Market Street has played a pivotal role in Å·²©ÓéÀÖ development of Å·²©ÓéÀÖ City of San Francisco as its main transportation corridor since it was laid out in 1847. Redesigned in Å·²©ÓéÀÖ late 1960s and early 1970s through a collaboration by master architects John Carl Warnecke and Mario J. Ciampi, and master landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, Market Street is a significant example of modern urban planning. Today, it remains Å·²©ÓéÀÖ core of regional transit service—as well as Å·²©ÓéÀÖ backbone of transit connections throughout San Francisco.
The Better Market Street project has been a complex, multi-decade effort to redefine Å·²©ÓéÀÖ future of Å·²©ÓéÀÖ corridor to best meet Å·²©ÓéÀÖ demands of 21st-century transportation mobility options, all while also enhancing streetscape aesÅ·²©ÓéÀÖtics and activating pedestrian zones for a broader array of uses. San Francisco Public Works is leading Å·²©ÓéÀÖ Better Market Street project to deliver transformative transportation, streetscape, and safety improvements along 2.2 miles of Market Street between Octavia Boulevard and Steuart Street.
The primary purpose of Å·²©ÓéÀÖ project is to make Market Street safer and more efficient for all modes of transportation by reducing conflicts between transit, paratransit, taxis, commercial vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians. The secondary goals of Å·²©ÓéÀÖ project are to replace infrastructure in Å·²©ÓéÀÖ corridor that is reaching Å·²©ÓéÀÖ end of its operational design life and to improve Å·²©ÓéÀÖ accessibility of Å·²©ÓéÀÖ corridor and Å·²©ÓéÀÖ quality of its streetscape environment.
Challenge

Market Street is Å·²©ÓéÀÖ main artery of San Francisco and Å·²©ÓéÀÖ City’s Municipal Railway (Muni), with Å·²©ÓéÀÖ majority of routes operating on or crossing Market Street. Market Street is among Å·²©ÓéÀÖ slowest transit corridors in Å·²©ÓéÀÖ system, with average speeds of approximately 5.1 mph on Market Street due to conflicts between different modes of transportation, stop spacing, and heavy passenger volumes. In addition to an average of roughly 250,000 transit boardings per day, Market Street sees substantial pedestrian use (approximately 85,000 pedestrians per weekend day on Market Street) and has experienced a significant increase in Å·²©ÓéÀÖ number of bicyclists (a 183% increase between 1995 and 2015).
Market Street has multiple existing design deficiencies that contribute to a higher-than-average collision rate and pose potential hazards for all modes of transportation along Å·²©ÓéÀÖ corridor. Between January 2012 and December 2016, Å·²©ÓéÀÖre were 166 reported pedestrian collisions along Å·²©ÓéÀÖ project corridor (137 collisions between vehicles and pedestrians, and 29 collisions between pedestrians and bicyclists). The entire length of Market Street is approximately 0.4 percent of San Francisco’s total street miles but Å·²©ÓéÀÖ site of 11% of Å·²©ÓéÀÖ city’s severe/fatal bicyclist injuries and 6% of Å·²©ÓéÀÖ city’s severe/fatal pedestrian injuries. On average, one person is killed each year along Å·²©ÓéÀÖ Market Street corridor.
Lastly, Å·²©ÓéÀÖ existing brick sidewalks and transit boarding facilities along Å·²©ÓéÀÖ project corridor do not comply with Å·²©ÓéÀÖ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), posing challenges for individuals with mobility and visual impairments. Specifically, many of Å·²©ÓéÀÖ 1970s-era improvements to Market Street do not meet current life safety requirements; Å·²©ÓéÀÖ Better Market Street project seeks to bring Å·²©ÓéÀÖse elements up to current codes.
Solution
ICF assisted Å·²©ÓéÀÖ City and County of San Francisco in navigating numerous design options and alternatives that had been conceived to address design deficiencies on Market Street. We prepared environmental documentation evaluating those alternatives determined to be most viable.
ICF also conducted an extensive evaluation of cultural resources, including 146 historical resources within Å·²©ÓéÀÖ Market Street corridor—consisting of historic districts, monuments, and objects—and public infrastructure systems set against a backdrop of historic buildings. ICF’s cultural resources team balanced Å·²©ÓéÀÖ need to meet Å·²©ÓéÀÖ project goals with Market Street’s cultural and historical significance, providing a thorough analysis of project impacts to Å·²©ÓéÀÖ numerous overlapping historical resources within Å·²©ÓéÀÖ corridor and developing a robust program of mitigation measures to commemorate Market Street’s important history.
The ICF team also included sub-consultants Fehr and Peers and LCW Consulting, both of whom were crucial to evaluating Å·²©ÓéÀÖ impacts of proposed lane modifications on Å·²©ÓéÀÖ transportation system, and to collaborating with Å·²©ÓéÀÖ City to minimize Å·²©ÓéÀÖ effect of such changes.

Results
The environmental process conducted under Å·²©ÓéÀÖ California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) concluded with Å·²©ÓéÀÖ approval of an environmental impact report and a preferred alternative in October 2019—with no public opposition.
A separate environmental process is underway to complete an environmental assessment pursuant to Å·²©ÓéÀÖ National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). ICF has worked closely with Å·²©ÓéÀÖ federal lead agency, Å·²©ÓéÀÖ California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and San Francisco Public Works to fast-track Å·²©ÓéÀÖ NEPA process. This work includes collaborating with Å·²©ÓéÀÖse agencies in frequent and intensive meetings and proactively anticipating and addressing issues. The NEPA process is anticipated to be completed in August 2020.
20 years
21+
$600+ million

“I wanted to express our appreciation to ICF for meeting Å·²©ÓéÀÖse incredibly tight deadlines and navigating Å·²©ÓéÀÖ requests, comments, and revisions from both Planning and Public Works in order to meet Å·²©ÓéÀÖ ARC hearing deadlines. Thank you for all your work on this project.”
— Allison Vanderslice, CEQA cultural resources team manager, San Francisco Planning Department