San Francisco Halted District 4 Street Safety Projects
Budget constraints delayed seven of eight planned traffic-calming street projects in the Sunset neighborhood.
Updated on Sept. 22, 2026 in Child Care
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San Francisco officials have indefinitely shelved most of the District 4 Neighborway Network, a 2021 initiative intended to bring safety upgrades to eight residential streets. Only the Ortega Street project was finished before the city hit a historic budget crisis.
Why it matters
The pause impacts family logistics and street safety for Sunset residents, as these streets were intended to manage 17,000 daily car trips across the district. Financial limitations and agency capacity issues have forced the city to stall the majority of the planned traffic-calming infrastructure.
While the project planned for eight streets, only Ortega Street is complete, with Kirkham Street construction ongoing. The overall network carries an estimated $1.1 million design and implementation cost that the city is struggling to meet.
The players
SFMTA
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency oversees public transit and traffic infrastructure, including the management of slow streets and neighborhood safety networks.
The details
The Neighborway project involves installing traffic-calming measures such as stop signs, crosswalks, and speed cushions on local residential roads. The city is now attempting to reduce project costs by coordinating construction strictly with partner agencies. These measures are designed to support a maximum of 3,000 daily vehicles and maintain speed limits of 25 mph, compared to the stricter 1,000-vehicle, 15-mph thresholds formerly used for slow streets.
Timeline
The city approved traffic calming designs for eight streets in 2021.
The SFMTA removed all slow streets in the neighborhood in 2022.
Funding limits prompted the delay of six streets in 2023.
The Kirkham Street project is expected to finish later this fall.
Planning for the 41st Avenue project remains paused until late 2026.
The Home Front
The cancellation of most of the District 4 network represents a departure from the city's broader 2021 push for expansive residential traffic-calming programs. This trend reflects current municipal difficulties in maintaining previous commitments to street-level safety infrastructure.
Residents in the Sunset neighborhood should monitor city updates regarding specific streets if they live near the Kirkham or 41st Avenue sites. Families navigating these areas should continue to use extra caution at intersections where planned traffic-calming measures have not yet been installed.
The takeaway
The city's inability to fund the full Neighborway network means many Sunset streets will remain in their current configuration for the foreseeable future. Families should check the current status of their specific street through the official SFMTA website to see if planned upgrades remain active.
What happens next
Construction on the Kirkham Street project is expected to be completed later this fall, while the planning pause for 41st Avenue is currently scheduled to lift in late 2026.
Further reading
Learn more about local family transit initiatives in the Child Care section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Mission Local.
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