Work on Phase II of the Cesar Chavez sewer upgrade streetscape improvement project began last month and like the sewer work will move east to west. Crews are currently rerouting curbs and catch basins between Hampshire and Bryant. CC Puede's Fran Taylor attended last night's neighborhood meeting and sent this update:
The work is scheduled to be finished by the end of the year and will be done in phases:Lanes were reconfigured after sewer work was completed to approximate traffic flow when finished. The pavement has been rough, but traffic seems to flow smoothly. When this project was first announced plenty of our readers expressed dismay over the loss of traffic lanes despite the addition of dedicated turn lanes and bus pullouts. Now that the changes are more evident, we're curious - how have the changes affected your commute?
- Drainage and bulbouts: 20 bulbouts on the corners with planters to catch rainwater will be done first.
- Median: Next, the median curbs will be laid out.
- Repaving: The repaving will be done in sections: Hampshire to Florida in Sept/Oct, Florida to Folsom in late October, Folsom to Mission in November, and Mission to Guerrero at the end.
- Sidewalks: Next, the new street lamps and other sidewalk improvements will be done.
- Plantings: The last step will be sticking all those new plants In the ground on both the sidewalks and the median.
[SFDWP: Cesar Chavez Sewer & Streetscape Project]
[NVSF: Cesar Chavez: Work Starts In June (2011)]
[Photo: SFDPW (PDF)]
I find that the construction itself is what is driving me crazy and causing traffic to be slow, not the reduction of lanes. We won't really be able to compare until all the detours and construction crap are gone.
ReplyDeleteThere are very few left turns possible when traveling east, the lights are poorly timed no matter which direction you are headed, and the left turn signal from CC onto Bryant is a joke, allowing 2 cars through at most.
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping that the addition of trees will make Cesar Chavez less ugly visually than it currently is.
It's still pretty awful how NARROW some of the sidewalks will be in front of homes and businesses. It's pretty outrageous.
ReplyDeleteThe commute time is significantly longer. That's the bottom line. My strongest preference along a known commuter corridor is to get through it as quickly as legally permissible. Doesn't SF get this? Or is it one of those disconnects, like Year of the Child?
ReplyDeleteNo difference whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteThe street management of the project has been poor. Lane control has sometimes been very iffy with poor markings.
ReplyDeleteI, like many others, have taken to 26th street spilling onto CC around Alabama or so.
Yes, this will cause more congestion. We can blame it on the bullying by the SF Bike Coalition to require bike lanes added which will be used, at most, by 4 people a day.
ReplyDeletetotal waste of money.
So far so good. The lights are timed according to the posted 25 MPH speed limit and that was the case long before construction began. Travel time between 101 and Mission has slowed slightly since the project began. Good. It's not a freeway.
ReplyDeleteFor people who actually live in the C.Chavez corridor, the new streetscape is going to be an improvement over the status quo.
I find the traffic to flow much better now and it takes me less time to get from the freeway to CC and Sanchez. Good work city planners!!
ReplyDeleteNaturally, I'm eager for the work to be completed and the road surfaces to smooth out. I can share two significant changes to my daily bike commute:
ReplyDelete1. So much afternoon vehicle traffic is now filling eastbound Cesar Chavez that it's often safer for me to continue up Harrison and cut onto the sidewalks (sorry pedestrians, I still yield).
2. With school season back, the gap between the sidewalk bulb-out and vehicular parents dropping off kids on Harrison is now dicey enough on the morning commute, that I've diverted to Alabama Street which offers the safety of a traffic light.
Why is the city Engineering Traffic congestion in an area that currently doesn't have a problem? These unnecessary "beautification" projects are costing taxpayers millions and creating a less efficient roadway for emergency vehicles.
ReplyDeletePlease come to the Public Hearing with the SF Board of Supervisors, Thursday, May 5th at 3:00 PM in the Board Chambers.
I'm still driving it daily. Traffic is fine. If it wasn't, I would find another route.
ReplyDeleteHopefully bike lanes get striped soon. It's ridiculous trying to get from the Mission to Caltrain right now, but making CC safe for bikes will give a good route.
The idea that the bike lanes will be used "by 4 people a day" is laughably ridiculous. It's idiots with opinions like that which make protected bike lanes a virtual necessity in SF.
Ok, so maybe 4-6 people a day.
ReplyDeleteHappy now?
Nope, still not happy. The SFMTA's last bicycle usage survey in 2011 observed an average of 74 bicycles each way during the evening rush (4:30pm-6:30pm). And that's without the new bike lanes. So you're off by an order of magnitude or so.
ReplyDeleteWhoops, forgot the link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sfmta.com/cms/rbikes/documents/2011BicycleCountReportsml_002.pdf
This is not about bicycles, despite what extremists on both sides want to try and make it.
ReplyDeleteI welcome the addition of the left turn lanes at the expense of losing a "traffic lane". During the commute hours, those lanes would be blocked by people turning left anyhow, which effectively forced everyone else into just two lanes. And the resulting collisions from people swerving lanes, slamming brakes or running red lights were all too common.
It is often forgotten how these traffic calming measures (as well as environmental benefits such as ground water penetration) were the original purposes, and to that end, I feel that they are welcome and successful. Traffic moves much more smoothly and predictably and our environment is improved by not causing all that rainwater to be washed into the sewer system, often causing spills into the bay or ocean. That is an ancillary benefit that the entire city benefits from.