Inclusive San Francisco Transit

Rail transit in San Francisco is a moiré of interlocking systems in various states of elevation, electrification and accessibility, unified only by a common system of fare collection. Rather than allow each of the balkanized providers to promote their systems separately, it would be a public boon to provide unified system maps which clearly indicate points of transfer between systems and the geographical areas served by each (Caltrain and BART on the east side, Muni Metro on the west).

Muni Metro with BART and Caltrain lines and stops indicated (with Central Subway shown complete).

And a crazy hopeful animation into the Mutative future of Muni Metro.

Mutative Muni Metro Futures (G-Geary Northern Subway, O-Divisadero Central Loop, T-Third extensions to Fisherman's Wharf and Marina, S-Van Ness-Excelsior and R-Van Ness-Hunters Point)

G-Geary: Phasing of Northern San Francisco Subways

The Northern terminus of the T-Third line at Chinatown is a temporary condition: with the decision to terminate the Central Subway tunnel at Washington Square, not in Chinatown where the last operating station will be located, it is a logical deduction that Muni intends to continue Metro service to the Northern waterfront at some point in the future. Similarly, the transfer of Westbound proposed G-Geary passengers from Light Rail to Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) at Webster Station is a stop-gap measure, a condition to change once support for mass transit on Western Geary Boulevard strengthens.

Muni after construction of G-Geary Phase 1 and T-Third Phase 2. The (temporary) northern terminus of  the T-Third at Chinatown is made functional with transfer to the G; westbound traffic at Webster transfers to BRT below the aerial platform.

Ultimately, the T-Third will head north to Fisherman's Wharf at the very least; an alternative alignment proceeds through a number of stops along the Northern Waterfront and Russian Hill with a Western terminal at the Marina Green, thereby serving a much larger cross-section of the northern population.

Muni with G-Geary Phase 2 extension to Sutro Heights; T-Third Phase 3 to Fishermans Wharf and (speculative) Phase 4 to the Marina; F-Market extension through the Fort Mason tunnel and beyond to Chrissy Fields / Golden Gate. (view mutative Muni Metro evolution)

The G-Geary would ultimately continue through two more right-of-way-separated stations before becoming a streetcar on Geary Boulevard and continuing through the Inner and Outer Richmond districts to a terminus at Sutro Heights.

G-Geary: Clay-Geary Street Alignment

The 19th and 20th century hearts of San Francisco lie north of Market street; Jackson Square / the Barbary Coast districts were the historic center during the gold rush era and period of early growth, followed by Polk Street and the Tenderloin after the earthquake, and the Financial District and Union Square / Downtown in the modern era. Once it passes beneath the Market Street Subway, this proposal for a G-Geary train serves all of these areas as well as Cathedral Hill, Japantown and the Western Addition before running along the surface of Geary Boulevard in the Richmond District.

Sectional diagram of the Clay-Leavenworth-Geary Street Subway portion of the proposed G-Geary. South of Market the subway continues under Beale; West of Webster the alignment continues above grade, eventually becoming a Geary streetcar.

• The first stop is located under Clay Street at Sansome, on the north flank of the Financial District. This location counter-balances the strong transit presence on the southern side of this district (flanked by the Market Street Subway), and also provides right-of-way-separated access to Jackson Square and southern Columbus Avenue. The huge daily influx of workers to this district, home to all of San Francisco's Fortune 500 companies, makes it a natural fit for transit.
• Also under Clay, between Powell and Mason Streets lies the next station stop at Nob Hill, transfer point for the T-Third under Stockton Street at Chinatown. 
• By far the most populous part of San Francisco is the Tenderloin. If the rest of the city were equally populated, the City and County would boast over 1.6 million denizens overall. A metro station under Leavenworth between Sutter and Post would serve this district directly, with upwards of 17,500 people located within easy walking distance of the stop.
• After transitioning to a Geary Street alignment, the subway stops at Franklin,  serving the western edge of the Tenderloin and lower Polk along with the population on Cathedral Hill.
• Trains heading west transition to an aerial alignment at Laguna Street,  then stop between Fillmore and Webster Streets for their last Phase 1 station stop. Serving Japantown,  Fillmore and the Western Addition,  this station also allows for easy vertical connection for busses on the Geary bus rapid transit route.

G-Geary: Northern Subway in San Francisco

Many of San Francisco Municipal Railway's first established rail lines were along the Geary Street corridor; this major East-West axis in received early and heavy transit investment with the A-Geary-10th, B-Geary, C-Geary-California and D-Geary-Van Ness all in operation one hundred years ago. The corridor's current service (the 38-Geary cluster of busses) boasted over 55,000 daily boardings in 2007 — as real estate in eastern San Francisco continues to soar skyward, the western parts of this corridor are densifying and are ripe for the return of train service.

The G-Geary first phase subway connects Rincon Hill to the Financial District, Nob Hill, the Tenderloin and Japantown; the second phase extension continues with rail service to Western Addition/NoPa and the Richmond district.

This is a dream for rail service on the Geary Street Corridor. Stretching from the Rincon Hill, Transbay and FiDi South neighborhoods south of Market Street through downtown, Cinatown, Nob Hill and the Tenderloin to Japantown and the Western Addition, this alignment creates a skip-stop transfer network with the existing Market Street and currently under construction Central Subway. Utilizing an existing undercrossing through Rincon Hill and keeping the line shallow to allow cut-and-cover connection between the new Transbay station and Embarcadero keep the eastern alignment costs relatively low; a tunneling machine would be required only for the deep bore under Nob and Cathedral Hills, a tunnel which would serve three of the most densely populated and still densifying portions of the City of San Francisco, namely the Financial District, Chinatown/Downtown, and Nob Hill/Tenderloin/Polk Gulch.

Phase 1 / Subway

(view phase 1 G-Geary Subway in a larger map _ read methodology for proximal population statistics)


A scheme to provide Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) along the Geary Street corridor is currently in the planning stages, and hopefully opening for service before 2020. Terminating phase 1 rail constuction in an elevated station at Webster allows for vertical loading and unloading of trains from busses below, which with timed transfers which would speed movement from the Richmond District downtown hugely. When ready, phase 2 light rail could replace the BRT.

Phase 2 / Light Rail Transit

(view phase 2 GRx-Geary Richmond Extension in a larger map)