SFMTA recognizes crossing-guard program and reports on Muni safety outreach, cable car maintenance

SFMTA staff used their director’s report on June 3 to recognize the agency’s school crossing guard program, summarize a systemwide safety outreach event and update the board on cable car infrastructure work.

Kimberly Leung, SFMTA’s Livable Streets Director, said the crossing guard program supported more than 170 crossing guards during the 2024–25 school year at over 100 public and private schools across San Francisco. Leung described the program’s office team—seven staffers who manage recruitment, onboarding, multilingual training and day-to-day staffing—and said training is provided in English, Spanish and Cantonese. Leung and program staff presented certificates to individual crossing guards and highlighted the program’s role in building community trust around school intersections.

Leung also summarized the May 21 Muni Safe Day Out outreach, saying more than 60 SFMTA staff and bilingual community partners (including Chinese for Affirmative Action and a community youth center) went out in about eight groups to speak with customers about harassment prevention and reporting. Leung said the work builds on the agency’s previous safety-equity survey and helps shape targeted investments such as lighting upgrades in equity neighborhoods.

On infrastructure, staff reported progress on replacing cable car sheaves (large pulley wheels that guide the cable). The agency said each sheave is large—about 8 by 10 feet in diameter—and can weigh up to 8,000 pounds. Staff described in-house machinery work to rebuild and replace the components and noted crews are staging work to avoid tourism impacts by scheduling most activity Monday through Thursday and keeping at least one cable open on a given corridor. A sheave cap at Powell and Market is currently stuck and staff said they are developing a removal strategy.

Board members thanked staff and the community partners; no board action was required for the report.