Warriors Arena Transportation Mode Split Assumptions

The Golden State Warriors’ plan for managing the traffic from a projected 200+ events a year to be held at their proposed Mission Bay Arena was presented to the Mission Bay Citizens Advisory Committee last night.

With the Warriors currently assuming that 55 percent of attendees for big events will be arriving in their own cars, the stated goal of their transportation plan is “to reduce vehicular impacts and minimize pedestrian spillover into streets and adjacent neighborhoods” and promote non-automobile transportation options.

Assumptions of the plan include the extension of Muni’s 22-Fillmore line into Mission Bay, perhaps with dedicated lanes along 16th Street, and the electrification of Caltrain.

The Warriors’ full presentation:

22 thoughts on “Warriors’ Plan For Managing New Arena Traffic In Mission Bay”
  1. I’m sorry, I missed the part about the impacts on the commuters living in the burbs…i.e. the Sunset and Richmond. One has to wonder how this accumulative impact of the additional 35% increase in transit ridership added to the Giants 43% effects downtown worker getting home on event nights.

    Let me see 35% of 17,500 = 6,125 additional riders. Add 18,060 (43% of 42,000) to that and we get a grand total of…drum roll please… 24,185 additional riders on homestand event days added to the Muni crush load.

    Oh well, I guess they’ll figure it all out…

  2. With the Central Subway going to the doorstep of the arena and Caltrain offering more frequent service, only 35% arriving by transit seems like a low prediction.

    1. The 1-car K/T trains already go to the doorstep of the arena lot and we see how well MUNI operates that line, especially during a Giants game. 1-car trains will not be able to handle the capacity, not to mention there’s really no place to hoard trains during events (like they do with Giants games), which ultimately means disruption of service on the entire K/T line that will spread to the rest of the rail system. Caltrain will be a hike for those who choose not to wait for a packed K/T train outside the Caltrain station.

    2. A solution might be to extend the N-Judah down 7th St. and around 16th St to a terminus at the arena…double platforms (like Macarthur BART). This will enable people to choose either the K/T or the N and alleviate stress on a good portion of the system by reducing crowding at one stress point. MUNI should only run two-car K/T trains during events (I call it K/T because the arena will most likely be up and running before the Central Subway).

      Since the 280 removal to 16th St. is up in the air, if it did happen then build a Caltrain station at 16th St. to provide walking-distance service to the arena, rather than deal with transfers to MUNI. Run it only during events, like at Stanford. Same for the N-Judah extension, unless Mission Bay demand warrants full-time service.

    3. SFMTA is building a rail loop a couple blocks away around 18th/Illinois/19th. It was in the original plans for the T line, but wasn’t funded until this year. It should be complete next year. From the Mission Bay Loop Environmental Assessment (pdf at namelink):
      “Beginning in 2016 (prior to its integration with the Central Subway in 2019), the Mission Bay Loop would allow trains to turn around for special events (e.g., baseball games, concerts, street fairs) and during peak periods to meet the projected service needs between Mission Bay and the Market Street Muni Metro corridor. If resources permit, the N-Judah line would to be extended to the Mission Bay Loop from its current terminus at Caltrain to provide this service.”

  3. I wasn’t at the meeting, but a couple observations from looking at this presentation:

    First, this is very preliminary. It mentions that they don’t yet have an estimate of the number of auto trips generated by their project. If their passengers/vehicle number is similar to the Giants (~2.3) then at 55% auto mode split, a Warriors game would add about 4,000 cars. I would guess that many of these would arrive via 280 just like we see for Giants games.

    Second, most of the “Pre-Event Preferred Routes” shown on slide #16 would be ok for weekends, but wouldn’t work during PM rush hour. Basically, all their routes north of 16th St are bad for PM rush hour because they add traffic to the deluge in eastern SOMA of cars trying to get to/from the highways.

    What should be the preferred routing is to channel this traffic around the thickest SOMA congestion (from 6th east) by using 8th St. 8th should be connected through to 16th, and paired with 7th as one way streets. Along with widening 16th St east of 8th. That way 7th and 8th can do for western SOMA what 3rd and 4th do for eastern SOMA.

    Even though it may only be a couple thousand cars, the Warriors PM rush hour traffic coming from the bay bridge, GG bridge, and downtown wouldn’t need to use surface streets southeast of Howard and 8th.

