Posts Tagged ‘boulevard’

How I Go Up Masonic, How I Come Down Masonic

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

This shot shows the real steep block of northbound Masonic, just above Fulton.

Dude here uses the bizarrely-wide sidewalk, the way I and most other people do. Good times: 

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And you should too, that’s what I’m saying.

Now, going south on Masonic is different. You should stay on the street ’til the cross-street Turk (which has a higher speed limit than Masonic, go figure). Then you go onto the sidewalk for one block (taking care to avoid the illegally parked cars put there by area homeowners who actually own garages, go figure). Then at Golden Gate, you cross and wait for the light to turn red.

Then you have two whole blocks all to yourself, if only for a few moments

Thusly:

That’s How I Go Up Masonic, How I Come Down Masonic.

Cyclists Have the Choice of Going North or South over Alamo Heights – Which is Better, McAllister Street or the Wiggle?

Wednesday, February 13th, 2013

If you want to get there and back again from the Panhandle bike path and Mid Market (and beyond), your best choice is McAllister Street.

It’s waaaaaaay better than The Wiggle route.

Why?

Well, why not? McAllister Street (aka the Hastings Cutoff) is shorter and swifter and straighter and safer

Actually, The Wiggle is The Rookie’s Choice, full of part-timers like CW Nevius (oh he just quit cycling in The City, hardly surprising) and fast fixie riders who don’t know any better.

And The Movement prefers the Wiggle, for some unknown reason. But if you just want to get from A to B, then its Market McAllister Divis and eventually Fell for you.

Like this – that’s UC Hastings, your Hastings Cutoff lodestar, there in the background on the left: 

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So you climb a bit more using McAl, like 20 more vertical feet if you add up all the ups and downs, but big whoop.

All right, see you out there on the HC!

The Stated Objectives of the “Masonic Avenue Street Design Study” vs. Reality

Tuesday, January 29th, 2013

Hey, it’s the Masonic Avenue Street Design Study:

“About the Project – The primary goal of the Masonic Avenue Street Design Study is to identify how Masonic Avenue between Geary Boulevard and Fell Street can safely and efficiently accommodate the needs of all roadway users, including but not limited to … motorists.”

ALL RIGHT, EXACTLY HOW DOES THIS PROJECT “ACCOMMODATE THE NEEDS” OF “MOTORISTS?” OH, NOT AT ALL? THOUGHT SO. MOVING ON.

Objectives:

1. Engage representatives of all constituencies within the community who would be impacted by changes to Masonic Avenue…

ALL RIGHT, WHICH REPRESENTATIVES OF THE “MOTORIST” “CONSTITUENCY” WERE “ENGAGED?” ANY AT ALL? YOU KNOW, THE OCTAVIA BOULEVARD PEOPLE “ENGAGED” MOTORISTS AS FAR AWAY AS MONTEREY BOULEVARD, OUT THERE WITH CLIPBOARDS AND EVERYTHING. DID THE MASONIC AVENUE PEOPLE DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT? OH NO.

2. Improve transit operation.

THIS PROJECT WILL UNIMPROVE TRANSIT OPERATION ON AND AROUND MASONIC – THERE’S NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT. IT’S GOING TO SLOW DOWN THE BUSES THAT USE MASONIC, INCLUDING THE OCCASIONAL #5 FULTON AND #21 HAYES.

3. Improve pedestrian and non-motorized access to transit.

SO TRANSIT USERS WILL HAVE “BETTER ACCESS” TO REDUCED BUS SERVICE? I DON’T GET THE BETTER ACCESS PART – YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT A BUS STOP? ALSO, WHAT’S “MOTORIZED ACCESS TO TRANSIT?”

4. Increase the safety of pedestrian crossings.

YOU KNOW, THE PRIOR PROJECT MANAGER IS ON THE RECORD AS STATING THAT THIS KIND OF THING IS BAD TO DO LIKE NOW BECAUSE IT WOULD HURT THE CAUSE OF PUSHING THE ENTIRE PROJECT THROUGH. KIND OF SAD, REALLY.

5. Increase motorist compliance with traffic rules and regulations.

UH, WHAT, WITH TREES? IF I WANTED TO INCREASE COMPLIANCE WITH TRAFFIC LAWS, I’D JACK THE SPEED LIMIT UP TO 40 MPH. NOW, THAT WOULD HAVE SOME SIDE EFFECTS, BUT IT CERTAINLY WOULD REDUCE THE INCIDENCE OF SPEEDING, RIGHT? OR, HAVING HOURS-LONG TRAFFIC JAM UPS DURING THE MORNING AND EVENING DRIVES WOULD REDUCE SPEEDING, IS THAT WHAT YOU’RE GETTING AT?

6. Reduce the number of vehicular collisions, especially those involving pedestrians and bicyclists.

HOW? BY PLANTING TREES? WE’LL SEE. HEY DIDN’T THE RECENT OCTAVIA BOULEVARD / MEDIAN PROJECT INCREASE THE NUMBER OF VEHICULAR COLLISIONS ON OCTAVIA? YES IT DID. HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN THAT?

