Anyone who's ever walked or biked through the Stockton Street Tunnel knows it could definitely be more pleasant.
From the deafening noise of trucks and buses to the dim, eerie lighting to the lack of cleanliness, the tunnel is not one of the city's prettier thoroughfares. It connects two of the most densely populated and frequently visited areas of town, Union Square and North Beach Chinatown, yet the most direct route is the least welcoming.
In large part, that's because the tunnel was built more than 100 years ago to move vehicles—streetcars, to be specific. It was intended to relieve congestion on Stockton Street and offer an easier route for North Beach residents to access the downtown shopping district, as well as shuttle people from downtown to the Marina for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. In any case, it wasn't created with foot traffic or bicycles in mind.
With the city focusing on making streets more pedestrian- and bike-friendly, District 3 Supervisor Julie Christensen has set her sights on the tunnel. She called a press conference on Thursday morning to announce that the Planning Department will offer at least $100,000 in funding to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety in the Stockton Tunnel.
District 3 Supervisor Julie Christensen (left), with WalkSF executive director Nicole Ferrara.
After hearing about several other improvement projects in the area, including streetscape accommodations related to the Central Subway and changes to the 30-Stockton bus route, Christensen said she asked the question, "What about the tunnel?"
"I think we need to connect all these projects," she said. "It's about being safe and being comfortable, but it's also about enjoyment and the pleasure of walking through some of the most walkable neighborhoods in the city." Christensen's first priorities for the tunnel are improved lighting and cleanliness, but she also talked about possibly beautifying it with spiffier tiles or artwork, and finding ways to mitigate the sound.
She also wants to consider whether one of the tunnel's three traffic lanes could be dedicated to pedestrians and cyclists. "The street is overbuilt; it's under capacity," said Noah Budnick, executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. "There's more street [for vehicles] than there needs to be." He said he'd like to see the tunnel possibly become a priority transit-walking-biking route, while still ensuring access for deliveries. Much more community input is needed, but this announcement will get things rolling, so to speak.
The speakers at the conference, which drew about 30 people, included Christensen; Budnick; John Rahaim, planning director for the city and county of San Francisco; Mohammed Nuru, Director of San Francisco Public Works; SFPD Central Station Capt. David Lazar, who has been organizing "stings" ticketing drivers who don't yield to pedestrians; and Nicole Ferrara, executive director of WalkSF.
