Geary BRT Gets OK to Move to Next Phase

The SF County Transportation Authority voted May 22 to proceed with an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for a proposed Geary Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) plan.

The agency is comprised of members of the SF Board of Supervisors. They voted 8-0 (several members were absent) to move the project to the environmental review stage and to fund the study, which cost slightly more than $1 million.

The EIR will look at several options: One is to leave it as it is with some technological improvements. Another two options would load in the middle of Geary Boulevard. The final two options would load passengers in the right hand lane, as is the current practice. All of the options call for dedicated bus lanes, the use of global positioning technology to help prevent "bunching," and for the buses to take control of the traffic lights at Richmond intersections.

These actions are supposed to improve transit travel times to and from downtown.

Neighborhood residents and some groups believe taking traffic lanes away from the public will force traffic onto other streets in the district. Currently, the city's General Plan calls for traffic to be funneled to Geary for east/west trips to improve the safety for pedestrians and bicyclists in the district.

Other concerns include the loss of left hand turns on Geary, forcing more traffic into the neighborhood.

Merchants are also worried because several of the proposals would result in the loss of parking spaces and because construction could cause a financial hardship.

The $200 million BRT plan would not increase the number of buses serving the route daily or increase the number of seats available for Richmond residents.

The Muni #38 Geary makes about 50,000 passenger trips during a weekday. The project is being funded, in part, by Prop. K funds. The 2003 ballot measure created the Geary BRT project.

The EIR is expected to be completed in about 18 months. At that time, the SF County Transportation Authority will vote to implement one of the options being studied.

- Paul Kozakiewicz