Into the Future a Vision for Moving San Francisco
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A VISION FOR MOVING SAN FRANCISCO INTO THE FUTURE RESIDENCEE C C METRO STATION C GROCERY RESTAURANT laundrOmatdrOmatd at CAFE BUS STOP 6 MIN ZERO EMISSION VEHICLE ZERO EMISSION VEHICLE Y Y L L N N O O C C C C C ZERO EMISSION VEHICLE ZERO EMISSION VEHICLE NEXT TRAIN NEXT TRAIN OUTBOUND 6 MIN 6 MIN INBOUND NEXT TRAIN NEXT TRAIN AIRPORT 5 MIN 5 MIN EAST BAY NEXT TRAIN NEXT TRAIN LOS ANGELES 10 MIN 10 MIN SACRAMENTO DRAFT FEBRUARY 2018 A VISION FOR MOVING SAN FRANCISCO INTO THE FUTURE Introduction 4 Creating a New Vision for San Francisco 6 How the Vision Was Developed 15 Next Steps 20 Appendices A. The History of Transportation in San Francisco B. Outreach Summary Report C. Scenario Planning Process D. ConnectSF Goals and Objectives 2 CONNECTSF VISION DRAFT FEBRUARY 2018 Aspiration San Francisco is at an inflection point. People are ConnectSF is an innovative program that has drawn to the livability, lifestyle, and opportunities brought our agencies together with San Francisco in San Francisco. The City is experiencing rapid residents to develop a unified, far-reaching change and tremendous growth. Our population vision for an effective, equitable, and sustainable is larger than ever before. Much of this growth is transportation system. Together, our four agencies spurred by shifting demographics, preferences for and the public will use this vision to create a new city living, and an evolving technology sector that generation of transportation plans for the City – touches nearly every aspect of our lives. starting later this year with the citywide Transit Corridors Study and Streets and Freeways Study. It is an incredibly turbulent time to be in San Francisco, with opportunities and challenges for the Visions are inherently aspirational but can be future. Issues related to equity, affordability, mobility, realized when they are based on values that reflect housing, and other critical areas have perhaps community sentiment and provide guideposts for never felt so urgent. future work. A multifaceted community engagement process that reached over 5,000 people created Transportation touches all of these facets of this bold vision. In turn, the vision will guide actions, daily life. While we are making progress towards decisions, and investments for San Francisco’s eliminating traffic deaths, installing modern bicycle transportation system and influence the City’s infrastructure, and managing streets to improve development. the speed and reliability of public transportation, there remains much more to do. To be socially, This vision asks each of us what it means to be economically, and ecologically resilient over the a San Franciscan: what we value for ourselves next 50 years we must tackle these challenges. and our fellow residents; what we want for San San Francisco must find a way to allow future Francisco’s future; which priorities and perspectives generations to live in and travel across the City with we may need to re-examine; and the trade-offs we greater ease. may need to make to achieve this vision. What must we start, stop, and continue doing as a community, As we plan, build, and operate our transportation a City, and a region to reach the future we want? system to meet an ever-changing landscape, we are guided by durable policies and mandates, We invite you – our fellow San Franciscans and such as our 45-year old Transit First policy and residents of the Bay Area – to join us in realizing citywide climate and Vision Zero goals. However, this vision. Working together we are confident maintaining the system we have while expanding that we can achieve a safer, more equitable, and to meet tomorrow’s transportation needs – and vibrant future for all. funding both activities – presents difficult choices that will shape the City for generations to come. John Rahaim Tilly Chang Ed Reiskin Todd Rufo Director, San Francisco Executive Director, San Francisco Director of Transportation, San Francisco Director, San Francisco Office of Planning Department County Transportation Authority Municipal Transportation Agency Economic and Workforce Development DRAFT FEBRUARY 2018 ASPIRATION 3 Introduction Almost every aspect of San Francisco’s built environment is the product of many years of planning. What we see before us is the outcome of plans and decisions made by the community and elected officials who have preceded us. This is especially true of our transportation infrastructure. Building and managing complex transportation systems requires carefully coordinated planning many years in advance. Over 100 years ago, the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) opened an electric streetcar line on Geary Street and became the first publicly owned and operated transit agency in the United come will live, work, and play. The time is now States. From 1912 to 1928, Muni constructed the to shape San Francisco for ourselves and future transit tunnels on Stockton Street, Twin Peaks, generations. and the Sunset. Nearly 