L Taraval

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L Taraval
L Taraval logo.svg
Muni Metro trains on Taraval at 24th and 27th Avenues, June 2017.JPG
Two inbound L Taraval trains in 2017
Overview
StatusSuspended, replaced by buses, for road improvement project
OwnerSan Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
LocaleSan Francisco, California
TerminiWawona and 46th Avenue (SF Zoo)
Embarcadero station
Stations27
Service
TypeLight rail/streetcar
SystemMuni Metro
Operator(s)San Francisco Municipal Railway
Rolling stockBreda LRV2/LRV3, Siemens LRV4
Daily ridership33,000 (2019)[1]
History
OpenedApril 12, 1919 (1919-04-12)[2]
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead lines, 600 V DC
Route diagram

Legend
 UpperLeft arrow Bay Area Rapid Transit | Up arrow N Judah T Third Street
Left arrow F Market & Wharves | J Church K Ingleside M Ocean View S Shuttle
Embarcadero
San Francisco Ferry Building Bay Area Rapid Transit
 Montgomery
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Union Square/​Market Street (2022)
 Powell
Bay Area Rapid Transit
 Civic Center
Bay Area Rapid Transit
 Van Ness
N Judah to Ocean Beach
J Church to Balboa Park
 Church
Castro
F Market & Wharves
to surface tracks on
Market Street (closed 1982)
 Eureka Valley
closed
1972
Twin Peaks
 Forest Hill
West Portal
S Shuttle T Third Street
 Ulloa and Forest Side
Ulloa and 15th Avenue
closed
2017
 Taraval and 15th Avenue
Taraval and 17th Avenue
Taraval and 19th Avenue
Taraval and 22nd Avenue /
Taraval and 23rd Avenue
 Taraval and 26th Avenue
Taraval and 28th Avenue
closed
2017
 Taraval and 30th Avenue
Taraval and 32nd Avenue
Taraval and 35th Avenue
closed
2018
 Taraval and Sunset
Taraval and 40th Avenue
Taraval and 42nd Avenue
Taraval and 44th Avenue
46th Avenue and Taraval /
Taraval and 46th Avenue
 46th Avenue and Ulloa
46th Avenue and Vicente
Wawona and 46th Avenue
This diagram:
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The L Taraval is a hybrid light rail/streetcar line of the Muni Metro system in San Francisco, California, mainly serving the Parkside District. The line is currently suspended and replaced by buses through the end of 2024 for a road improvement project along Taraval Street.

Route description[]

The line begins at Wawona and 46th Avenue station (near the San Francisco Zoo), which is on a one-way loop on Vicente Street, 47th Avenue, Wawona Street, and 46th Avenue. It runs north on 46th Avenue to Taraval Street, then runs east on Taraval Street to 15th Avenue. The line then runs south one block on 15th Avenue, then east on Ulloa Street to West Portal station, where it tags along with the other Muni Metro lines towards Embarcadero.

Operation[]

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the L Taraval operates 7 days a week, primarily with train service beginning at 5 a.m. weekdays, 6 a.m. Saturdays and 8 a.m. Sundays and running until 12:30 a.m. Daytime headways are between 6 and 9 minutes.[3]

Service is provided by overnight Owl buses during the hours that rail service is not running. The L Owl bus serves the full length of the route, as well as along The Embarcadero to Fisherman's Wharf. (The Embarcadero section was added on June 15, 2019 to provide Owl service along the F Market & Wharves route.)[4]

On weekends, L Taraval Bus service runs from 5 a.m. until the start of rail service; it does not include the section on The Embarcadero. The bus lines largely follow the rail line, but use surface streets to parallel sections where the rail line has dedicated rights-of-way.[5]

History[]

The original end of the L Taraval line, before the 1937 extension south of Taraval Street, with tracks still in place as a short branch, not normally used. Trains are usually sent here to turn back early, and these are the only tracks left in San Francisco that are embedded in granite block.

