Vote on controversial $300-million Geary Boulevard "bus-only" lanes

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN/KTVU) - The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency board is set to vote Tuesday on a bus rapid transit project that will create separated bus-only lanes through much of the city's busiest transit corridor.

The $300-million Geary bus rapid-transit project will include dedicated bus lanes from Market Street to 34th Avenue, changes to the spacing of bus stops, sidewalk extensions at 91 intersections, new accessible bus stops and traffic signal improvements. The project will also include infrastructure and repaving work.

It is expected to speed up travel times for bus riders by as much as 20 minutes round trip and increase pedestrian safety in a high-risk corridor, according to city transit officials.

However the project has met with vocal opposition from merchants along the Geary corridor concerned about a loss of parking and construction impacts.

"This will mess up traffic for years probably," said Michael Popescu, who lives nearby. "It's gonna kill the parking. This is the only area where you have a little bit of parking." 

A group calling itself San Franciscans for Sensible Transit filed a lawsuit in February after the San Francisco County Transportation Authority voted on January 5 to approve the project's final environmental impact report. That lawsuit is still in progress.

City officials hope to complete the federal environmental review process and obtain federal approvals later this year.

KTVU's Allie Rasmus contributed to this report.