Left turns whittled down on SF’s Van Ness Avenue

Over the weekend, Public Works and Municipal Transportation Agency workers instituted major traffic lane changes as part of a three-year project to replace aged sewer and water lines, redesign and repave the busy street and install lanes and stops for the city’s first bus-rapid transit line.

The turn-lane removals are permanent, intended to speed construction, speed bus rapid transit after its 2019 start, and increase safety on Van Ness.

The street is among the top 12 percent for deaths and serious injuries, and left turns are considered one of the leading causes of collisions between drivers and pedestrians, according to city officials.