T-Third not living up to potential
By: Mike Aldax
April 16, 2009
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| Muni passengers board the T-Third in the Bayview neighborhood. (Cindy Chew/The Examiner) |
The trains are moving slowly and the development around the light-rail line is also merely creeping forward.
Though there are bright spots along the T-Third light-rail Muni line, which turned 2 years old this month, the much-hoped-for boom in business and development for the southeastern portion of The City has yet to fully materialize.
Sharon Pittman, owner of Pittman’s BBQ, a restaurant across from the Revere/Shafter station, said she thinks the train was a good idea, but added that it hasn’t brought any new customers to her business.
“I get business from residents in the neighborhood,” she said. “When they finish building the new residential units, I think that will help.”
Kok Yap, 30, the manager of P&K Automotive, which is across from the Sunnydale station, said folks are only beginning to realize that his business is accessible by streetcar.
“People still say, ‘Oh, you have a train that runs by your shop?’” Yap said. “It’s starting to pick up. But right now, [the T-Third line] has not affected business much.”
Jim Hunger, 58, who lives in the Bayview, said he has seen several neat businesses pop up in town because of the new line, but not as many as he would have expected.
“They’re not doing well, I don’t think,” he said. “The streetcar is only one component to the revitalization of the Bayview.”
Dave Snyder, the transportation policy director for the public policy think tank San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, said, “The T-Third is good, but it’s not living up to its potential for two reasons.”
“One, the land use along the line should be intensified. And [two, the train] should be faster.”
The speed of the streetcar line is a common complaint, as some residents say it doesn’t seem a whole lot faster than the bus ride along the lines it replaced.
“The average speeds on the line are between 10 and 11 mph,” Snyder said, which “is at the low end of typical speeds for light rail that shares right of way with cars.”
Muni spokeswoman Kristen Holland said the line “is fortunate to operate in an exclusive right of way for a portion of the corridor, but even then the trains must follow posted speed restrictions and signals.”
But Snyder said the T-Third, “with mixed right-of-way but mostly exclusive, should have a speed closer to 15-20 mph.”
Yet while there are complaints about the line, there are also residents who appreciate the line and what it has done for the neighborhoods.
“I been in this city 23 years, and never have I seen a place change so fast,” said Zack Randolph, 46, who was on his way to the Bayview neighborhood for a family get-together.
He said he credits the T-Third line for connecting The City’s once-forgotten southern neighborhoods directly to The City’s center.
“It’s a straight-shot downtown,” agreed Blake Stimac, a 22-year-old barista at Sundance Coffee in the emerging Dogpatch neighborhood.
Stimac was among several residents and local business owners who said Thursday that the new streetcar line is safer, cleaner, and more pleasant to ride than Muni buses.
“I’d like to see better consistency [with on-time performance],” he added.
Stimac agreed that while the T-Third has helped enliven the neighborhood, particularly the coffee shop where he works, the potential business it could help usher in will become more apparent once abandoned buildings begin filling up.
T-Third:
The route
From Sunnydale Avenue to Castro Station: Light-rail vehicles travel on the surface along Bayshore Boulevard and Third Street, and then go underground just beyond AT&T Park at The Embarcadero to the Castro station.
Start date
Weekend service began Jan. 13, 2007; full service started April 7, 2007, and was revised June 30, 2007.
Attractions it passes in the southeast part of The City
AT&T Park, Caltrain’s San Francisco station, UCSF Mission Bay, Bayview Opera House, Commercial Corridor, Monster Park
Average weekday ridership in fiscal year 2008
20,154
Future of T-Third
The T-Third line, which opened this month two years ago, is Phase 1 of the Third Street Light Rail Project. Muni is currently completing preliminary engineering for the second phase, the Central Subway. The agency cleared a final environmental-review hurdle with a federal Record of Decision last fall and has secured a commitment of nearly $1 billion in federal funds. As the largest expansion of light rail in San Francisco in more than 20 years, the Third Street Light Rail Project will bring modern light-rail service to the heavily populated southeastern side of The City.
Source: Municipal Transportation Agency
maldax@sfexaminer.com
