Geary BRT deemed feasible.

The Transportation Authority Board met May 22 and voted unanimously to forward the Geary BRT project to the next step: environmental analysis and detailed engineering. Included in the feasibility report are options that the Go Geary Coalition supports, including at least two options for full-featured BRT that will not only help the buses to run quickly and reliably, but increase short-term parking by 160 spaces in the corridor.

In this next phase, beginning right on schedule, we will work with the planners, policy makers, and the public, to help choose the best option for Geary transit. This phase will also develop locally preferred alternatives for building the dedicated busway through the complicated intersections of Fillmore Street and Masonic Avenue. Our challenge will be to build a system that facilitates the fastest and most reliable transit service, causes the least possible construction impact, and improves the environment for walking and bicycling, especially in the section between Divisadero and Arguello Streets where alternatives for routing bicycle traffic are inconvenient.

Email Transportation Policy Director Dave Snyder if you want to help or be kept informed.

Have you gotten on a Geary bus that moves too slowly? Are you tired of buses that are overcrowded, delayed, or backed up by slower traffic?

Most San Franciscans agree we need faster and more reliable transit on Geary Boulevard. More than 50,000 riders daily take the buses to work, school, appointments, and home. It’s the busiest bus line in the Bay Area—the busiest west of the Mississippi!

But it’s getting worse, not better. Increasing car and delivery truck traffic delay the buses even more, become less reliable, just when we need them the most! If transit is unreliable, more people will choose to drive; traffic and parking will get worse; the buses will get delayed even more, and on and on in a downward spiral.

Fortunately, there's a solution to save Geary Boulevard from this downward spiral. It's called Bus Rapid Transit. BRT is designed like rail service but uses rubber-tired buses for vehicles: it’s as convenient and comfortable -- and fast and reliable -- as trains, but at a fraction of the capital cost to taxpayers. It has been successfully implemented in more than 25 cities around the world, from Boston to Bogota, and from Vancouver to Sydney.

Unfortunately, a small but vocal opposition is promoting the status quo, exaggerating fears about the project. But the status quo is the downward spiral of more traffic and worse transit. The Go Geary Coalition formed to save Geary from this downward spiral by supporting BRT.

For more information on the various options for Geary BRT, review this study at the San Francisco Transportation Authority.

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