A pedestrian bridge installed at the center of 3-block Taraval Street project zone, businesses demand compensation for the 2-month construction

(SAN FRANCISCO) Although San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has promptly installed a pedestrian bridge after receiving complaints from the Taraval Street merchants on the L Taraval Improvement Project, the small businesses on the 3-block Taraval Street demand compensation from the city due to lack of parking spaces that have hurt their businesses the most.

There are 50 business owners located along the 3-block Taraval Street between 19th to 22nd Avenues. Their businesses have been hit hard by the L Taraval Improvement Project which entered the new phase of its construction at the 3-block business corridor from January 2024.

It is a multi-city-agency improvement project which aims to upgrade infrastructure for the light rail L Taraval line public transit system to connect Sunset District to San Francisco downtown.

Starting January 4, 2024, all parking spaces on the three blocks of Taraval Street were removed to become a single-lane moving traffic street in both directions. For over two weeks until the evening of January 19, pedestrians were not able to cross the Taraval Street unless they walked over to the 19th or 22nd Avenues. The 3-block merchants reported they lost 20% to 70% of their revenues in 2 weeks.

After Wind Newspaper sent in inquiries to city department heads in the morning of January 19, SFMTA responded in the evening that a pedestrian bridge was installed at the center of the 3-block Taraval Street.

Pedestrians are pleased to see a walking bridge has made a big difference to them. However, the business owners see the most obstacles that they face are coming from the removal of parking spaces along the 3-block corridor which is one of the most concentrated local business areas for the south west sector community in the City.

When the Wind Newspaper reporter re-visited Smile House Cafe in the evening hours of January 27, Saturday, very few customers were seen dining in the restaurant.

When asked about the impact of the newly-installed pedestrian bridge, Lok Wan Lei, co-owner of Smile House Cafe, said it was not very helpful for his business. "Our customers are more from families. If there are very few parking spaces available, they told us they would rather go to the restaurants in other areas. The removal of parking spaces hurt us the most. We have almost only relied on takeout orders since early January this year," said Lei.

“The city is responsible for covering the loss for us. We will go to city hall to attend meetings to demand for compensation," Lei added.

D4 Supervisor Joel Engardio who represents the 3-block business corridor and Director of the Office of Small Business Katy Tang informed the Taraval Street merchants at a town hall meeting on January 25 evening that they would work with the Board of Supervisors for available funds to support the businesses who have been impacted.

News media has reported that $2 million is considered to compensate the SOMA merchants hurt by the APEC Summit for one week. "The Taraval Merchants have been hurting for 2 years plus!" said Albert Chow, President of People of Parkside Sunset.

"Although our hearts go out to our fellow merchants in SOMA, it would seem they forgot about Taraval and all our hardships of much higher magnitude," said Chow who had contacted city representatives and advised Taraval merchants to put together documents of their losses.

According to the L Taraval Improvement Project updates released by SFMTA on January 29, track installation was approximately 68% complete. The work zone on Taraval between 19th and 22nd avenues was anticipated to be restricted until February 23, after which some parking would be released. The last track activation was anticipated to start February 12, between 33rd Avenue and Sunset Boulevard.