As part of the Sunset Tunnel Trackway Improvement Project, the SFMTA will resume the weekend construction on the Sunset Tunnel beginning on March 20-22. By replacing the aging track and other infrastructure inside the Sunset Tunnel, the project will help improve safety and reliability of the N Judah rail service for Muni customers.


In response to the concerns raised by some neighbors, the SFMTA has modified the work plan to better control the night time noise. Noise mitigation measures will include:

• Using both west and east portals for removal and handling gravel ballast
  
• Delivering gravel ballast to the job site only between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Fridays through Sundays
  
• Installing mufflers on the construction equipment and using acoustically attenuating shields or shrouds on impact tools
  
• Using new backup alarms with lower noise level
  
• Using electric powered rather than diesel-powered equipment whenever possible

The Sunset Tunnel construction is scheduled to take place on 15 weekends. Since there were several cancelations in January and February, additional weekends may be required. The tunnel work is expected to be completed in fall 2015. The next tentative dates are the weekend of March 27.

What to Expect during Weekend Construction:

• Crews will work continuously from approximately 8 p.m. on Friday until 5 a.m. on Monday.
  
• The majority of the work will take place inside the Sunset Tunnel and at the tunnel entrances.
  
• Noise control measures will be implemented; however the work will be audible throughout the weekend.
  
• The streets near the tunnel entrances will remain open.
  
• To accommodate the tunnel work, parking restrictions will become effective from Friday 12 a.m. to Monday 5 a.m. on both sides of Duboce Avenue from Steiner to Scott Street, and on both sides of Carl Street from Clayton to Cole Street.
  

Weekday Work:
Prep work, such as wielding and moving the rails, will continue at the two staging areas by the portals during the day. In order to keep the local traffic flowing and maintain the N Judah rail service during day time hours, new rails will be delivered at night.  

Weekend Bus Substitution Service:

• Bus shuttles will substitute for the N Judah rail service between Church & Duboce and Ocean Beach.
  
• Bus substitution will start at about 7 p.m. on Friday and will be operated during regular service hours until early Monday morning.
  
• The bus shuttles will follow the N Judah Line making regular stops except for the tunnel portion where buses will be routed to Haight Street.
  
• Regular N rail cars will continue to provide service between Caltrain Depot and Church & Duboce.
  
• The N Judah stops at Church & Duboce will provide a transfer point between bus shuttles and trains for Muni customers.
  
• The weekend N Judah Owl bus service will not be affected.
  

Other Ongoing N Judah System Improvement Projects: 

Maximizing construction opportunities, the SFMTA has integrated multiple construction components under the Sunset Tunnel project in order to minimize the inconveniences for both N Judah riders and the community around the construction area.

The Transit Signal Priority (TSP) system upgrades are taking place at nine intersections sequentially along the N Judah Line. On the March 20 weekend, crews will be installing signal loops between the tracks at the intersection of Judah and 9th Avenue. The work will start approximately at 8 p.m. Friday and continue until early Monday morning. We will schedule the work to avoid late night time noise. During construction, the streets will remain open; however there will be lane closures and traffic will be diverted. Street parking at construction site will be temporarily unavailable.   

The TSP system will use technology to reduce dwell time at traffic signals for Muni light rail vehicles by holding green lights longer.

The construction of the westbound wheelchair accessible platform on Judah and 28th Avenue is scheduled to be completed by the end of March. The new stop will be in service as soon as the work is done. Construction of the eastbound stop on the other side of the street was completed in early February.   
The new platform will include longer boarding islands and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant curb ramps, making Muni Metro system safer and easier to use for all customers.

For concerns or assistance, please contact: Tess Kavanagh, Project Manager, at 415.701.4212, via email attess.kavanagh@sfmta.com or Jay Lu, Public Relations Officer, at 415.701.4387, via email at jay.lu@sfmta.com.

As most in the hood are already aware, the SFMTA has been working for upgrading the tunnel between Duboce Park and Cole Valley, known as the Sunset Tunnel. Typically, construction has been on weekends, Friday PM to Monday AM., 24 hours, around the clock. Residents in Duboce Triangle complained about the constant construction noise, from beeping trucks, to pouring of gravel, and even jackhammers. Since the residents' complaints, there has been no tunnel construction. Happy for the Duboce Triangle residents, but not so much for the completion of this long drawn out process. This improvement project has been going on for years and we're hoping the Sunset Tunnel is the last project. 

According to  Hoodline, the SF Board of Appeals met and signed off on a new proposal that will allow construction to resume starting March 21st.

Here is the new changes in light of resident complaints:

• Install mufflers on its equipment
• Use lower-frequency broadband beepers that emit "white noise" sounds rather than beeps
• Take continuous noise readings while it's performing night work, and make sound logs available upon request
• Not use impact tools at night, such as jackhammers

Content for this article was used with permission from Hoodline. 

So remember when there were all those awful jackhammers and disruption on Carl Street a year or so ago? Well, they are at it again. Luckily, we don't think the jackhammers will be joining them this time. Some of you might have received a leaflet in your mail outlining the upcoming "updates". Here's the deal:

Starting Monday, July 28th through August 22nd, the SFMTA's contractor will begin work on traffic signal infrastructure work for the Carl and Cole intersection. (See clarification from SFMTA rep below) What we do know is that the main work will involve cutting a trench along the sidewalk on the north side of Carl Street (between Cole and Stanyan). Whoops, guess that does mean jackhammers. 

