A boulevard design that would eliminate parking and add bike lanes along a 10-block section of Masonic Avenue between Geary Boulevard and Fell Street was favored in a survey of area residents.
The survey was conducted by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency at a Sept. 30 community meeting, the last of three community meetings about the planned redevelopment of the street. Two options were presented at the second meeting in August: A gateway option, which would consist of four lanes of traffic, bike lanes and parking on the east side of the street, with landscaped medians periodically on the way; and a boulevard option, which eliminates parking in favor of landscaped medians, two-way bike lanes and four lanes of traffic.
The Masonic traffic calming project, also known as the Masonic Avenue Street Design Study, aims to improve the street and accommodate the needs of motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians and Muni and improve the appearance of the street, according to the Bike NOPA website. Fix Masonic, a nonprofit group, has endorsed the boulevard option, albeit with some changes, such as repainting crosswalks, painting the 25 mph speed limit on all traffic lanes at several locations, the installation of a red-light camera at the intersection of Fell and Masonic and seeking a double-fine zone along Masonic, according to the Bike NOPA website. The boulevard option would cost approximately $20 million and would take 12-18 months to complete, according to Streetsblog San Francisco.