Church station (Muni Metro)

Church station or Church Street station is a Muni Metro light rail station in San Francisco, California. It is located at the six-way intersection of Market Street, Church Street and 14th Street in the Duboce Triangle neighborhood. Service at the station began in June 1980.

Church
An inbound T Third Street train at Church station in 2017
Location	Market Street at Church Street and 14th Street San Francisco, California
Coordinates	37°46′4.13″N 122°25′44.64″W
Owned by	San Francisco Municipal Railway
Line(s)	Market Street subway
Platforms	2 side platforms (underground) 4 side platforms (surface)
Tracks	2 (Muni Metro - underground) 2 (Muni Metro - surface) 2 (historic streetcar - surface)
Connections	Muni: 22, 37, J Bus, KT Bus, K Owl, L Bus, L Owl, M Bus, N Owl, N Bus
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	June 11, 1980[1]
Services
Preceding station Muni Following station Castro towards West Portal S Shuttle Van Ness towards Embarcadero Castro towards San Jose and Geneva (Balboa Park) M Ocean View Van Ness One-way operation Castro One-way operation T Third Street Van Ness towards Sunnydale At surface stops Church and 16th Street towards Balboa Park J Church Church and Duboce Terminus Market and Sanchez towards 17th Street and Castro F Market & Wharves Market and Dolores / Market and Buchanan towards Jones and Beach
Location

Station layout

An outbound J Church train at Market Street in December 2020

The station consists of two side platforms next to the tracks on the second level down with the concourse mezzanine level overlooking it.

The J Church line, which enters and exits the Market Street subway tunnel in a portal near the station, connects to this station at two surface-level platform. The inbound stop is near the corner of Church and Market Streets, while the outbound stop is near the corner of Church and 14th Streets. The F Market & Wharves streetcar line, running along Market Street, also has stops at the intersection. The N Judah line also exits the Market Street tunnel before reaching the Church Street station and stops one block away at Church and Duboce Avenue.

At both Church Street station and Castro Street station, there is only one stairway on each side of Market Street leading into the station. (All other stations on the Market Street subway have entrances spread out along the length of the station.) One of these entrances is located on the northwest corner of Market and 14th Street, and the other is on the southwest corner of Market and Church Street.The street elevator is on the north side of Market Street west of 14th Street. Originally freestanding, it was incorporated in the façade of an apartment building constructed in 2017–20.[2][3]

As part of August 2020 changes to Muni Metro, the J became an all-surface line. The J terminates at the inbound platform on Church Street, providing an accessible transfer between the J and subway trains.[4] A mini-high platform was to be constructed on the inbound platform at Church and Duboce, and an outbound mini-high platform was to be built on Church Street south of Market Street, allowing the J to be re-extended slightly to Duboce Street in October 2020.[4] The forced transfer at Church station - which requires J Church riders to cross two streets and use two elevators to transfer - was criticized by disability advocates.[5]

However, on August 25, 2020 – just days after the changes – all Muni Metro service was again replaced by buses.[6] J Church rail service resumed on December 19, 2020, with both new mini-high platforms in use and Duboce as the new terminus.[7][8]

References

1. Callwell, Robert (September 1999). "Transit in San Francisco: A Selected Chronology, 1850–1995" (PDF). San Francisco Municipal Railway. p. 58.
2. "Conditional Use Authorization" (PDF). San Francisco Planning Department. January 9, 2020.
3. Page & Turnbull (March 2007). "Primary Record" (PDF). California Department of Parks and Recreation.
4. "J Church Transfer Improvements". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
5. Graf, Carly (August 18, 2020). "Muni 'improvements' could make things harder for seniors, disabled". San Francisco Examiner.
6. "Bus Substitution for All Rail Lines" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. August 25, 2020.
7. Maguire, Mariana (December 7, 2020). "Upcoming Muni Service Expansions Phase-in Rail Service, Add Bus Service" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
8. "This Route is Shortened". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. December 19, 2020. Archived from the original on December 20, 2020.

External links

Media related to Church station (Muni Metro) at Wikimedia Commons