TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

May 2007

T-Third Light-Rail Line Rolls Into Service in San Francisco

New Line Brings an Infusion of Art and Access to Third Street Corridor

San Francisco Muni’s newest light-rail line — dubbed the T-Third — started full service in early April amid a flurry of both celebration and concern. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined a host of dignitaries and community members at a vibrant gala event in the Bayview neighborhood to celebrate the line’s opening. Neither rain nor rider complaints dampened the festivities, which marked the largest rail expansion in Muni’s recent history and the inclusion of the city’s southeast sector into the light-rail transit network.

Not only does the T-Third project add steel and concrete — 5.1 miles of track and 18 stations along the Third Street corridor — to the Muni light-rail network, it also promises to provide improved mobility to the traditionally underserved neighborhoods it crosses, enhance economic vitality along the line and ease traffic congestion.

Already the T-Third has transformed the corridor with spruced-up streetscapes, including new trees and street lamps, repaved sidewalks with decorative brick designs, and new awnings and signs for businesses along the train route. San Francisco’s Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) and the San Francisco Arts Commission partnered to invite artists residing in local neighborhoods to create installations for the line.

The MTA and local communities along the Third Street corridor celebrated the full service opening of the T-Third line with an all-day community festival. Area artists and local restaurateurs enlivened the celebration’s theme — “Discover Neighborhood Treasures” — with African and step dancing, live music, and an array of free food.

“This connection we are establishing is about recognizing the greatness and diversity of all parts of our community. We are all San Franciscans, and we are all moving forward together,” stated Speaker Pelosi (D-San Francisco) at the event. She also acknowledged the kinks and glitches that beset the line’s first weeks of service — delays and unexpected electrical failures created systemwide slowdowns on the Bay Area’s busiest public transit system. “Until riders are satisfied and have confidence in the system, we can’t fully celebrate, but we can begin,” she said.

The Third Street project also has magnified development opportunities and concerns, which vary along the corridor. “The Third Street corridor clearly demonstrates that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to transit-oriented development,” stated Jose Luis Moscovich, S.F. County Transportation Authority executive director.

In Mission Bay, at the northern end of the rail line, a new urban neighborhood featuring up-market housing units and a biotechnology-focused research campus of the University of California/San Francisco is growing steadily. A different approach is required at the southern end of the corridor, where the challenge is to provide affordable housing choices through renovation of existing buildings and targeted development of vacant lots, without displacing long-time lower-income residents and businesses.

Funding for the $648 million project came from a combination of local sales taxes, state Traffic Congestion Relief Program moneys and funds programmed or allocated by MTC from state and federal sources as well as Regional Measure 2 bridge tolls.
— Karin Betts

Contents

• T-Third Line
  • T-Third Light-Rail Line Rolls Into Service in San Francisco
  • Tracking the T-Third Line
• Maze Meltdown Morphs Into Maze Miracle