What to expect:

• Work hours will be from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday
• Work will start at Carl and Cole streets and proceed west 
• The streets will remain open (ultimately walking on Carl will be a disaster, not to mention those of us who will live above these said sidewalks. Lovely).
• Access to local businesses and residence will be maintained (again, no sidewalks)
• Muni service will not be affected (well, guess that's a good thing)
• Street parking will be unavailable where work is taking place (more parking spaces bite the dust)
• There will be some noise during excavation of concrete sidewalk (you mean jackhammers right?)

Other locations that will get the traffic signal "upgrade":

• Irving Street, from 3rd Avenue to 9th Avenue - August 25th to September 19th
• 9th Avenue, from Irving to Judah Street - September 22nd to October 3rd
• Judah Street, from 16th Avenue to 19th Avenue - October 6th to October 31st
• Judah Street, from 35th Avenue to Sunset Blvd - November 3rd to November 28th

This will be fun folks. 

UPDATE: 
We got in touch with SFMTA Project Manager, Tess Kavanagh, who was able to clarify what they mean by "traffic signal upgrades".

"To clarify, we are not installing any new traffic signals as part of the Sunset Tunnel project. We are upgrading the existing traffic signal system in order to improve travel times for the N-Line. The traffic signal upgrades include the installation of new signal wire loops within the roadway that will communicate with the existing signal lights, turning them red or green as needed to give the LRV’s priority through the intersection.For example, the work at Carl & Cole involves the installation of a signal loop that is serving the signal that exists at  Carl & Stanyan, two blocks away."

Thanks to our good friends at Hoodline, who dropped the story over the weekend, we've heard that SFMTA are working on rolling our prototypes for new N Judah seating configurations. SFMTA hopes that the new configuration will ease crowded trains during commute hours. Their solution? They are removing (yes removing) 14 double-seats and replacing them with nothing. Removing the seats will increase floor space, which will give an extra 10 people to get on the train. Hope they add more rails to hold on.

The pilot program started on May 18th and will end on Friday, May 30th. Riders will expect to see this new set up roughly every 70 minutes. And word has it that the L-Taraval will have a similar proposal later this summer.

What are you thoughts on the new seat configuration proposal? 

Article was originally posted on Hoodline and SFMTA.. 

Yup, this is still happening. We wonder what's next.

From the postcard:
"Please join us to learn about the Sunset Tunnel Trackway Improvement Project. By replacing the aging track and other infrastructure inside the Sunset Tunnel, the project will help improve safety and reliability of the N Judah rail service. This meeting will provide an opportunity to review the project elements and address questions and concerns about the construction phase of the project."

American Cyclery, at Frederick and Stanyan, is rolling out plans for a parklet and adjacent green space.

American Cyclery, which makes claims to be the city’s oldest bike shop, is hosting a community meeting next Thursday, November 21 to unveil its plans for a parklet and green space next to the store’s 510 Frederick space. The meeting will be an open house in the store from 6 to 8 PM.

American Cyclery, with the blessings of Supervisor Breed and preliminary approval from the planning department, is planning to turn the odd triangle of pavement in front of the store into a parklet, and converting the adjacent paved parking lot into a green plaza..

The update, according to Bradley Woehl, of American Cyclery, would calm traffic at the intersection (presumably foot and bike). Woehl said the open house is intended to invite neighbors to provide input on the planning process and hear what the project will look like.


Article originally posted on uppercasing.

Want to get involved with CVIA (Cole Valley Improvement Association?), come to their meeting this Saturday!

CVIA is having their annual general meeting this Saturday at Kezar, and they’ll be joined by former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos. On the agenda? The Warriors on the waterfront.

For anyone not up on Agnos’s politics, he’s anti-Warriors on the waterfront, although he does say he would like them to be in San Francisco. You can read his full response here, before he takes his show on the road.

The general meeting with be at Kezar Bar (Cole & Carl) from 1-4pm on Saturday the 24th, and there’s a $10 door charge. In addition to Agnos’s guest speech, CVIA will be electing new officers, talking Cole Valley Street Fair, and presenting some awards. There will be wine, beer, and appetizers, so Steve Schick & Co. ask for you to let them know if you plan to attend. Email CVIASF[at]aol[dot]com to RSVP.

Be there and get involved. That’s an order!

Article originally posted on uppercasing. 

The Ice Cream Bar and Soda Fountain in Cole Valley has proposed a parklet!! What are your thoughts? Do you think it's a great idea, considering that The Ice Cream Bar has limited indoor seating and it would help create more business for them? Or do you think that Cole Valley is already tight on parking spaces that taking another 2 parking spaces (remember when SFMTA took a bunch on Carl Street due to N Judah Rail Replacement/Improvement Project??), that CV neighbors desperately need. 

On Nextdoor, Ted Loewenberg from the Haight Ashbury Improvement Association invites you to write to DPW with your thoughts. He also invites you to CC him at tedlsf[at]sbcglobal[dot]net so he can provide feedback to the ICB.

Source: Uppercasing