(a) Office of City Traffic Engineer. The position of City Traffic Engineer is established. The City Traffic Engineer shall be an employee of the SFMTA licensed with the State of California as a Civil or Traffic Engineer and designated by the Director of Transportation to exercise the powers and perform the duties of City Traffic Engineer established by this Code. The City Traffic Engineer shall have the authority to:
(1) Identify, study and implement measures to improve traffic conditions and increase the safety of vehicles and pedestrians in furtherance of the City's Transit First Policy.
(2) Review and investigate requests to install, modify, or remove Traffic Control Devices.
(3) Install color curb markings, including painting red zones not to exceed 20 (continuous) feet in length where needed to ensure public safety, proper Parking Meter spacing, or vehicular access to private or public driveways and Streets.
(4) Design, install, operate, and maintain Traffic Control Devices as necessary to guide, warn, and control moving vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
(5) Install or remove any temporary Traffic Control Devices on any Street for the purpose of controlling Parking or traffic during emergencies, special conditions or events, construction work, short-term testing, or when necessary for the protection of public health and safety. Such temporary Traffic Control Devices shall be removed when they are no longer required following the emergency, condition, or event.
(6) Implement Parking and traffic control measures approved by the SFMTA Board of Directors.
(7) Determine the hours and days during which any Traffic Control Device shall be in operation except where such hours or days are established by law or by resolution of the SFMTA Board of Directors.
(8) Conduct engineering and traffic surveys necessary to establish and maintain appropriate speed limits.
(9) Regulate or prohibit obstructions on Streets and grant or deny Special Traffic Permits.
(10) Mark center lines, lane lines, crosswalks, the boundaries of Parking Spaces associated with Parking Meters, and other distinctive markings upon the surface of any Street, or place any signs to indicate the course to be traveled by vehicles or pedestrians.
(11) Take other actions to regulate Parking and traffic or prohibit Obstructions to Traffic which do not require public hearing or approval of the SFMTA Board of Directors as described in subsections (b) and (c) of this Section 201.
(12) To remove without notice any unauthorized Traffic Control Device, including color curb markings or other markings that regulate Parking and traffic.
(13) Indicate by signs or red curb markings where Parking is prohibited by five feet on each side of any low pressure fire hydrant, and by seven and one-half feet on each side of any high pressure fire hydrant.
(14) Carry out all functions of the City Traffic Engineer consistent with all laws, regulations, generally accepted traffic engineering standards, and SFMTA policies.
(15) Install signs giving notice of the days and hours that Parking is prohibited in order to allow street cleaning as requested by the Department of Public Works.
(b) Public Hearings. The following Parking and traffic measures may be implemented following a Public Hearing by the City Traffic Engineer or, if a project includes actions in this subsection and subsection (c), the City Traffic Engineer may recommend a hearing at the SFMTA Board of Directors:
(1) Locate and install Traffic Calming Devices.
(2) Designate the location of Stands, the types of vehicles authorized to use such Stands, and the days and hours in which Parking restrictions shall be enforced at any Stand.
(3) Determine the locations for Parking restrictions designated by painted curb colors in accordance with Vehicle Code Section 21458 and the times that Parking is prohibited in such locations.
(4) Determine the locations of Truck Loading Zones and the times that Parking is prohibited in that Zone.
(5) Designate motorcycle Parking Spaces.
(6) Designate on-street bicycle Parking Spaces for the installation and use of Bicycle Racks and Bicycle Sharing Stations, or to grant a permit for a Stationless Bicycle Share Program. In the event that a temporary relocation of a bicycle parking space, bicycle rack, or bicycle sharing station is necessary to improve safety or traffic operations, or to accommodate construction or roadway maintenance, the Director of Transportation has the authority to temporarily relocate a bicycle parking space, bicycle rack, or bicycle sharing station prior to holding a public hearing. If the bicycle parking space, bicycle rack, or bicycle sharing station will be temporarily relocated for less than ninety days, no public hearing is required. If the temporary relocation is for ninety days or longer, a public hearing must be held within ninety days following the temporary relocation.