7. Support neighborhood vitality by creating a more inviting and accommodating public realm.

BY PUTTING IN A MEDIAN AND PLANTING TREES? SO, LET’S TAX AMERICA, CALIFORNIA, AND SAN FRANCISCO TO CREATE A “REALM” ON 3000 FEET WORTH OF STREET PRIMARILY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE WEALTHY PROPERTY OWNERS AND PRIVATE SCHOOL(S) WHAT ARE ON THE STREET? ALL RIGHT.

Poorly-Designed Octavia “Boulevard” Proves Too Much for Mercedes-Driving Mom – Plows into NIMBY Green

Monday, December 31st, 2012

To the right of this accident scene is Octavia Boulevard.

And to the left, a block away, is Octavia Street.

And in the middle, you’ll see NIMBY Green with a newish Mercedes Benz CLS sitting on top.

Via ciprofloxacin – click to expand

You see, Octavia used to be a regular old street until Redevelopment (a bad idea from the 20th century) and the failed Octavia “Boulevard” experiment (a bad idea from the 21st century) came along.

Anyway. this is what results when “activists” are valued more than traffic engineers

Forget About How Much That Giants Parade Cost Us – Instead, Worry About How Much These Orange Street Signs Cost Us

Thursday, November 1st, 2012

Here’s something:

Giants parade cost might remain a mystery

And here’s something else, seen on California Street yesterday:

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So, how much does it cost to manufacture an official SFGov 2012 GIANTS street sign these days?

Can I buy one? What’s the price?

Or better yet, can I get some for free to hand out to my good friend / benefactor Con Ronway?

Next stop, Willie L. Brown Jr. Boulevard!

Thank you, drive through.

Wow: Seeing San Francisco From Above the Mission District Through “Omni-Vision” – Rear Window, Cessna Skyhawk

Friday, August 10th, 2012

Hey man, nice shot.

Via singlespeeder2007:

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Viewing notes:

Hey, can you guess which street in San Francisco was remade to be a firebreak, you know, around 1906? Sure you can. Just look at the photo. You see, it, unlike the useless, quarter-mile long, Octavia Boulevard “Livable Streets” experiment, is wide for a reason. 

Omni-Vision – This referred to the rear windows on some Cessna singles, starting with the 182 and 210 in 1962, the 172 in 1963 and the 150 in 1964. The term was intended to make the pilot feel visibility was improved on the notably poor-visibility Cessna line. The introduction of the rear window caused in most models a loss of cruise speed due to the extra drag, while not adding any useful visibility

OMG, They Made a Movie About the AC Transit Bus Fight – On Netflix Now – Entitled “Bad Ass” – $$ for Epic Beard Man?

Tuesday, July 10th, 2012

This incident in the East Bay a few years back…

…has been made into a movie called Bad Ass:

Which I guess is old news.

But the new news is that you can watch this flick for free now via the NetFlix.

It’s just released. See?

“This movie is: Exciting”

(But, sorry streamer-only NetFlix people, right now you can only have them mail you the DVD or the Blu-Ray – you can’t just stream this to your device.)

And no, I don’t think Vietnam Tom Bruso, or anyone else on the bus that day…

…will get a dime out of Bad Ass.

That’s Tinseltown for you…

Is It OK for This Trader Joe’s Shopper to Ride Her Bike on the Sidewalks of Geary in the Inner Richmond? Sure

Monday, June 25th, 2012

Why not?

She seemed to be doing it responsibly, and she was on a stretch of road famous for drunk drivers, and she just left another road famous for drunk drivers.

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I hope she never sees this peer-pressure video.

You Go Girl.

You go slowly and you’ll be fine.

 

Gold Mountain Mural in North Beach is Gone, Long Gone, Owing to Graffiti Vandals – Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

Friday, March 9th, 2012

The news of this mural going away had escaped my attention the past couple of months.

Here’s what it looked like before….

…and here’s what it looks like now:

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Here are your reading notes:

Gen Fujioka of the Chinatown Community Development Center is involved with promoting the horrible Central Subway to Nowhere.

Artist Ann Sherry is fortunate to get a five-figure commission for anything, so I’m not sure why she’s so perpetually cranky. 

It’s not smart to put up images of authority figures (you know, people in military of police uniforms) in a sort of wild part of town

I don’t know, maybe this was a bad idea from the start?

I don’t know, maybe San Francisco government has lots of bad ideas, you know, from the start?

What can we learn from this episode?

Word From the Street: Bridge Theatre – Open Since 1939 – Melancholia

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

As seen at 3010 Geary near Blake in the Inner Richmond District: 

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“1 Screen. Built in 1939. Operated by Landmark since 1991. Only one mile west of Japan Town and one mile south of the Presidio, the Bridge Theatre is conveniently and centrally located in the Inner Richmond District. Named after the Golden Gate bridge which was built two years before, it is one of San Francisco’s most beloved single-screen movie palaces, featuring independent films and foreign language cinema since the 1950s.”