[This post is from 2012]

Several Sunnyside residents and neighbors joined Natalie Mattei, Safeway real estate manager on Wednesday May 30, at St. Finn Barr school classroom for the latest update on the Monterey Blvd Safeway project, which is now going into its 5th year of planning. Sunnyside Neighborhood Association has been actively meeting with Safeway during this time to address neighborhood concerns about the project. 

The project has been held up in environmental review, while the Planning Department’s staff which operates under CEQA guidelines, examines the two different 18 wheel truck delivery route options. The smaller, Coke, Pepsi and other delivery trucks are not an issue for the City as they are smaller and will not affect traffic or safety as they will continue to approach from 280 Monterey Blvd exit and turn into the dock directly. It is only the large Safeway trucks, of which there are 3 deliveries per day that are of concern. Currently trucks deliver only during the hours of 7 AM to 7 PM.

Safeway trucks are quiet, and also do not have beeping backup sound devices, are teamster driven with excellent safety records.

Plan #1: (this is the route trucks currently use): Trucks would travel west on Monterrey Blvd, after exiting from US 280, and do a “swoop” maneuver.

A portion of the median on Monterey Blvd past Foerster would be removed, so the truck could ‘swoop’ into the eastern-bound lane, during a break in traffic, and then back up across those lanes, and into the loading dock, on the eastern end of the new building. The noise from the trucks is minimal. 

Safeway truck drivers already do this maneuver at its Taraval, Noriega, Fisherman’s Wharf and King Street/Ballpark stores, which takes less than 60 seconds. 
Once backed into the loading dock, the dock door is closed and unloading happens. 

Trucks exit going eastbound on Monterey Blvd and back on to 280.

The City would request with Plan #1 that deliveries not occur during peak traffic periods, 7:30-9:30 AM and 5:00-7:00 PM. This request would also extend delivery hours to 2:00 AM or beyond. Advantages of this plan is that trucks would only travel on Monterey Blvd, and not on any of the other neighborhood streets. Disadvantages are that deliveries would have to occur past 12 midnight. 

Plan #2: Trucks would approach the store from the eastbound lane. They would exit 280 North at Mission/Geneva, travel across Ocean Avenue onto Phelan Avenue, pass City College, turn right on Judson, left on Gennessee, and travel north to Monterey. The trucks would back into the loading dock as in Plan #1, but from the eastbound lanes in front of the store.

Trucks would exit going east on Monterey Blvd to 280 as in Plan #1

Advantages of this route are that no median removal would be required, that trucks would not ‘swoop’ into the oncoming lane of cars, and that Safeway could maintain the same delivery hours of 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM without late night truck arrivals/departures, and also use two different routes for drop off and then exit. Disadvantages would be the trucks would travel on neighborhood streets on their drop-off route.

Safeway tested this route in May, and it was able to pass the MUNI bus on Gennessee, as well as making all the turns. The cars parked on Gennessee did not impede the truck turns. Video of the journey was taken and submitted to the City. Safeway feels that the Ocean/Phelan Avenue corridor does not pose a problem for its trucks, even with the new Phelan Loop project.

There are 3 trucks per day only. Again Safeway trucks are quiet, and also do not have beeping backup sound devices, are teamster driven with excellent safety records. 

Safeway and The City would like neighborhood feedback before its final decision about truck delivery route is made., one way or the other.  And so that the project can move foreword out of environmental/CEQA, to the full Commission.

Since this project has been so long in the planning stage and both the neighborhood and City wants it to move along past this issue, on to the Planning Commission and into construction/completion, the City would like residents, especially those on affected streets, to comment to Safeway, regarding which route is preferred by the residents of Sunnyside.

Please submit your preferences for Plan # 1 or Plan #2, any comments, pros or cons, to me, Richard G., SNA Safeway Committee Chair at richard2sf@gmail.com, no later than June 8.