(7) Designate intersections at which right, left, or U turns are prohibited.
(8) Designate intersections at which turns against a red or stop signal are prohibited.
(9) Establish multiple turn lanes where vehicles can make right or left turns from more than one lane.
(10) Designate intersections at which one direction of traffic shall be required to yield to the other.
(11) Designate intersections at which traffic shall be required to stop, or where a required stop is eliminated.
(12) Re-classify existing Class II bike lanes or bikeways to Class IV cycle tracks or bikeway based upon a determination of public convenience and necessity including, but not limited to, the alleviation of traffic congestion and public safety.
(13) Designate Temporary Transit-only Areas and create associated tow-away zones, as authorized in Section 602 of the Transportation Code.
(14) Determine the locations for Longer-Term Closure of Parking Spaces for purposes of issuing a permit for a Curbside Shared Space as defined by Administrative Code Chapter 94A.
(c) SFMTA Board of Directors' Action Required. The following Parking and traffic measures may not be implemented without prior approval of the SFMTA Board of Directors, taking into consideration the recommendation of the City Traffic Engineer:
(1) Designate Parking Meter Zones and Streets on which Parking Meters are to be installed in each Parking Meter Zone.
(2) Establish, modify, or eliminate preferential Parking programs in accordance with Vehicle Code §§ 22507 and 22507.1, including the applicable geographical area(s) and the days and hours of applicable Parking restrictions.
(3) Install or remove bicycle lanes. The City Traffic Engineer shall have the authority to re-classify existing Class II bike lanes or bikeways to Class IV cycle tracks or bikeways, following a public hearing, based upon a determination of public convenience and necessity including, but not limited to, the alleviation of traffic congestion and public safety.
(4) Designate one-way Streets.
(5) Designate the location of all bus zones for the use of public transit vehicles.
(7) Establish or close a crosswalk.
(8) Establish a tow-away zone, except as specified under the authority granted to the City Traffic Engineer in subsection (b)(13) above.
(9) Designate the angle or direction in which vehicles are required to Park on the Street.
(10) Designate locations where Parking by vehicles over 6 feet high is restricted within 100 feet of an intersection.
(11) Establish bus, truck, and weight restrictions on Streets.
(12) Establish transit only lane regulations, except as specified under the authority granted to the City Traffic Engineer in subsection (b)(13) above.
(13) Establish speed limits on Streets.
(14) Establish on-street Car Share Vehicle Parking Spaces.
(15) Designate locations where Parking by vehicles over twenty-two feet in length or seven feet in height, or camp trailers, fifth-wheel travel trailers, house cars, trailer coaches, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, or semi-trailers are prohibited from parking between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m.
(17) Addition, removal, or modification of a street to the Slow Streets Program as set forth in Section 207. To add a street to the Slow Streets Program, the Board of Directors must make the findings required by California Vehicle Code Section 21101(f).
(18) Designate stalls or spaces on a public street for the exclusive purpose of charging and parking a vehicle that is connected for electric charging purposes.
(SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 08-151, Ad. 8/19/2008; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 09-172, Ad. 9/15/2009; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 11-028, Ad. 3/1/2011; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 11-108, Ad. 8/2/2011, Eff. 9/2/2011; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 13-005
, Ad. 1/15/2013, Eff. 2/15/2013; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 15-031
, Ad. 3/3/2015, Eff. 4/3/2015; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 170321-035, Ad. 3/21/2017, Eff. 4/21/2017; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 190115-03, Ad. 1/15/2019, Eff. 2/15/2019; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 190604-063, Ad. 6/4/2019, Eff. 7/5/2019; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 200630-062, Ad. 6/30/2020, Eff. 7/31/2020; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 210504-065, Ad. 5/4/2021, Eff. 6/4/2021, Oper. 8/28/2021; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 221115-109, Ad. 11/15/2022, Eff. 12/16/2022; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 221206-116, Ad. 12/6/2022, Eff. 1/6/2023; SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 240521-052, Ad. 5/21/2024, Eff. 6/21/2024)