Posts Tagged ‘intersection’
Friday, March 5th, 2010
Part of the problem of having wide, wide sidewalks in San Francisco is when people go and try to fill up the wasted space.
As here, in front of the Hotel Whitcomb on inbound Market near 8th Street. See? Terry Frye’s recent photos seem to show quite a lot of stuff on the red brick. Is Market now a Livable Street or something? Are potted plants required for every public-private partnership to come down the pike?
If this trend keeps up, then San Francisco Honda will run out of room to hawk its wares. I mean, there are only so many red bricks for businesses to put their stuff on out there, right?
Tags: "street furniture, 8th, chairs, dining, dinner, eights, Honda, hotel, hotel whitcomb, intersection, lunch, market, outdoor, parking, permit, plants, potted, san francisoc, sidewalks, street, tables, umbrellas, whitcomb
Posted in streets | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
Via ActionNewsSF, you might search to find a KGO-TV bit covering the traffic-disrupting venting steam pipe at McAllister and Larkin today – it’s more steam than usual, that’s for sure.
But this area of Civic Center right in front of our Asian Art Museum (this year, it’s Shanghai) is basically steaming all the time, right?
HC SVNT DRACONES:
Click to expand.
This intersection is usually steaming, unless it’s flooding. Like this:
via Lulu Vision
Oh well.
As per usual, it all happens on (or near) McAllister Street, Gateway to the Golden Gate Park Panhandle and home of the Snickerdoodle bike path (Route 20), your best way of getting over Alamo Heights while avoiding the abysmal, Hayes Valley NIMBY-designed Octavia Boulevard 24-7 traffic scrum.
Tags: 20, 7, alamo heights, art of the city, asian art museum, bicycle, bike, boulevard, broken, channel, civic center, cover, crosswalk, ctiy hall, cyclists, department, dept., disrupt, disruption, dpw, dragons be here, flodding, flood, hayes valley, HC SVNT DRACONES, Here Be Dragons, hic sunt dracones, hill, intersection, kgo, larkin, macallister, manhole, market, nimby, octavia, octavia boulevard, pass, path, pipe, public works, repair, report, restaurant, route, San Francisco, shanghai, snick, snickerdoodle, soluna, Steam, steaming, street, tc, traffic, vent, venting, water
Posted in streets | No Comments »
Friday, February 26th, 2010
What makes San Francisco’s monthly Critical Mass an illegal bicycle parade is the fact that nobody gets permits. ‘Cause getting a permit is hard - it would entail doing stuff that costs a lot of money and it would make you a magnet for lawsuits, so who needs that, right?
The thing is that corking intersections and running red lights as a group (hallmarks of Critical Mass going back to the mid-1990’s), those things are obviously illegal, so the SFPD could start issuing citations whenever it wants, of course. And that’s true no matter how they roll in the Empire State. (Actually, I question how the New York decision affects us here in San Francisco at all, but oh well.)
I’ll tell you, the biggest shock that drivers have when they get stuck at an intersection is that they get no sympathy from the cops. Drivers without criminal records tend to stay by their cars and watch the parade of bikes.
OTOH, drivers with criminal records, well, Critical Mass is a test of their ability to maintain. Some fail.
Do I think San Francisco has the will to kill Critical Mass? No. But do I think Police Chief George Gascon is planning on shaking things up, in the coming months, you know, when rain no longer threatens* and the number of cyclists is bigger? Yes.
“Hey, man, we don’t have any “leaders,” man. The City can’t do nothing to us, nobody’s in charge of CM, man.” Yes, roger that. I don’t think anybody’s going to stick you with a bill for $35,000 or anything, but changes are a coming…
Collateral damage from Critical Mass - MUNI vehicles stretching to the horizon in both directions. (Is that on the DO list or the DON’T list?) This kind of thing is one of the reasons you don’t see CM listed at the SFBC website calendar anymore.
Where’s Waldo, Cagney and Lacey on a recent Critical Mass ride:
The wonder of encountering an unexpected Critical Mass for the first time. Out-of-towners Rachel and Monica were delighted:
To Be Continued…
*Actually, tonight looks to be clear as a bell, Mel. But the forecast was for rain so tonight’s should be a smaller ride.
Tags: 2009, 2010, biclcye, bike, bus, chief, commute clot, confrontation, cops, cork, corked, critical, critical mass, cyclists, delay, department, dept., friday, fridays, George Gascón, intersection, Judge, last, market, mass, month, monthly, Muni, new york, parade, police, Police Chief, rain, San Francisco, sexy, SFPD, stalled, tacoed, transit, trolley, Wheel
Posted in bikes, crime | 1 Comment »
Monday, February 8th, 2010
BIKE NOPA has just posted details on the SFPD police report and the District Attorney’s response to the death of pedestrian Melissa Dennison, killed by a collision at the intersection of Fell and Broderick on September 15th, 2009.
