Vision Zero Quick-Build Program

Program highlights from 2021

SFMTA Livable Streets

December 15, 2021

A person pedals an orange cargo bike with two children seated on the back along the new separated bikeway on Hunters Point Boulevard, which has concrete barriers painted by a local artist.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continued into its second year, 2021 was full of challenges for San Francisco. But through it all, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) continued to make our streets safer for all through the Vision Zero Quick-Build Program .

Quick-build projects are a key part of this progress. This initiative was introduced in 2019 to quickly implement pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements while working toward longer-term comprehensive street changes. Since then, SFMTA has completed over 25 projects along San Francisco’s High-Injury Network: the streets where engineering improvements can have the biggest impact in reducing traffic-related fatalities and severe injuries.

What are quick-build projects?

Quick-build projects are reversible, adjustable traffic safety improvements that can be installed relatively quickly. Unlike major capital projects that may take years to plan, design, bid and construct, quick-build projects are buildable within weeks and months and are intended to be evaluated and reviewed within the initial 24 months of construction. Typical quick-build type improvements include:

Paint, delineator, and sign installations
Parking and loading adjustments
Signal timing modifications
Transit stop and route improvements

What's new in 2021?

The SFMTA believes that quick-builds are an essential element in making progress toward achieving Vision Zero: They’re included as a cornerstone of San Francisco’s updated Vision Zero Action Strategy , released in November. As part of this Action Strategy, San Francisco commits to applying the quick-build toolkit on the remaining 80 miles of the High-Injury Network that need safety upgrades by 2024. From five quick-build projects in 2019, San Francisco is gearing up to complete around 20 per year over the next four years. As we look forward to bringing much-needed safety improvements to these corridors, we wanted to reflect on the quick-builds completed over the course of 2021.

A map showing the Vision Zero High-Injury Network, the 13% of city streets that account for 75% of severe injuries and deaths. Streets on the high injury network are primarily clustered in the Tenderloin (every street is on the HIN), the Mission, Western Addition, Hayes Valley, Chinatown Downtown, and SOMA. The map also indicates the city's equity priority communities: Bayview, Chinatown, Excelsior/Outer Mission, Inner Mission, Tenderloin, Visitacion Valley, and Western Addition. The map conveys that the majority of high-injury network corridors pass through equity priority communities. High-Injury Network Streets on the map are: 1st street 2nds street 3rd street 4th Street 5th Street 6th Street 7th Avenue 7th Street 8th Street 9th Street 10th Street 11th Street 12th Street 14th Street 16th Street 17th Street 18th Street 19th Avenue 21st Street 23rd Street 24th Street 26th Street Alemany Blvd Arguello Blvd Bacon Street Baker Street Balboa Street Bay Shore Blvd Bay Street Beach Street, Brannan Street Broadway Brotherhood Way Bryant Street Bush street California Street Castro Street Cesar Chavez Street Church Street Columbus Ave Cortland Ave Divisadero Street Division Street Duboce Ave Eddy Street El Camino Del Mar Ellis Street Evans Ave Fell Street Fillmore Street Fitzgerald Ave Folsom Street Francisco Street Franklin Street Fremont Street Fulton Street Geary Blvd Geary Street Geneva Ave Goettingen Street Golden Gate Ave Gough Street Grove Street Guerrero Street Haight Street Harrison Street Hayes Street Howard Street Hyde Street Innes Ave Jackson Street Jamestown Ave Jefferson Street Jerrold Ave JFK Drive Jones Street Junipero Serra Blvd Kearny Street King Street Laguna Street Lake Merced Blvd Larkin Street Leavenworth Street Lincoln Way Lombard Street Mansell Street Market Street Mason Street Masonic Ave McAllister Street Mission Street Monterey Blvd Montgomery Street Newcomb Ave Oak Street Ocean Ave Octavia Street O’Farrell Street O'Shaughnessy Blvd Pacific Ave Page Street Palou Ave Pine Street Polk Street Post Street Potrero Ave Powell Street Quesada Ave Quint Street Roosevelt Way San Bruno Ave San Jose Ave Scott Street Silver Ave Sloat Blvd South Van Ness Ave Stanyan Blvd Stanyan Street Stockton Street Stockton Tunnel Sunset Boulevard Sutter Street Taraval Street Taylor Street Teresita Blvd The Embarcadero Townsend Street Turk Street Valencia Street Van Ness Ave Vermont Street Washington Street Webster Street Williams Ave Yerba Buena Ave

The SFMTA completed the following quick-build projects in 2021, and laid the groundwork for construction to kick off on many more in 2022. Have a look:

Quick-builds by the year

Projects completed in 2021

Evans Ave/Hunters Point Blvd/Innes Ave, Donahue Street to Jennings Street
Folsom Street, 2nd Street to 5th Street
Golden Gate Ave, Van Ness Ave to Market Street
Leavenworth Street, McAllister Sreet to Post Street
Williams Ave, 3rd Street to Phelps/Vesta Street
Jones Street, Golden Gate Ave to O’Farrell Street

Projects completed in 2020

Market Street, Octavia Street to Steuart Street
3rd Street, Mission Street to Townsend Street
Embarcadero, Mission Street to Howard Street & Embarcadero, Bay Street to North Point Street
Townsend Street, 3rd Street to 8th Street
California Street, Arguello Boulevard to 18th Avenue
7th Street, Folsom Street to Townsend Street
Beale Street, Market Street to Natoma Street
Alemany Boulevard, Stoneybrook Avenue to Putnam Street
Howard Street, Embarcadero to 3rd Street
5th Street, Market Street to Townsend Street
Mission Street, Trumbull Street to Geneva Avenue
Geneva Avenue, Mission Street to Prague Street
3rd Street Bridge, Berry Street to Terry Francois Boulevard

Projects completed in 2019

Howard Street, 3rd Street to 6th Street
Valencia Street, 15th Street to 19th Street
6th Street, Market Street to Folsom Street
Taylor Street, Market Street to Sutter Street
7th Street, 16th Street to Townsend Street
Terry Francois Boulevard, Mariposa Street to 3rd Street
Brannan Street, Embarcadero to Division Street
Indiana Street, 23rd Street to Cesar Chavez Street

As the SFMTA moves toward the goal of implementing safety improvements to the remaining 80 miles of the High-Injury Network, many more quick-build improvements are in the works for 2022. Stay tuned!