Around 1907, the private United Railroads (URR) opened its Parkside Shuttle line, which split from the #17 line on 20th Avenue and ran along Taraval Street, 33rd Avenue, Vicente Street, and 35th Avenue.[6] This trackage, which saw irregular passenger service, formed a barrier to continued expansion of the city-owned Municipal Railway into the Parkside district. On November 25, 1918, the city and the private URR signed the "Parkside Agreements", which allowed Muni streetcars to use URR trackage on Taraval Street and on Ocean Avenue in exchange for a cash payment and shared maintenance costs.[7]: 74 

Muni's L Taraval line opened as a shuttle from West Portal to 33rd Avenue (on rebuilt URR trackage west of 20th Avenue) on April 12, 1919. It was extended along Taraval to 48th Avenue at Ocean Beach on January 14, 1923; that October 15, the shuttle service was replaced with larger streetcars running through to the Ferry Building.[7]: 75  The URR discontinued their Parkside Shuttle in late 1927.[8] The L Taraval was subsequently extended south (turning off Taraval at 46th) to the San Francisco Zoo, the line's current outer terminus, on September 15, 1937.[9] Every other streetcar was routed to the new Transbay Terminal on January 15, 1939; they were rerouted back to the Ferry Building on January 1, 1941, but the Transbay Terminal became the inner terminal for all streetcars on June 6, 1948.[8]

The L was partially converted to modern light rail operation as part of the opening of the Muni Metro system in 1980.[9] While many streetcar lines were converted to buses after World War II, the L Taraval remained a streetcar line due to its use of the Twin Peaks Tunnel.

Later changes/COVID-19 impacts[]

The line was temporarily replaced by buses from June 25 to August 24, 2018 due to the Twin Peaks Tunnel shutdown.[10]

On March 30, 2020, Muni Metro service was replaced with buses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] Rail service returned on August 22, with the routes reconfigured to improve reliability in the subway. K Ingleside and L Taraval service is interlined, running between Taraval and Sunset and Balboa Park station; no K or L service enters the subway. At the same time, buses replaced service west of Sunset Boulevard to allow for construction.[3] The forced transfer at West Portal was criticized by disability advocates.[12] Rail service was re-replaced with buses on August 25 due to issues with malfunctioning overhead wire splices and the need to quarantine control center staff after a COVID-19 case.[13]

L Taraval Improvement Project[]

The L Taraval Improvement Project, originally called the L Taraval Rapid project, was conceived to increase pedestrian safety and speed up trains. Nine stops will be eliminated, the roadway upon which the track is laid will be repainted as a transit-only lane, and concrete boarding islands will be installed at some stops.[14][15] Preliminary stop elimination occurred on February 25, 2017,[16] though some plans were amended due to community backlash.[17]

L Taraval Improvement Project construction began in August 2019, beginning with the replacement of underground utilities.[18][19] Construction on the first phase of the project, between Sunset Blvd and 46th Avenue, began in September 2019. And then, the first phase of the L Taraval project was completed in July 2021, even though bus substitution for the L continued.[20] The second phase commences in January 2022. The construction will take place from Sunset Blvd to Ulloa St near West Portal. This phase is expected to last through 2024.[21]

Station/Stop listing[]

Most stops have no boarding islands; passengers board from the street.

Station/Stop Neighborhood Other Muni Metro Lines: Notes and connections
Disabled access Embarcadero Financial District K Ingleside M Ocean View N Judah T Third Street S Shuttle
Disabled access Montgomery Street K Ingleside M Ocean View N Judah T Third Street S Shuttle
Disabled access Powell Street Civic Center, Mid-Market, Tenderloin K Ingleside M Ocean View N Judah T Third Street S Shuttle
  • Heritage streetcarF Market & Wharves, Powell-Hyde, Powell-Mason, Bay Area Rapid Transit
  • Bus transport Muni: 5, 5R, 6, 7, 7X, 8, 8AX, 8BX, 9, 9R, 15, 21, 27, 30, 31, 45, 81X, 91 Owl, L Bus
  • Other regional bus services:
  • Bus transport AC Transit
  • Bus transport SamTrans
Disabled access Civic Center/UN Plaza K Ingleside M Ocean View N Judah T Third Street S Shuttle
Disabled access Van Ness K Ingleside M Ocean View N Judah T Third Street S Shuttle
  • Heritage streetcarF Market & Wharves
  • Bus transport Muni: 6, 7, 9, 9R, 47, 49, 79X, 90 Owl, L Bus
  • Other regional bus services:
  • Bus transport AC Transit
  • Bus transport SamTrans
Disabled access Church Duboce Triangle, Mission Dolores J Church K Ingleside M Ocean View T Third Street S Shuttle
  • Heritage streetcarF Market & Wharves
  • J Church J Church serves this station on a surface stop.
  • Bus transport Muni: 22, 37, L Bus
Disabled access Castro The Castro K Ingleside M Ocean View T Third Street S Shuttle
  • Heritage streetcarF Market & Wharves
  • Bus transport Muni: 24, 35, 37, L Bus
Disabled access Forest Hill Forest Hill Neighborhood K Ingleside M Ocean View T Third Street S Shuttle Bus transport Muni: 36, 43, 44, 52
Disabled access West Portal West Portal K Ingleside M Ocean View T Third Street S Shuttle Bus transport Muni: 48, 57, 91 Owl, L Bus
Ulloa and Forest Side Bus transport Muni: 48, L Bus
Taraval and 15th Avenue Parkside Bus transport Muni: L Bus
Taraval and 17th Avenue (inbound)
Taraval and 19th Avenue Bus transport Muni: 28, 28R, 91 Owl, L Bus
Disabled access Taraval and 22nd Avenue (inbound)
Disabled access Taraval and 23rd Avenue (outbound) 		Bus transport Muni: L Bus
Taraval and 26th Avenue
Taraval and 30th Avenue Bus transport Muni: 66, L Bus
Taraval and 32nd Avenue Bus transport Muni: L Bus
Disabled access Taraval and Sunset Bus transport Muni: 29, L Bus
Taraval and 40th Avenue Bus transport Muni: L Bus
Taraval and 42nd Avenue
Taraval and 44th Avenue
46th Avenue and Taraval (inbound)
Taraval and 46th Avenue (outbound) 		Bus transport Muni: 18, L Bus
46th Avenue and Ulloa
46th Avenue and Vicente
Disabled access 46th Avenue and Wawona Serves the San Francisco Zoo.

