Hundreds of riders and neighborhood groups urge changes to Transit Effectiveness Project EIR

Planning Department staff presented the draft environmental impact report for the Transit Effectiveness Project, explaining that the EIR analyzes both program- and project-level components, including stop consolidation, transit travel time reduction proposals (TTRPs), and parking impacts along corridors prioritized for transit.

Deborah Dwyer told the commission the EIR highlights adverse environmental impacts required by CEQA and that public comment on the draft will be accepted through Sept. 17. She explained stop consolidation would reduce dwell time but require some riders to walk farther to reach stops, and staff said such changes were analyzed as program-level choices where detailed designs remain to be developed.

Public commenters from across San Francisco mobilized. Mark Christensen, a third-generation San Franciscan, questioned whether faster buses would come at the expense of ridership and access for those who rely on nearby stops. Multiple speakers from Pacific Heights, Chinatown and the Jackson Street corridor — including Alex Long, Barbara Bocce, Jean Kelly and Chinatown advocates — warned that eliminating specific stops such as the 3 Jackson or 8X past Broadway would strand seniors and transit-dependent residents or increase car trips and emissions. "Do not eliminate stops to slightly speed up the buses," one commenter said of the 28 line. Other speakers pressed for greater analysis of topography, walking distance on steep blocks, and effects on disabled riders.

Dwyer and staff stressed that the hearing was limited to the adequacy and accuracy of the draft EIR (not to final service decisions), and that staff and the SFMTA will respond in writing to verbal comments in the Responses to Comments document prepared for certification. The commission and staff agreed to coordinate a future informational hearing with the SFMTA board on service changes.