SFCTA approves Geary and Sunset transit studies, funds North Beach extension analysis

San Francisco transportation officials approved final reports for the Geary/19th Avenue subway and Inner Sunset studies, while also funding new work on a North Beach Central Subway extension analysis and Fulton Street safety upgrades.

The June 9 board action received final approval again on June 23, keeping all four efforts in the planning pipeline rather than the construction phase.

The Geary/19th Avenue Subway and Regional Connections Study, first requested by Transportation Authority Chair Myrna Melgar, sketches a roughly 10-mile dual-track subway with about five to six stations running from downtown west along Geary Boulevard to the Inner Richmond, then south below Golden Gate Park and beneath 19th Avenue through the Sunset District to near Daly City BART. The San Francisco County Transportation Authority estimates the project could cost about $20 billion to $30 billion in current-year dollars. It is one of five major transit expansion projects named in ConnectSF’s Transit Strategy and the San Francisco Transportation Plan 2050, and it is also included in the State Rail Plan.

The Geary and 19th Avenue study emerged from a process that included two virtual town halls on March 5 and March 7. The final report found support for continuing project development, but it also calls for more work on alternatives, phasing, funding strategies and outreach.

At the same meeting, the board approved $230,700 in Prop L funds for a two-year Central Subway North Beach Extension Study. SFCTA set aside $180,800 for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and $49,900 for its own ridership forecasting and planning support, while also using about $370,000 in remaining Prop K money from an earlier feasibility study. The work will examine a one-station extension from Chinatown to North Beach, including station design, construction methods and whether the line should open in phases or reach North Beach first and extend farther later.

The existing Central Subway tunnels already run beyond Chinatown, but they are unfurnished and still lack rail, signaling, power and safety infrastructure. The study is scheduled to finish in May 2028, and its findings will inform the next countywide transportation plan update starting in 2027.

The Inner Sunset Transportation Study Final Report covers the commercial core bounded by Lincoln Way, 5th Avenue, Judah Street and 12th Avenue, home to 37,630 people in 2023. It identifies nine recommendations, including near-term changes such as painted safety zones, continental crosswalks, advanced limit lines, transit stop consolidation on Judah Street between 5th and 7th avenues, and an upgraded painted Class II bike lane on 7th Avenue between Judah and Lincoln Way and Golden Gate Park.

A serious injury crash on Irving Street just west of 7th Avenue in March 2026 also reshaped the timing of some recommendations on parking, curb management, public space and bicycle safety. In District 1, the board approved $449,000 for Fulton Street safety work at 40th Avenue, 20th Avenue and 12th Avenue/Funston Avenue, with concrete side islands, crosswalk upgrades and rapid flashing beacons expected to be complete by March 2028.