project suggests three different designs on the street for loading passengers on public transit vehicles. One of the proposed designs includes center median loading, where passengers enter and exit transit vehicles from the center of the street as they do on Market Street.

“The enhancement project on Van Ness is less important that the BRT project,” Jason Henderson, Planning Coordinator for the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association said of the contradiction over Van Ness Avenue’s center median.

Henderson says making Van Ness Avenue more inviting through green growth revisions would be a good thing aesthetically, but if major changes to the center median are to be done in confliction with the BRT’s proposed designs it will create a problem.

Henderson says the BRT project needs to take the street down from three lanes in each direction to two lanes in order to fit buses down the center median of Van Ness.

“If it’s to sacrifice a couple trees in the median of Van Ness, it would be worth it,” Henderson said. “We can save more trees in the long run if we reduce sprawl.”

Opbroek says that she is also involved with the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit Project), which is a large-scale project on the street whereas the Van Ness project is localized to a six-block stretch of Van Ness Avenue between Market and McAllister Streets.

The BRT derives its $75 million funding federally from the FTA (Federal Transit Authority) and from other local sources according to Tilly Chang, Deputy Director for the San Francisco County Transportation Authority.

“The entire project compliments the BRT project,” Opbroek said of the design features of the Van Ness project. “Whatever happens in the roadway doesn’t affect the sidewalk.”

Most of the design features of the Van Ness project include revitalizing the sidewalk through adding newer more historic looking lighting posts and increasing the green growth according to Opbroek.

The BRT project along Van Ness Avenue is currently under environmental review and has yet to reach a consensus on the location of where passenger loading will occur for buses according to Opbroek.

Opbroek says the designs for the Van Ness project are 100 percent complete and the project is currently waiting for funding from federal earmarks and the $20 million general funds set aside for the project in 2005.

The Van Ness project is estimated at $1.2 million with construction scheduled to start as early as next April and have a duration of six to eight months according to Opbroek.

“I like bringing more trees to our city,” Frances Neagley, President of the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association said. “I’m not sure how feasible it is.”

“Some love it, some hate it,” Neagley said, understanding of Hayes Valley’s attitude toward the project on Van Ness.

“It’s better to keep pedestrians on the sidewalk,” Opbroek said speaking on behalf of safety issues she says play a major role in the project.

“The street has been effectively turned over to the automobile,” Henderson said of the absence of pedestrian safety. “It needs to be more pedestrian friendly.”

“Pedestrians need a safe haven,” Neagley said of the section of Van Ness to be worked on. “They need to feel secure.”

The disruption going to be caused by both projects vying over the center median will affect commuters as well as transit riders according to Opbroek.

Jason Henderson says he estimates between 35 to 40,000 motorists who use Van Ness Avenue daily.

Opbroek says there will be lane closures on Van Ness Avenue if the Department of Public Works needs to construct median work for landscaping. However, she says she doesn’t anticipate there to be much traffic since the lane closures will be minimal and restricted between Hayes and Fell Streets.

“They’ll get hysterical about it,” Neagley said about the anticipated construction. “People won’t be upset anymore about that construction than any other construction.”

Opbroek says she is concerned over the differences between the two projects, but seeks resolution.

“How do we maintain all these problems at the same time,” Opbroek said. “It’s not an easy solution, but I’m all about balance.”








Sources

Jason Henderson
415-255-8136
jhenders@sbcglobal.net

Judson True
415-701-4582
judson.true@sfmta.com

Kris Opbroek
415-558-4045
kris.opbroek@sfdpw.org

Tilly Chang
415-522-4832
tilly.chang@sfcta.org

Frances Neagley
415-531-8426
president@hayesvalleysf.org