San Francisco Citizen

Apparently, there’ll be some showdown this afternoon at the City Hall SFMTA meeting regarding the proposal to add trailers to some buses on Union Street. That plan, according to some Cow Hollow NIMBYs, turns buses into “monsters.” Perhaps not as monstrous as this 300-passenger job from China or the Knight Bus, but enough to “destroy” the entire neighborhood.

Let’s hear from C.H.N. Marcie Judelson, from her recent letter to the Chronicle. Some excerpts from “No monster buses“:

“monster disturbing huge loud narrow totally inappropriate outraged struggling crippling noisy disturb ruin historic threatens destroy totally outrageous”

You get the idea.

Here’s something to ponder – if 60-foot buses going down the street destroys the surrounding area, that means that all the other hoods in town with 60-foot buses have already  been destroyed, right? So all you godforsaken souls in the Mission and the Richmond, well you’re dead but you just don’t know it. How can you tolerate subsisting in your non-charming non-village?

That’s the NIMBY mentality.

But, maybe the buses will roll and Life in the Cow Hollow will go on as before?

Yes, in all probability, yes.

Let’s check  in with the Cow Hollow area on Union Street, where lots and lots of business lots are for rent these days, per this recent bit from Sally Kuchar at CurbedSF. Well, here’s the news of the day: There’s a new proposal from MUNI to have bigger bus stops and longer buses on the 41 Union line.

The reaction? Crazy, Kramer-esque banners from millionaire homeowners. See? But don’t laugh, signs like these get results, sometimes. Like when the World’s Smallest Burger King over in the Inner Sunset went under after being subjected to one man’s incessant campaign. RangeLife has the story on that one.

But let’s hear from today’s Union Street NIMBYs themselves. Happy reading!

60 FEET-LONG MONSTER MUNI BUSES
THREATEN TO PUT SMALL UNION STREET INN OUT OF BUSINESS
 
A SF Muni proposal is currently in the works to establish a 291 feet long Bus Terminus at Union & Fillmore. This is to accommodate 60 feet long articulated buses which are planned for service on Union Street. This act of folly places the terminus at the very doorstep of the Union Street Inn, and could place the very existence of the jewel-like Inn in jeopardy.
 
Objections to the ill-conceived plan voiced by merchants of the Union Street Association at recent meetings were summarily dismissed, leaving the impression that the plan is a done deal. The proceedings were termed “farcical” by some merchants.
 
The impact on The Union Street Inn and other merchants in the area could be crippling. With the small inn already struggling to survive in a bruising economy it is inconceivable to think that Muni would even consider removing five revenue-earning meters directly outside the Inn in order to make way for a totally inappropriate, peace-disturbing terminus that would start operation at 5 am and continue throughout the day.
 
Closure of the award-winning Inn would not only be a tragedy, wrought by bureaucracy run amok, but would also result in a loss of  $40,000 a year paid by the inn through the City Hotel Tax.
 
An appeal for intervention by Supervisor Alioto-Pier has, as yet, only elicited a polite formal response from a Legislative Assistant.
 
CONTACTS: David Coyle, Innkeeper, Union Street Inn, 2229 Union Street; Lesley Leonhardt, Union Street Merchants Assn.