Your voice still needed to protect funding for safe streets projects

Earlier this month, Walk SF raised the alarm about a dangerous proposal being considered by the SFMTA Board. The proposal would divert $40 million in capital funding designated for street safety projects to fill a budget gap for SFMTA’s operating costs in FY26/27.

Since then, many of you have emailed the SFMTA Board and SFMTA Director Julie Kirschbaum to find a different solution than sacrificing our safety. 

I’m glad to report that at Tuesday’s SFMTA Board meeting, which I attended, there was a promising shift away from the original proposal. The $40 million diversion had been cut down to $20 million, and there was discussion around finding capital funds elsewhere and not from the Livable Streets budget. 

But none of this improved news is final – and won’t be until April. So let’s keep sending the “protect safe streets funding” emails!

The SFMTA also shared in a slide on Tuesday that higher revenues than previously expected are anticipated from the Uber/Lyft tax that Walk SF helped to pass back in 2019 (Prop D), as well as from the new speed camera program that Walk SF championed with traffic victims for years. 

These two funding sources legally must be used for safe streets projects – so we must ensure this means more commitments in the SFMTA’s final budget for the number of Quick Build projects, speed-slowing solutions, and intersection safety upgrades.  

Walk SF continues to monitor the budget process closely. You can stay up to date by signing up for our newsletter and following us on social media: Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | Bluesky.