Muni

Muni has yet again postponed the launch of simultaneously loading two trains in each of its Metro stations, also known as "double berthing." We last reported that the practice was supposed to begin this month, but SFMTA spokesperson Paul Rose said the new timeline is "early November," with no specific date set yet.

Muni's one-year-old 5L-Fulton Limited service, which provides a crosstown trip 15 percent faster than the 5-Fulton, has attracted 2,000 additional daily riders to the bus route. That's according to new data from the SFMTA.

The new contra-flow transit-only lane opened on the east end of Haight Street last week, providing Muni riders a red carpet that both eliminates a detour and whisks them past queues of auto drivers headed for the Central Freeway. As a longtime rider of the 71-Haight/Noriega and 6-Parnassus lines, my first ride on the new lane was elating -- the boost it provides hardly exists anywhere else in the entire Muni system. You might say it's truly "transit-first."

Last week, the SFMTA presented its proposal to ban private auto drivers from turning onto Market Street, between Third and Eighth Streets. The move would be complemented with extended transit-only lanes, plus a new system of wayfinding signs aimed at keeping drivers off of Market.

Muni riders have just gotten some sweet new transit-only lanes to speed up their commutes. Red paint is on the ground for two new bus lanes: One at Lincoln Way and 19th Avenue, and another on the east end of Haight Street.

On the agenda [PDF] for tomorrow's SFMTA public engineering hearing are proposals to speed up Muni lines with transit-priority traffic signals and bus bulb-outs along Haight and McAllister Streets. These types of changes are central to the Muni Transit Effectiveness Project, but some residents have voiced concerns about replacing stop signs with traffic signals and requiring pedestrians to wait before crossing.

"Save Polk Street" has aimed its parking-first agenda at Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit. A couple dozen speakers protested the project an SFMTA hearing last week, distributing fearmongering flyers [PDF] claiming that removing some parking and banning left turns would "kill small businesses," back up car traffic, and make the street more dangerous.

City planners are shaping up plans for Ocean Avenue, following public workshops that will help develop a vision for both near-term and long-term improvements. The near-term plans, for the commercial stretch of Ocean west of Phelan Avenue and the City College campus, are far along in their development. Meanwhile, a long-term plan for the remainder of the avenue, stretching eastward to the Balboa Park BART Station, is still in its earlier stages.

Editor's note: This is a guest op-ed that does not represent the views of Streetsblog.