Transit

Muni's 38-Geary riders may get some relief even before bus rapid transit lanes come to the line's Richmond segment in 2019. The SFMTA and SF County Transportation Authority are developing plans to install "early" improvements over the next few years, like bus bulbs, extended transit-only lanes, and transit signal priority.

Families are loving "Winter Walk SF," the temporary holiday plaza filling two blocks of Stockton Street in Union Square. As CBS reporter John Ramos put it, the on-street downtown play space "represents the San Francisco everyone wants it to be."

Caltrans announced over the holiday weekend that it has allocated one of the remaining chunks of money from Prop 1B, the massive transportation bond act approved by California voters in 2006.

Two years after Muni launched all-door boarding, the agency continues to report [PDF] quicker boardings and lower rates of fare evasion.

Muni could launch "double berthing," or boarding two trains simultaneously in its Metro stations, as early as next weekend -- if all goes well in a live test this Saturday, SFMTA Director Ed Reiskin told an agency board meeting today.

Updated 11:06 p.m. with comments from BART Board-elect Nick Josefowitz.

Muni's notoriously sluggish 30-Stockton line is finally set to get some upgrades that will give buses higher priority on streets through the dense neighborhoods of Union Square, Chinatown, North Beach, and near Fisherman's Wharf.

On Tuesday, the SFMTA Board of Directors approved plans to add traffic signals and bulb-outs along Haight Street, which could speed up Muni's 6 and 71 lines and improve pedestrian safety. The approval came despite complaints from some Upper Haight merchants over removing parking for bus bulb-outs, and mixed support for new traffic signals from pedestrian safety and transit advocates.

Muni has once again pushed back its launch of "double berthing" -- simultaneous loading of two trains in its Metro stations -- until December. SFMTA spokesperson Paul Rose said that plans for a live test and launch in November were thwarted by recent weekend construction on the Sunset Tunnel.