San Francisco agencies launch Connect SF long-range transportation vision; commissioners press for data, outreach and contingency plans

San Francisco staff on Wednesday presented Connect SF, a proposed citywide, multi-agency 50-year transportation and land-use vision, and outlined a public outreach schedule that staff said would begin in the fall and move into scenario-planning workshops in January.

"Connect SF, as I mentioned, is about shaping our city's transportation future," said Marissa Espinosa of the San Francisco Planning Department, who described the initiative as a way to link the city's transportation element, the San Francisco Transportation Plan and a series of modal studies into a single long-range framework.

The plan, staff said, will look beyond short-term funding constraints to test multiple futures using scenario planning and will be informed by stakeholder and public input. Graham Satterwhite of the SFMTA said regional ridership has risen markedly in recent years and cited a citywide objective that 50 percent or more of trips be by non-private auto modes; he put current non-private-auto trips at roughly 52 percent and the city's daily trips at about 4,000,000.

Commissioners used the joint hearing to press for more concrete, near-term details alongside the long-range vision. "It would be great to have a 1-, 5- and 10-year map of where the lines are going to be added or capacity will be improved," Commissioner Johnson said, asking staff for short- and medium-term implementation maps and for research on which Transportation Demand Management (TDM) measures most effectively shift mode share.

Commissioner Richards urged that staff provide clear integration and contingency plans: capacity reports that show which lines will serve major projects, interim services (for example, shuttle routes) if growth outpaces scheduled improvements, and data-driven triggers for interim actions. Commissioner Antonini asked for better joint notifications when major issues arise across MTA and Planning, and raised safety and enforcement questions for cyclists and drivers.

Public commenters also voiced neighborhood concerns. Dino Adelphio proposed reverting 18 multi-lane one-way streets to slower configurations to improve safety and neighborhood retail performance and argued planning should account for equity in where housing and green space are placed. George Whitting of the Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods urged intensive neighborhood outreach and questioned whether residents receive sufficient return for potential tax increases funding the plan.

Staff said outreach for the Connect SF vision would start in September with open houses and surveys to surface current conditions and public goals; scenario-planning workshops are planned to begin in January, followed by check-ins with commissions in the spring. Marissa Espinosa told commissioners the city's planning, SFMTA and the Transportation Authority will coordinate outreach and scenario design and work with regional partners, including BART, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and ABAG.

No formal votes or policy adoptions occurred at the meeting. Chair Nolan closed the session saying staff would bring more focused tasks in the fall and encouraged continuing the joint format.

Next steps: staff will carry out fall outreach, begin scenario workshops in January and return to the commissions for follow-up sessions and targeted requests for short- and medium-term implementation materials such as service maps, capacity reports and TDM effectiveness analysis.