The Californer - San Francisco: Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Vallie Brown Mark Completion of Inner Sunset Street Improvements

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San Francisco, CA — Mayor London N. Breed today joined District 5 Supervisor Vallie Brown, City representatives, and community members to celebrate the completion of the Inner Sunset Streetscape Improvements and Muni Forward Project, which makes the neighborhood safer and more transit friendly. The project focuses on upgrading public transit and other critical infrastructure along Irving St. from Arguello Blvd. to 19th Ave., and along 9th and 10th Avenues between Irving and Judah streets.

San Francisco Public Works, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) worked together on the project to improve the quality of life in the Inner Sunset neighborhood. Specifically, the project improved Muni N-Judah service, bolstered pedestrian safety in line with the City's Vision Zero policy, improved accessibility, replaced aging sewer and water lines, strengthened components of the Emergency Firefighting Water System, and beautified the highly visited Inner Sunset neighborhood to make it more livable and inviting.

"With the completion of this streetscape project, we are taking a big step forward in making the Inner Sunset safer and more enjoyable for everyone in this neighborhood," said Mayor Breed. "This project is a great example designing streets for people, and making it easier and safer to walk, bike, and take transit. In addition to making transit more efficient and improving street and sidewalk safety, we've also made significant upgrades to our critical infrastructure along the Inner Sunset corridor, which will serve our City for decades to come."

The project is part of the SFMTA's Muni Forward Project and San Francisco Public Works' streetscape program. Muni Forward is a citywide effort to improve transit service across San Francisco. The streetscape program is an effort to reimagine street design to improve safety for people who walk and bike, while beautifying neighborhood commercial and mixed-use corridors through landscaping, street furniture and gateway elements, such as signs and murals. The street safety improvements advance the City's Vision Zero initiative, which calls for eliminating traffic-related fatalities by 2024.

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"Today, with critical upgrades to its water and sewer infrastructure (including emergency firefighting systems) complete, the Inner Sunset is stronger than ever," said Supervisor Brown. "We've also made extensive upgrades to strengthen pedestrian safety and improve MUNI service, so that residents, merchants and other visitors can get to the neighborhood more safely and easily. I've worked hard to minimize the inevitable disruptions of the construction, and my commitment now as the project draws to a close is to keep partnering closely with the Inner Sunset to make the very most of all this new and improved infrastructure."

"The City's 10-Year Capital Plan allows us to make smart investments that improve City infrastructure in every neighborhood," said City Administrator Naomi M. Kelly. "Properly managing the City's financial resources is essential so we can provide funding to make the repairs our transportation system needs."

The Inner Sunset Streetscape Improvements and Muni Forward Project features numerous safety enhancements and transit service improvements. Improvements include 95 new curb ramps to increase accessibility, four transit bulb-outs to make transit boarding safer and more efficient, two pedestrian bulb-outs to shorten crossing distances, traffic signal upgrades that give priority to transit over cars, and increased distance between N-Judah stops to enhance efficiency. Additionally, crews repaved the entire stretch with more than 5,000 tons of new asphalt to create a smoother roadway for all users.

"As the transportation lifeline of the Inner Sunset, the N-Judah will benefit from upgraded Transit Signal Priority and the installation of Muni transit bulb-outs," said Tom Maguire, Interim Director of Transportation, SFMTA.

Additional streetscape improvements include new street trees, drought-tolerant plantings, and added sidewalk seating to serve residents and visitors. The project also includes fiber optic conduit installation, which will help create a network of high-speed internet across the City; and the replacement of aging sewer and water utility lines with larger, modern pipelines to provide more reliable service and minimize disruptions.

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The project also strengthens the City's Emergency Firefighting Water System (EFWS) by upsizing 4,000 linear feet of EFWS pipelines to increase the capacity of high-pressure for large-scale firefighting. In addition, the City installed 12 high-pressure fire hydrants that are connected to high-capacity cisterns, tanks and reservoirs throughout the commercial corridor.

"San Francisco Public Works was proud to collaborate with the SFPUC, SFMTA, our elected leaders and neighborhood residents and businesses to deliver key safety improvements and beautification elements that will benefit everyone who visits the Inner Sunset neighborhood," said Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru. "The project serves as a great example of successful government-community partnership."

The streetscape improvement project is part of the Great Streets Program, which was established in 2005. The Great Streets Program seeks to improve neighborhood streets across the City by demonstrating best practices in design and the value of landscaping, lighting, and pedestrian safety.

The many benefits of the Inner Sunset Streetscape Improvements project are emblematic of the state of good repair programs in San Francisco's 10-Year Capital Plan. The Capital Plan documents the planned investments in street resurfacing, curb ramp replacement, sidewalk improvements, Vision Zero, and water and sewer system improvements that deliver greater quality of life and accessibility in all of San Francisco's neighborhoods.

The project was partially funded by the $248 million Road Repair and Street Safety Bond, which was approved by San Francisco voters in 2011. San Francisco Public Works managed the $21.3 million project and provided engineering and landscape design services. Mitchell Engineering was the general contractor.

For more information on the Inner Sunset Improvements project, please visit: www.sfpublicworks.org/innersunsetimprovements.

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