The intersection of Fell and Broderick
Tags: 2009, 29, 600, accident, ada, bac, bike, BIKE NOPA, california, cars, cited, crosswalk, da', dead, denison, denisson, dennison, department, dept., District Attorney, divisidero, driver, facebook, fault, fell broderick, haight, homicide, Honda, hope, intersection, Kamala Harris, killed, lake tahoe, Lieutenant, lt., manslaughter, melisa, Melissa, melissa dennison, melissa dennisson, melissa hope dennison, memorial, NOPA, north of panhandle, ocean beach, Park station, partial, ped, pedestrian, pit, PM, police, police report, prosecutor, Ramlin, referred, San Francisco, september, sfgo, SFPD, SFSU, shrine, snowboard, snowboarding, state, street, truckee, university, vehicular, western addition
Posted in transit | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010
The failings of the drivers of San Francisco are well-documented…
…but what about pedestrians - how are they doing?
Not well, based upon their behavior in the Financh and other nearby districts. Let’s take a look at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s “Safety Toolbox: Common Violations for Pedestrian-Involved Collisions” for some help:
Common pedestrian-at-fault violations
The problem is that lots of peds violate California Vehicle Code Section 21451(c) and 21456(a) without knowing it. That is, they routinely enter crosswalks immediately after their light turns green. That’s a no-no in CA unless you make sure that traffic has cleared the intersection first.
“21451(c) A pedestrian facing a circular green signal… may proceed across the roadway within any marked or unmarked crosswalk, but shall yield the right-of-way to vehicles lawfully within the intersection at the time that signal is first shown.”
“21456 Whenever a pedestrian control signal showing the words “WALK” or “WAIT” or “DONT WALK” or other approved symbol is in place, the signal shall indicate as follows: (a) “WALK” or approved “Walking Person” symbol. A pedestrian facing the signal may proceed across the roadway in the direction of the signal, but shall yield the right-of-way to vehicles lawfully within the intersection at the time that signal is first shown.”
Can a ped get a ticket for blocking a car? Yes, but I’ve never heard of it. Prices start at $108 - I’m sure that they can easily exceed that what with court fees and whatnot.
21451(c,d) Green Signal–Pedestrian Responsibilities $108.00
So, green does not mean go. Green means go after the intersection has cleared – this applies to pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, everybody.
The real concern for pedestrians is them being held at fault after being hit by a vehicle. The issue turns on whether the driver entered into the intersection on a red light or not. When you encounter Third Street and Market, where cars need to travel 175+ feet to clear the intersection, extra vigilance is needed. The only thing keeping most pedestrians from immediately crossing on a green is a caravan a slowly moving cars trying to clear the intersection.
So you can continue living your life thinking that cars are running red lights at every busy intersection during every light cycle, or you can learn the PEDESTRIAN CROSSWALK DUTIES in California.
Your choice, ped.
Tags: 21451, 21451(c), 21456, 21456(a), cars, citation, cvc, drivers, green, intersection, law, mrket, pedestrian, red, San Francisco, street, third, ticket, Vehicle Code, vehicles, yellow
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
OMG, they’re back! Don’t go into Cute Overload when you see the pets of the San Francisco SPCA Holiday Windows program at the corner of Stockton and O’Farrell.
Folks were still setting up a few days back, but now would be a good time to check things out. And don’t miss the Union Square tree lighting at Nov. 27, 2009, 6:00 PM. Check the photos.
As seen on Saturday:
Click to expand:
Kitties and puppies, AFAICS
All the deets:
San Francisco
HOLIDAY WINDOWS AT MACY’S UNION SQUARE
Nov. 20, 2009 to Jan. 3, 2010
Macy’s will once again partner with San Francisco’s Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to give homeless cats and dogs a second chance to find warm and loving homes. Holiday shoppers can glimpse some of San Francisco’s cutest animals, along with Santa himself, in Macy’s Stockton and O’Farrell Street windows. This year’s windows are inspired by Macy’s Believe campaign, which asks children to deposit their stamped letters to Santa in official Santa’s mailboxes in our stores. Animals up for adoption will frolic in front of a variety of doorsteps indicative of classic architecture, from colonial to cottage, modern to brownstone and log cabin to deco. Santa letters will arrive at Santa’s mailroom, where the jolly man himself will be checking his list to find out which dogs and cats have been naughty or nice. SPCA representatives will be on site while the pets are on display to answer questions from potential adopters.
