Safety Improvements Completed On Masonic Avenue

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — San Francisco city officials celebrated the completion of the Masonic Avenue Streetscape Improvement Project, a series of improvements aimed at making the busy transportation corridor safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Mayor London Breed, among other officials, attended the unveiling at the new public plaza at Geary Boulevard and Masonic Avenue Tuesday morning, which was a major facet of the project.

"For years, Masonic Avenue has been the site of too many traffic-related injuries and fatalities," the mayor said in a statement. "I am committed to investing in public transportation safety upgrades like this one so that everyone can feel comfortable choosing to walk, ride a bike, or take transit in San Francisco."

Supervisor Vallie Brown, who also attended the unveiling, said, "The city has come together to make a better Masonic Avenue for all San Franciscans. I appreciate the patience of neighbors during this important work and look forward to working with the community to continue improving our corridors."

Construction on the $26 million improvement project began two years. The idea for the project, however, was hatched at least decade ago, when a community petition signed by more than 500 people led to the Board of
Supervisors passing a resolution to improve safety on the corridor.

The petition was in response to several traffic collisions along Masonic, between Fell Street and Geary Boulevard, where the improvements have been made.

Roadway repaving, however, extends to Haight Street in the southern direction and to the adjacent street, Presidio Avenue, in the northern direction.

Upgrades consist of, among others, improved pedestrian access to transit, new bus bulb-outs and cycle tracks, water and sewer upgrades, new trees, new lighting in the medians and new pedestrian-scale lighting on the
sidewalks.

Sidewalks have also been widened for increased foot traffic."We have transformed Masonic Avenue from an outdated, mini-freeway that divided neighborhoods, into a beautiful, welcoming street that knits communities together," Ed Reiskin, director of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, said in a statement.

Reiskin added, "The SFMTA's sweeping safety improvements to Masonic Avenue include new, separated bikeways and safer pedestrian crossings in support of Vision Zero, the city's goal to eliminate trafficfatalities."

In addition, a public plaza has been created on the southwest corner of Geary Boulevard and Masonic Avenue.

The new plaza will feature an art installation by artist Scott Oliver. The piece, titled Points of Departure, consists of three signposts with multiple colored arrows pointing in various directions. Each arrow has a
place name and a distance to the place. The place names were gathered from a survey, conducted by Oliver,
of people he encountered in the area.

According to the mayor's office, between 2009 and 2014, there were 113 traffic collisions on Masonic Avenue between Fell Street and Geary Boulevard. Of those collisions, 14 involved pedestrians, while 24 involved
bicyclists. Two people died.

More information about the project can be found at www.sfpublicworks.org/masonic.

— Bay City News; Image via SFCTA