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Port Commission backs two short‑term pilots to ease waterfront congestion
Summary
SFMTA and port staff won Commission backing to run two short pilots — a Beale Street restriping and targeted intersection enforcement — to test near‑term circulation fixes along the eastern waterfront. The pilots will include baseline monitoring and 4–6 week trials before staff recommend next steps.
San Francisco — The Port Commission on Thursday endorsed near‑term transportation pilots aimed at reducing chronic congestion on the eastern waterfront and improving pedestrian and transit reliability.
SFMTA project manager Erin Miller told commissioners the agency will test two measures: a temporary restriping on Beale Street to add an extra southbound movement during peak periods to ease queueing, and a targeted intersection enforcement pilot, carried out alongside the SFPD, to reduce vehicles blocking intersections and gridlock. "We want to make sure we are really precise in how we measure them," Miller said, describing plans for one‑to‑two weeks of baseline monitoring followed by four to six weeks of active testing.
Why it matters: The waterfront is seeing rapid growth in housing, jobs and events, and staff said long‑term solutions will take years. Pilots are intended to provide short‑term relief, produce measurable data and inform whether changes should be made permanent.
Details and scope: The Beale Street test will explore restriping to create an additional southbound lane movement during peak periods and evaluate effects on local access and pedestrian safety. The intersection enforcement pilot will place joint MTA and police resources at selected intersections to issue citations for blockage and change driver behavior, a step SFMTA says regular PCO enforcement cannot currently perform.
Public and commissioner reaction: Corinne Woods, a member of the Arena CAC, urged the pilots as a necessary interim step while longer planning continues: "We're already in a hold with existing conditions," she said. Commissioner Willie Adams called the approach "thinking out of the box," and asked staff to keep the commission apprised of metrics and outcomes.
Next steps: SFMTA and the Port will finalize pilot metrics and community outreach and return with monitoring results; staff said they plan to coordinate timing with the Warriors DEIR and other city transportation studies. The Commission asked for a follow‑up presentation from the SFCTA on growth projections and network constraints.
Provenance: Topic introduced SEG 1711; discussion and public comment through SEG 2270.
