Mayor Lurie Celebrates Completion Of Street Safety, Infrastructure Upgrades In Excelsior Neighborhood

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie today celebrated the completion of the Mission Street and Geneva Avenue Infrastructure Improvement Project, a multiagency effort to improve safety and accessibility along a busy corridor in the heart of the Excelsior. The project has transformed Mission Street, from Geneva Avenue to the Highway 280 Overpass near Trumbull Street, with new paving, sidewalk bulb-outs and curb ramps, bus bulbs, and upgraded traffic signals at several intersections—making it safer and more welcoming to families in the neighborhood. Similar safety upgrades and infrastructure improvements were made to Geneva Avenue, from Prague Street to Mission Street.

These upgrades continue Mayor Lurie’s work to make San Francisco safer and more accessible for families across the city, including through his Family Opportunity Agenda. Under his Street Safety executive directive, city departments are working together to make streets safer for all residents and visitors. And this spring, Mayor Lurie cut the ribbon on the Terry Francois Boulevard Bike and Pedestrian Safety Project and Twin Peaks Promenade Project, bringing important safety and accessibility improvements to two San Francisco neighborhoods. The mayor has also taken steps to bring more free entertainment to some of the city’s most beloved public spaces, announcing a free concert series returning to Golden Gate Park through the summer and fall as well as free concerts and food trucks in Civic Center Plaza accelerating San Francisco’s recovery.

“The Excelsior is one of the most tight-knit neighborhoods in the city, and the residents use these streets in their lives every day. They should be able to do that safely,” said Mayor Lurie. “Investments like these make our neighborhoods stronger and give residents the confidence to move through their community the way they should be able to—on foot, on a bike, on Muni, or in a car.”

Key improvements of the Mission Street and Geneva Avenue Infrastructure Improvement Project include:

• Concrete street base replacement to prolong the life of the roadway and fresh paving
• New curb ramps to improve sidewalk accessibility, raised crosswalks to reduce vehicle speeds, and bulb-outs to shorten crossing distances for pedestrians
• New traffic signal poles and streetlight replacements
• New concrete bus pads and bus bulbs
• A new transit boarding island, a traffic island, and a mid-block crosswalk
• Rehabilitated and replaced sewer main lines
• Upgrades to the overpass across Highway 280 to improve its reliability and lifespan

“My priority is to direct our public investments towards District 11 needs,” said District 11 Supervisor Chyanne Chen. “I am pleased to see the Mission Geneva improvements come to fruition—street resurfacing, signal improvements, and sidewalk enhancements. These improvements will strengthen our commercial corridor and benefit our drivers, transit riders, and pedestrians.”

Mission Street and Geneva Avenue are part of San Francisco's Vision Zero High Injury Network—the 13% of city streets where 75% of the severe and fatal collisions occur. Over seven years, five community members were killed, and at least 323 people were injured in crashes in the project area. Additionally, on some blocks of the project corridor, the eight Muni lines that serve the neighborhood have average speeds below 5 mph. The project helped address these concerns while making loading improvements to support the more than 300 existing storefronts along Mission and Geneva streets.

“Mission Street and Geneva Avenue are essential connections for the Excelsior community, serving thousands of people every day who walk, take Muni, bike, or drive,” said Julie Kirchbaum, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Director of Transportation. “These improvements make it easier and safer for everyone and reflect the SFMTA’s commitment to investing in neighborhoods across San Francisco that strengthen street safety, support our local businesses, and keep Muni reliable for the people who count on our services every day.”

San Francisco Public Works designed the project and handled construction and project management on behalf of the SFMTA and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. SFMTA led public outreach during the design phase, and Public Works conducted outreach during construction.

“As is the case with most of our street safety and infrastructure projects, this effort packed a punch—87 new curb ramps, 70 new traffic signal poles, 34 bulb-outs, 22 streetlight replacements, 17 concrete bus pads, three bus bulbs, two raised crosswalks, tens of thousands of square feet of new concrete street base, and thousands of tons of fresh asphalt,” said Carla Short, San Francisco Public Works Director. “It’s the type of work that is part of our DNA and core to our mission of making San Francisco cleaner, safer, and more beautiful—morning, noon, and night.”

Funding sources for the project included Proposition AA Vehicle Registration Fee dollars, Proposition K Sales Tax Program, Highway User Tax Account, Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account, 2020 Health and Recovery Bond, Waste Water Enterprise Renewal and Replacement Funding, and Municipal Transportation Authority Grant Funding.

“Neighborhoods and communities excel when there are gathering spaces for residents and visitors, and these improvements will help foster a safer, more accessible environment for everyone,” said Laura Padilla, Excelsior Action Group Executive Director. “We want people of all abilities and means to be able to share in the bounty that this wonderful corridor has to offer, and it’s upgrades like these that help make that vision a reality.”