San Francisco Voters Reject Muni Bond

Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
The proposed Muni bond would have focused on “maintaining the system’s equipment and facilities, providing quick and convenient transit access, ensuring Muni service is inclusive and accessible for all, and making street safety improvements for people walking and biking.”

The proposed Muni bond would have focused on “maintaining the system’s equipment and facilities, providing quick and convenient transit access, ensuring Muni service is inclusive and accessible for all, and making street safety improvements for people walking and biking.”

The $400 million Muni Reliability and Street Safety Bond, Proposition A, has been voted down, the San Francisco (Calif.) Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) reported on June 21.

SFMTA said that if passed, the bond measure would have provided $400 million for transportation infrastructure projects, including:

• $10 million on improvements to the Muni (San Francisco Municipal Railway) train system, including communication and control systems.
• $250 million on the repair and renovation of SFMTA bus yards, facilities and equipment.
• $26 million on traffic improvements, such as new traffic signals, wider sidewalks at bus stops and dedicated traffic lanes.
• $42 million on traffic signal and street crossing improvements, such as more visible traffic and pedestrian signals, curb ramps, and signs.
• $42 million on street redesigns that include wider sidewalks, raised crosswalks, protected bike lanes, bus lanes, boarding islands and improved lighting.
• $30 million on projects to manage traffic speeds, including lowered speed limits and speed radar signs.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Feb. 15 voted to place the bond on the June 7 ballot; the measure required 66.67% voter approval. The bond received 65.11%, according to SFMTA. (The San Francisco Department of Election posted the final election results on June 17.)

“Although an overwhelming majority of voters supported investing in our transportation system, getting to the two-thirds threshold for a bond measure is never easy—more so when San Francisco is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and people are struggling with the impacts of inflation,” SFMTA reported. “The loss of Proposition A will have a cascading impact on San Francisco’s transportation projects. In the coming weeks, we’ll be evaluating the impacts of this result to transit and safety projects across the city. We don’t yet know which specific projects will be impacted, but we do know that every step toward getting the city’s transportation capital projects done is going to be harder than it would have been if the bond measure had passed.

“The SFMTA is going to do everything possible to find alternative sources for these funds. We know that improving Muni and making streets safer remain priorities for our community—and we’re committed to working to make that a reality.”

As the agency plans next steps, it said it will “be looking at what we can learn from the election results and how we can apply those lessons moving forward. We need to have more conversations and engagement with community members and community-based organizations—especially those on the west side of the city, where support for the bond measure was lowest—to ensure that we fully understand their transportation needs. We also need to continue building trust with San Franciscans so we can work together to create a robust transportation network that equitably connects everyone to where they need to go, regardless of their income or neighborhood.”

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