The SF MTA announced a while ago that they’d be moving the place where eastbound drivers are forced to turn off Market Street (AKA the Better Market Street Project pilot) to 10th Street, a change from the forced 8th Street turn drivers have been making since the project’s launch in September.
And, friends, that day of change is upon us: starting Tuesday eastbound (that’s towards the Ferry Building) Market Street private car traffic will be required to turn right at 10th Street. According to the MTA:
Motorists will continue to be diverted at 6th Street as well. Traffic flowing north and south across Market Street will be unaffected, as will cars traveling westbound on Market Street. Public transit, bicycle, emergency vehicles and delivery vehicles will continue to have full access to Market Street. Motorists will still be able to access eastbound Market Street by turning right from northbound streets such as 9th, 7th, 6th or 5th streets, or by turning left from southbound streets such as Polk, Hyde or Stockton streets.
The Examiner notes that this change was made, in part, because “the intersection at Eighth Street has been troublesome, with pedestrians and bicyclists often coming into conflict with drivers making the turn off Market Street.” As opposed to EVERY OTHER STREET IN THE CITY, amirite? OK, that’s flippant, never mind.
Seriously, the MTA points out that there’s a continuous bike lane at 10th, because there’s no Muni boarding island at that intersection, and there’s generally less pedestrian traffic there, so they’re hopeful that the issues plaguing an 8th Street turn will be resolved.
The MTA says that they’ll evaluate “the impact of the change” after six weeks, but folks like friend of the Appeal Jamison Wieser, writing for the Market Street Railway blog, seem hopeful. Regarding the changes already in place, Wieser says “If you’re on a bike the difference is night and day, traveling downtown is no longer a matter of life or death.”
