Equitable Transportation

central subway san francisco chinatown
Chinatown CDC advocates for predominantly monolingual, immigrant, low-income seniors, and families who have historically experienced barriers to meaningful participation in transportation planning. The largest public transportation project over the past decade for San Francisco is the Central Subway. We also maintain the Chinatown Park and Ride program and provide technical assistance to the Chinatown Transportation Research and Improvement Project.


Central Subway
For more than two and a half decades, Chinatown CDC has advocated for the Central Subway, which extends the Third Street Light Rail into the heart of Chinatown. The transit equity advocacy effort was led by a community coalition included Rose Pak, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Chinatown TRIP, and the Community Tenants Association. The project is the second phase of the Third Street Light Rail Project. The Chinatown-Rose Pak station (on the corner of Stockton and Washington Street) opened November 19, 2022 and began full service on January 7, 2023.

The project promotes transit justice by providing reliable, efficient, and safe transit for those who live in Chinatown and those who want to visit Chinatown.




Chinatown Transportation Research and Improvement Project (TRIP)
During the 1976 San Francisco Craft Workers’ Strike which led to a MUNI service lockout, many elderly in Chinatown still needed transportation to meet their daily needs such as getting to medical appointments. To support these residents, we developed the Chinatown Transportation Research and Improvement Project. Chinatown TRIP continues today as a volunteer organization committed to improving transit service and pedestrian safety in Chinatown. We advocate for transportation improvements to enhance service and safety. We educate community members through public campaigns and lobby city agencies to take action on transit issues such as service reliability, sidewalk-widening along Stockton Street, improving the Stockton Tunnel for pedestrians, bilingual bus stop announcements and signage, and advocacy for the Central Subway. For more information, visit www.spotlightchinatown.com/movement.

Chinatown TRIP

Chinatown Park and Ride (temporarily suspended due to the pandemic)
The Chinatown Park and Ride Program began in 1998 to address a decrease in visitors to San Francisco’s Chinatown after the Embarcadero Freeway closed in 1991. To encourage more shoppers and diners to support Chinatown businesses the Park and Ride validation program provides affordable weekend parking at the Golden Gateway Garage located in the Financial District. The program also aims to reduce traffic congestion and the environmental impact of traffic and pollution in Chinatown. For more information, visit www.spotlightchinatown.com/chinatownparkandride.