Paint the Curb Red: SFMTA Approves New Policy to End Parking in Bus Stops and Commits to Shortened Implementation Timeline

SAN FRANCISCO — The SFMTA and Supervisor Preston have reached a joint agreement under which the SFMTA will paint the nearly 1,000 San Francisco bus stops that lack unobstructed curb access for riders within the next 18 months. The agreement came shortly after the SFMTA board approved a new proposal, to update SFMTA’s policies to prevent parking in bus stops, following Supervisor Preston’s unanimous Resolution at the Board of Supervisors last year.

“I applaud the SFMTA’s commitment to promoting accessibility and living up to our Transit First mandate by getting parking out of bus stops once and for all,” said Supervisor Preston, a daily Muni rider for 29 years who has championed service restoration, fare relief, and bus stop accessibility. “I am grateful to my colleagues and SFMTA for making it clear that parking in bus stops must end citywide in order to allow unobstructed access to public transit, especially for seniors and people with disabilities.”

Preston’s resolution was inspired by a study by researcher Marcel Moran who examined bus stop amenities across San Francisco. Among the findings was the fact that about 1,000 of San Francisco’s 3,000 bus stops allow parking of private vehicles in the stop, impeding access for seniors, persons with disabilities, and other riders.

The SFMTA responded to the Board of Supervisors’ resolution with a detailed plan that would have made improvements over a seven-year period. At a hearing in October 2022 on the plan, Preston and advocates responded by urging a much faster timeline, one that would push forward immediately to paint bus stop curbs red, as ongoing efforts are undertaken for additional accessibility improvements. Under the agreement announced this week, SFMTA will implement the curb painting by virtually all flag stops within 18 months. SFMTA plans to issue a blog post in the new year with further implementation details.

The change will impact the so-called “flag stops”, which comprise one-third of San Francisco Muni stops. By painting these bus stops red to prevent vehicle parking, the SFMTA will promote accessibility, while also speeding up their buses at bus stops that are obstructed by on-street parking.

“Making sure bus stops are unobstructed improves accessibility and is an important way to put transit first,” said Julie Kirschbaum, Acting Director of Transportation. “In response to the Board of Supervisors’ Resolution, a constructive dialogue at the Board of Supervisors hearing and input from a number of other stakeholders, we were pleased to recommend the policy change that prioritizes unobstructed access to the front door of buses and trains at each stop, and we are grateful the SFMTA Board has adopted the policy. We plan to initiate the implementation process shortly after the new year and will focus on making improvements at all near side stops first, as we work on longer term accessibility improvements across our system.”

“By allowing cars to park at bus stops, you are forcing people with mobility and vision disabilities into the street," said Jessica Lehman, Executive Director at Senior and Disability Action. "Every bus stop should be curbside accessible and have a bus shelter, to ensure that seniors and people with disabilities can access all Muni lines and vehicles. This is how we honor the City's Transit First policy and create an age and disability-friendly city."

“We are a Transit First city and should be doing everything possible to eliminate barriers to people using transit,” said Supervisor Preston. “I appreciate the collaboration between SFMTA and the Board of Supervisors to get this done.”

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