Bus transport Muni: 18, L Bus

References[]

  1. ^ "Short Range Transit Plan: Fiscal Year 2019 - Fiscal Year 2030" (PDF). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. December 2019. p. 47.
  2. ^ Demery, Jr., Leroy W. (November 2011). "U.S. Urban Rail Transit Lines Opened From 1980" (PDF). publictransit.us. Archived from the original (pdf) on November 4, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
  3. ^ a b Maguire, Mariana (August 18, 2020). "Major Muni Service Expansion August 22" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
  4. ^ Barnett, Benjamin (June 10, 2019). "Hoot Hoot – Muni to Provide Additional Nighttime Service" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
  5. ^ "Permanent Muni Service Changes Starting Saturday, February 22, 2020" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. February 22, 2020.
  6. ^ Chevalier, August (1911). "The "Chevalier" Map of San Francisco" – via David Rumsey Map Collection.
  7. ^ a b Perles, Anthony (1981). The People's Railway: The History of the Municipal Railway of San Francisco. Interurban Press. ISBN 0916374424.
  8. ^ a b Stindt, Fred A. (October 1990). San Francisco's Century of Street Cars. p. 119, 192. ISBN 0961546514.
  9. ^ a b McKane, John; Perles, Anthony (1982). Inside Muni: The Properties and Operations of the Municipal Railway of San Francisco. Glendale, CA (US): Interurban Press. p. 195. ISBN 0-916374-49-1.
  10. ^ "Twin Peaks Tunnel Improvements". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. June 25, 2018. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018.
  11. ^ Fowler, Amy (March 26, 2020). "Starting March 30: New Muni Service Changes" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
  12. ^ Graf, Carly (August 18, 2020). "Muni 'improvements' could make things harder for seniors, disabled". San Francisco Examiner.
  13. ^ "Bus Substitution for All Rail Lines" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. August 25, 2020.
  14. ^ Rodriguez, Joe Fitzgerald (20 September 2016). "SFMTA approves controversial L-Taraval changes in name of safety". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  15. ^ Rodriguez, Joe Fitzgerald (19 September 2016). "Major L-Taraval changes up for vote Tuesday". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  16. ^ "Muni to launch next big shakeup Saturday, changing routes, stops, and more". SF Gate. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  17. ^ Rodriguez, Joe Fitzgerald (26 January 2018). "SFMTA no longer plans to remove 17th Avenue Safeway stop". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  18. ^ "L Taraval Improvement Project Work Forecast Aug. 26 - Sept.6, 2019" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. August 26, 2019.
  19. ^ "SFMTA Weekend Transit and Traffic Advisory For Saturday, August 17, 2019" (PDF) (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. August 15, 2019.
  20. ^ "L Taraval Improvement Project Reaches Key Milestone" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. July 9, 2021.
  21. ^ Chun, Stephen (December 9, 2021). "L Taraval Improvement Project "Segment B" Geared Up for Early 2022" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

External links[]

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