Noe Valley Voice February 2010
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Keeping Track of Rail Repairs

By Heather World

J-Church riders--and Noe Valley residents who live near the streetcar line--are especially invited to attend this month's meeting of Upper Noe Neighbors. Muni staff will be on hand Thursday, Feb. 18, to discuss plans to replace tracks along certain segments of the J.

Ha Nguyen , manager of the upcoming rail replacement project, is one of three transportation officials scheduled to speak and answer questions at the 7:30 p.m. meeting at Upper Noe Recreation Center, on Day Street near Sanchez.

The upcoming repairs will happen in two stages. On the first three weekends in March, crews will work around the clock, from Friday at 6 p.m. to Monday at 5 a.m., to replace track on San Jose Avenue at 30th Street. Work on the tracks at 30th and Church streets is scheduled for September. Shuttle buses will cover the route on the weekends the repairs take place.

The project is part of a $18 million campaign to replace old track, repave roads, and fix power poles and signals at busy intersections. Portions of the L an d N lines have already been upgraded.

"The first weekend on one of those projects we did get some complaints related to loss of parking around traffic detours," says Judson True, spokesman for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, Muni's parent organization. "Our goal is to make sure people know what to expect."

The 24-hour weekend schedule was set up to avoid disrupting weekday service, True says.

Vicki Rosen, president of Upper Noe Neighbors, says she plans to ask Muni how it will handle the noise issue for the houses that face 30th Street. "We'll be watching what's going on down on San Jose to see how much of an impact that has, so we'll be ready," says Rosen.

Muni has worked with the neighborhood before to quiet the screech of trains rounding the 30th and Church corner, she says. "I have to hand it to them--they did a pretty damn good job."

Hopefully the rail replacement will make it easier to keep the train noise down, she says.

For more information about the meeting, contact R osen at 415-285-0473 or vickimrosen@gmail.com.