60 years ago, civic San Francisco’s street grid is well-established, but leaders envisioned a high-speed, regional rail its use has and will continue to evolve. From horse- network in the Bay Area and a subway tunnel for drawn carriages and streetcar neighborhoods light-rail vehicles through the heart of the City. through the ascendance of the automobile to the These visions have been fulfilled. BART and Muni technological changes we see in our streets today, metro service started over 40 years ago. These the only constant has been change. investments influenced the settlement and travel patterns that we see today in San Francisco and The speed of change is only likely to increase. the Bay Area. Planning for the services and amenities we want our public rights-of-way to provide, not just Similarly, the planning we do today can and protecting and enshrining the current allocations of will determine how and where generations to space, will be a critical task. 4 CONNECTSF VISION DRAFT FEBRUARY 2018 The integration of transportation and land use is another important consideration that can ABOUT dramatically shape a city’s form and trajectory for many decades. History has shown us the ways that transportation projects mentioned before, as Initiated in 2016, ConnectSF was created as a well as the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, citywide effort to create a comprehensive long- and the demolition of the Embarcadero Freeway, range vision to guide our transportation planning have opened up new opportunities and spaces for and investments. The program was designed to: homes, offices, shops, and recreation throughout • Integrate land use into transportation plans and San Francisco and the Bay Area. These were studies; transportation projects conceived and built to spur • Provide common goals and objectives for the transformative change and position San Francisco City’s transportation policies and plans; to be a world-renowned, forward-thinking City. What will San Francisco’s iconic projects of • Consolidate and coordinate long-range transportation-related planning and funding tomorrow be? efforts in San Francisco; and Considering the transformative power of planning • Account for various “drivers of change” that are for both transportation and land use, San shaping transportation and land use today and in Franciscans have an opportunity to make a great the future City even better. But what does this City look like? Who lives here and how do they get around? How can the City use transportation improvements to close access gaps and public health gaps? What is areas where significant development has occurred the future San Francisco that we want to see? but do not have robust transportation options. WHY DO WE NEED TO PLAN DIFFERENTLY We need to continue to plan for diverse and TODAY? equitable growth, allowing the City to expand its cultural diversity, and provide high-quality There are many long-range transportation and transportation to serve current and future residents land-use plans – both within San Francisco and alike. the region. Until now, the Planning Department, Transportation Authority, Municipal Transportation To respond to these pressing challenges, a new Agency, and Office of Economic and Workforce approach is needed. Diverging from past processes, Development primarily coordinated by reviewing our agencies created ConnectSF. It is a multi- each other’s documents in coordination with the agency partnership with our community to build a Mayor’s Office – each planning for the future, comprehensive long-range vision and program that creating goals and objectives for the greater good will guide and coordinate transportation investments of San Francisco. However, the outcomes we see and influence future land use decisions. In 2016- today show that this approach needs to change. 2017, ConnectSF, as one team, collaborated with San Franciscans and regional stakeholders to The need for homes affordable to the growing develop a vision of our City. workforce in a vibrant place like San Francisco has been greater than what the City has been Linking the efforts of City departments with able to deliver over recent decades, making residents to envision our future ensures the living expenses for low- and moderate-income greatest effectiveness of today’s planning and households soar and driving some people out of the better positions San Francisco to respond to City. In some cases, there is a mismatch between external challenges today and in the future. DRAFT FEBRUARY 2018 INTRODUCTION 5 Creating a New Vision for San Francisco To establish a vision for San Francisco’s transportation system, our team began by asking, as a City: where have we been, where are we now, and where do we want to go? Through discussions with the ConnectSF Futures Task Force, community members, and stakeholders in focus groups, online forums, pop- up events, and other targeted outreach efforts, we collectively shaped a vision for the City that can be used as a common starting point to guide future transportation plans and decisions.