These days, there’s no need to wonder when the next Nx Judah Express is coming, as you can see them queuing up betwixt First and Second streets on Market.
Anyway, MUNI has a starter directing bus traffic on the evening drive starting at 4:00 PM, so the drivers are keeping schedule down to the minute.
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Yesterday’s Nx’es appeared to be rather full with riders, so that means that this program is more successful than the CultureBus already.
That’s the update for now…
Well here it is, the debut of the Nx Judah Express, designed to whisk people to the fog-enshrouded West Bay, you know, to give a little more elbow room for the denizens of San Francisco Proper – the Inner Sunset and Cole Valley.
All right, Chapter I: Know Your Nx.
Anterior. Rather a bright bleu, non? Redolent of the bright orange-wrapped CultureBus one might think:
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Lateral. Rather patriotic, redolent of the 1976-era bicentennial scheme:
Posterior. Rather less blue, but that solid-colored rectangle is your visual cue to start running for the Nx before the driver takes off.
I don’t see a bunch of people clamoring to get into these things just yet. We’ll see.
All right Chapter II: Empty by Design.
After the drivers drop off passengers way out there near La Playa or 47th Aveneue or whatever, they turn around and head back to the Financh empty.
What? Really. The plan is for the drivers to “dead-head” on back downtown sans passengers.
(Wonder if you could get on at the last stop outbound with the intent of coming into the Financial without any stops at all? That would be the Nx Judah Express to the Second Power, or something. But, they’d probably kick you off, so oh well.)
Like I say, this program reminds me of the failed CultureBus, which Nat Ford still hails as a success.
Obviously, you can’t have an N Judah streetcar run an express route on the same tracks as regular N Judah service. And obviously, the SFMTA just can’t add more N’s, for whatever reason. Oh well.
And in mitigation, MUNI’s not out there cheerleading for this saying how great an idea it is, you know, the way it happened with Gavin Newsom’s CultureBus. And, when I checked the Next MUNI today, those Nx’es looked verily like rabbits, easily outpacing the N Judahs that started at about the same time.
On Time Will Tell how bad this latest SFMTA program is…
Pretty much.
The thing is is that if you are going to Montgomery Street as your final destination anyway, then the Nx might be for you.
Or, if you feel guilty about sitting down on an N Judah streetcar while you’re passing by those Cole Valley suckas, then the Nx might be for you.
Otherwise not so much.
Per jallenhere:
“The N judah is racing the new N judah Express and the N judah is winning. The experiment failed.”
Ooh, harsh.
Now here’s panicpandapanic:
“Tried the N-Judah Express today. Nice not having a bunch of stops but it took about the same amount of time due to the walk from Bush St.“
And here’s Madge707:
“Caught sight of the n Judah express this am. It was moving fast. Too bad it ends at Montgomery 
“
What MUNI needs to do is to get its act together.
This band-aid approach, this NX Judah Express does not constitute getting your act together, MUNI.
Just saying.
Now here’s my question for people living way out there in the West Bay – is it your patriotic duty to wait for the new Nx Judah Express instead of taking the N-Judah streetcar, you know, to free up more space for people living in the InSet, the Inner Sunset?
‘Cause if you fix on the idea of taking the bus everyday from the 48th Ave. or La Playa area, it’s going to take you longer to get to work, some of the time, anyway. Transit First
So, even though the bus line is just for you, you personally won’t benefit all that much from it. Consider taking this bus as your patriotic duty to benefit those poor devils who live in the Inner Sunset or Cole Valley and might get passed up up by a totally full N Judah streetcar.
Oh well.
In other news, the CultureBus is considered a success by the people at MUNI, still.
Oh well.
Now here’s my question for people living way out there in the West Bay – is it your patriotic duty to wait for the new Nx Judah Express instead of taking the N-Judah streetcar, you know, to free up more space for people living in the InSet, the Inner Sunset?
‘Cause if you fix on the idea of taking the bus everyday from the 48th Ave. or La Playa area, it’s going to take you longer to get to work, some of the time, anyway. Transit First
So, even though the bus line is just for you, you personally won’t benefit all that much from it. Consider taking this bus as your patriotic duty to benefit those poor devils who live in the Inner Sunset or Cole Valley and might get passed up up by a totally full N Judah streetcar.
Oh well.
In other news, the CultureBus is considered a success by the people at MUNI, still.
Oh well.
Here’s the scene this morning at the official ceremony kicking off all the Divisadero Streetscape Improvements and the Cafe Mojo Parklet at 639 Divisidero betwixt Hayes and Grove.
BIKE NOPA has all the deets for the new parklet in front of popular Mojo Bicycle Cafe, where you are beseeched to “ride in – hang out – get your fix – ride on.”
Of course District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimiwas there* – he was working the crowd and expressing his appreciation for improved bicycle and pedestrian safety on the Divisadero Corridor. He also pointed out the success of the nearby Divisadero Farmer’s Market, which is no longer seasonal. It’s open every Sunday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM year-round these days.
Mayor Gavin Newsom addressing a large crowd on the tiny parklet:
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And all the while, the honking yellow Hummer of Main Contractor Synergy Project Management was discretely parked across the street, as discretely as possible given that it’s a honking yellow Hummer:
I’m on the record as not being a big fan of all the changes, but oh well.
SocketSite has more info about Divis and Curbed SF has all the history, as you’d expect.
Brand new median trees and old-school streetlamps for as far as the eye can see:
These days, it’s Mojo a gogo. A fixie bike mounted outdoors as art:
Welcome to the New Divisidero.
*Wearing the same drip-dry suit he was wearing at the recent opening of the Hamilton Recreation Center and Pool.
All the deets, after the jump
You know, when you’re coming through San Francisco keeping busy applying makeup holding a cell phone eating a Pocky chocolate-coated breadstick with one hand and holding the remaining Pockies with the other, it pays to have another set of eyes keeping a lookout on the road ahead.
As seen in the Middle Sunset District heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge on 19th Avenue, aka the Senator Leland Yee Double Fine Zone:
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Feel free to eat delicious Pocky treats whenever and wherever you wish – that whole sodium cyanide thing involving the Monster with 21 Faces sorted itself out more than a quarter century ago. (Wow, Wiki, you certainly are well-informed.)
Nowadays, it seems that every intersection on the 19th Avenue double fine zone in the Sunset District has either:
1. a dedicated pedestrian signal (with a countdown timer thrown in as a bonus), like this one on Ortega : or
2. evidence of recent work indicating that a pedestrian signal is a coming soon, like this one on Santiago.
Hurray!
Your grandfather’s traffic signal. Click to expand:
“Never discourage anyone…who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.”
Don’t get out much to this part of the Westside Fog Belt, so this is the first I’ve seen of pedestrian signals at some intersections of 19th Avenue, aka State Highway One.
Of course, this improvement comes a little late for some…
Look for them, tirelessly counting down 24/7, on Park Presidio and the Sunset District part of 19th Avenue.
Hurray, I suppose.