  4. Earlier meetings mention the onsite parking for 700 -950 spaces are there to primary serve the office and retail clients, not for event parking…but “possible” arrangements can be made for event parking.

    The off site parking lots and structure list are semi-public.

    450 South parking is currently off limits to event parking. They are reserved for monthly parking. Giant fans and the public are not allowed to park there on an hourly basis.

    The UCSF parking lots are reserved for UCSF clients and staff and monthly parking. UCSF has stationed attendants on baseball game days to turn away baseball fans at lot on 4th and South St. I suspect part of it is not wanting to deal with the problems left behind by fans. So Warrior’s parking assumption is not yet valid unless the Warriors are successful in signing an agreement with offsite parking operators.

    1. Last I saw the UCSF parking lots took full advantage of the baseball games in the evenings and only turned the cars away for the day games so staff could park.

  5. The estimate for taxis/Uber seem wildly low. Also, the estimate for those using transit to get to Kings games is wildly inflated.

  6. As mentioned previously, the problem is weeknight games where traffic will be even more of a crush then with giants games given the further distance away from 280 (just imagine how bad the offramp at mariposa will be with the hospital (and the traffic light that is going to be installed) plus the warriors. it’s going to be a big cluster… add in the fact that the electrification of caltrain and potential ending of 280 at 16th will clearly be delayed past the opening of the arena. it will be a huge mess. they need to build more road connections across caltrain to ever make this work.

    1. no, it will not be a mess. it’s an 18,000 capacity arena, less than half the Giants. the existing infrastructure can and will manage. yes, there will be occasional traffic snarls, par for the course.

      1. I agree that snarls before/after events should be expected. Packed transit cars too.

        Any transport system that can move an arena full of people in and out quickly is way way overdesigned. A better way to mitigate the before and after crush is to provide hangouts (bars, restaurants, picnic spaces) to allow spectators to chill out and wait for the crush to die down.

    2. They also need to build the Southern Crossing so people from Alameda can get there easily. And the second BART tube. And the water taxi, of course. And the hyperloop. But other than that, I’m sure it’ll be fine.

  7. Don’t worry. The GOP is in charge of DC now, so we will have another recession before this arena opens. Commuter traffic will be very light compared to today.

  8. why not spend all the money on new bike lanes so we can bump that up from 2 to 2.5% for only a few million dollars. forget about real transit solutions. keep removing car lanes for the 2% of bike commuters

  9. I live in Mission Bay, only one block from AT&T Park on 4th and I can tell you that the biggest congestion issues stem from when riders of CalTrain and MUNI are getting off at 4th and King and there are no underground or elevated walkways for riders to get inside the park without causing auto back up. This is especially bad during rush hour when traffic picks up with auto, buses, bikes, etc., all unable to get through intersections due to foot traffic. I believe the same issue will be for the Warriors Stadium as well, not to mention if there is an event at both AT&T and Warriors at the same time. The T Line MUNI only runs with one car, which is packed on a non-game/event date and as much as “they” tell you that they will increase on event dates, it doesn’t happen.

    The issue is not with having the Warriors Stadium at this location, because it CAN work and I for one am so excited to have it coming to my neighborhood. The problem is the fact that this city continues not to push for proper subway transportation to get people around the city. It CANNOT all be done one street level, not sure what it will take to understand?

    They should also have a Ferry Terminal outside the Stadium as well for any EB or NB traffic.

  10. Magical thinking. The T-line and the 22-Fillmore do not have the capacity to serve additional loads. Does matter how crazy overcrowded you pack people in – and Muni does pack them in – that many people will not fit on the few transit vehicles. The project sponsor saying 35% will take transit is meaningless since Muni has no real plan to provide capacity to serve that number of people. Especially on those days when both the Warriors Stadium and AT&T Park have events on the same day.

    All SFMTA staff salaries should be linked to system performance – or it will always make unrealistic promises and provide poor service to the residents of San Francisco.

  11. BART’s second crossing study is searching for a place to come up from the East Bay.

    How about Mission Bay Boulevard mediansStrip just north of the Warriors, just south of the Giants? Could tie into the Caltrain, HSR underground downtown lines right there at the “soon to be demolished” I-280…..

    No way all those people are going to fit on the T-third line on days that both the Ballpark and the Stadium are occupied…..

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