West Portal redesign could remove 8 parking spaces
San Francisco transportation officials would remove up to eight parking spaces on two streets to reconfigure a busy intersection that abuts the West Portal Muni Station — plans that delight transit riders and pedestrian safety advocates, while infuriating some merchants.
Under the proposal, the city’s Municipal Transportation Agency would shave up to six spots on Ulloa Street east of West Portal Avenue, all of which are now designated parttime for parking, and part-time for loading. This stretch of pavement would accommodate space for a bus stop and new terminal where Muni’s 91-Owl and 57-Parkmerced buses would turn around.
Additionally, the agency would convert two general parking spaces on Lenox Way into parking for Muni maintenance vehicles.
All of the parking on West Portal Avenue would be preserved, representatives of SFMTA have repeatedly said, emphasizing their attention to merchants who fear that new inconveniences will deter people from shopping at their stores. When business owners said they were dismayed to lose a loading zone on Ulloa Street, SFMTA staff said they would scout for “other potential locations for bus stop and terminal needs,” according to a spokesperson.
Details of the plans have evolved since the agency released them last week, with wholehearted support from district Supervisor Myrna Melgar and Mayor London Breed. With pressure mounting after a driver rammed through an Ulloa Street bus stop and killed a family of four, city leaders pledged swift action to make the neighborhood safer for pedestrians, bus riders and cyclists.
The idea to redesign the crossing at Ulloa Street and West Portal Avenue had been gestating for a long time, Melgar and SFMTA Director Jeffrey Tumlin said. It largely centered on turn restrictions that would prevent cars from cutting across Ulloa in front of the Muni tunnel — a change intended to make crosswalks safer and ease bottlenecks for trains.
With the new turn prohibitions, Lenox Way would become a one-way street, addressing another source of conflict in the neighborhood: drivers who pivot from people’s driveways after dropping their kids off at West Portal Elementary School.
Reactions from neighbors ranged from praise, to confusion, to head-spinning exasperation as SFMTA staff rolled out maps and started holding open houses in the neighborhood. It took just a day for opponents to build a “Save West Portal” website and print out flyers to circulate. In response, a resident built a competing “Safer West Portal” site, touting the project’s safety benefits.
Even before the sites went up, West Portal Merchants Association President Deidre Von Rock warned in an interview that redesigning the intersection would “cause ire across the land here.”
The 10-day outreach period ends next week. Board directors for SFMTA are expected to vote on the redesign in June.