San Francisco weekend traffic and transit: Sunday Streets Mission

The working week never seems to wile itself away fast enough, but be that as it may there’s nothing stopping the sun from rising and setting day after day and eventually ushering in another glorious San Francisco summer weekend.

And with it comes the problem of San Francisco traffic, made all the more potent by certain planned festivities that demand the city cut off access to a few popular byways between now and Monday.

To help make sure travelers don’t end up gridlocked, here’s a look at this weekend’s pending block party blockades and what they mean for your transit travails.

M Ocean View Improvement: July 13 -16

As part of its ongoing overhaul of the M Ocean View light rail line, the SFMTA announced a nearly three-day closure of part of 19th Avenue, starting at 10 p.m. on Friday and continuing through 5 a.m. on Monday.

The closure will affect only the northbound lanes between Eucalyptus and Winston Drive. This is part of the city’s “M Ocean View Improvement Project,” a two-year, $7.48 million plan to “[improve] the reliability and on-time performance of the M Ocean View through the heavily traveled 19th Avenue corridor.”

Right now the city is replacing old tracks on the M route near the Stonestown Galleria mall and SF State University campus. Nearly $7.5 million is a pretty steep price tag considering that upon projected completion later this year they’ll only have spruced up a very small part of the route, but the project does include other some other expenses.

In any case, the weekend closure is timed to coincide with the ongoing Twin Peaks Tunnel closure. SFMTA advises that drivers “use alternate routes including Junipero Serra Boulevard” and that “northbound travel will be rerouted” for the following Muni lines:

• 28 19th Avenue
• 91 Owl
• M Ocean View (shuttle bus)

Photo by Pi.

Sunday Streets: July 15

Sunday Streets returns to the Mission this weekend, meaning that Valencia visitors will find the usual melange of festive communal atmosphere and local businesses and interest groups out to garner their attention along the route.

This year there will also be an extended street closure along Valencia between Duboce and 26th Street, lasting from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Additionally, “Beginning at 8 a.m., no parking will be allowed on Valencia Street between Duboce and 26th streets.”

That will mean reroutes and probable extra commute times on the following bus lines:

• 12 Folsom
• 27 Bryant
• 55 16th Street

• SFMTA Transit Advisory
• M Ocean View Improvements [SFMTA]
• Sunday Streets San Francisco