20TH ANNUAL TREE LIGHTING CELEBRATES THE YOUNG PATIENTS OF UCSF CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
Nov. 27, 2009, 6:00 p.m.
Macy’s Great Tree in Union Square, Macy’s gift to the city and most recognized Christmas tree will be officially lit in Union Square. A 85-foot Shasta White Fir from the Carlton Tree Farm in Mount Shasta will be adorned with thousands of twinkling lights and 1,500 red and gold ornaments. For the seventh year, Macy’s has made UCSF Children’s Hospital the beneficiary of its annual tree lighting. For $5, anyone can sponsor a light bulb to illuminate the tree; all proceeds go directly to the UCSF Children’s Hospital’s palliative care program, which supports families whose children have life-threatening illnesses. There will be musical performances and, of course, Santa Claus will lead thousands of holiday revelers in a spirited countdown before throwing the switch to light the tree.
See you there!
Tags: adpopt, california, cat, cats, dog, dogs, holiday, holiday windows, intersection, kitten, lighting, macy's macys, puppies, puppy, San Francisco, shiopping, snimals, spca, stockton, street, tree, union square, windows
Posted in Animals, shopping | Comments Off
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
Who knows how many fatwas were issued last week against New York Times reporter Scott James - no matter. But now it seems that the cops of the SFPD are getting picky about how cars handle the now-famous intersection of Steiner and Duboce, start of The Wiggle bike route.
This aging Land Cruiser (with tiny 15-inch wheels – a 1993 model?) will never die, but it will get its fair share of tickets on the Streets of San Francisco, for both parking and, as here, yesterday night, moving violations. Oh well.
Click to expand
Will this controversy result in a safer Wiggle?
Only Time Will Tell.
Tags: 2009, backlash, bay area, blog, critical mass, department, dept., duboce, halloween, intersection, land cruiser, new york times, November, nyt, police, route 30, San Francisco, san francisco bicycle coalition, scott james, SF, sfbc, SFPD, steiner, street, toyota, webster, wiggle, Writer
Posted in cars | Comments Off
Saturday, October 31st, 2009
San Francisco’s monthly semi-unauthorized bicycle parade was well-attended and exceptionally ugly last night. Did your bike suffer any property damage (“let’s fucking beat up his car!”)? For whatever reason, Halloween Critical Mass 2009 had lots of gaps so that led to confrontations at every intersection – confused car drivers were tempted to just push through to end their lengthy waits. And the SFPD seemed less pro-bike than I’m used to seeing. Oh well.
Now, grab your parasol, pack your marshmallows, count the choppers, put on your PJs, and raise your fixie. Let’s take a gander.
Just look at the stalled MUNI buses and trolleys (trollies?) stretching from Mid-Market all the way back to the Ferry Building last night:
Click to expand
The riders could only just sit and stare:
Stare at this, a car-free Market Street:
via geekstinkbreath
Now let’s take it to the streets. Ichiro was there. He started going on about how there’s “sexiness in the infield.” OK fine:
About an hour or so after the six-ish P.M. starting time, the stalled buses started to pile up:
A happy corker vs. an unhappy corkee at the intersection of 8th and Market Streets.
After a while, car drivers start getting into this rolling Rorschach test. Some sit on their cars…
…while others, like this SUV driver, get out to fruitlessly confront the madding crowd:
IMO, parolees display the least tolerance for CM. Oh well. They just can’t handle it.
A stalled driver gets freaked out by Pumpkinhead:
Thank Gaia the cops were there:
Oops, here there are, pushing along the stragglers on Market:
And then an error – the main body of riders hung a right and headed up Van Ness. That’s not the way to cork MUNI, which got back to normal on Market Street round about 7:30 PM. Oh well. Van Ness from Hayes looking north up to California – the whole thing was entirely filled with bikes:
So there’s your Halloween Critical Mass 2009. See you next year.
Tags: 2009, 30, 30th, biclcye, bike, bus, confrontation, cops, cork, corked, costumed, costumes, critical, critical mass, cyclists, delay, department, dept., friday, fridays, halloween, intersection, last, market, mass, month, monthly, parade, police, San Francisco, sexy, SFPD, stalled, tacoed, transit, trolley, Wheel
Posted in bikes | 4 Comments »
Friday, September 25th, 2009
A San Francisco memorial for Melissa Dennison is set for Tuesday, September 29th, 6:00 PM at Ocean Beach (somewhere near the Beach Chalet, most likely). All the details are/will be here on this Facebook entry. From FB:
“Please join me in paying tribute to this bright star.all are welcome.please bring any music,poetry,ect. that melissa liked or that remind’s you of her.and please pass this on to anyone who might have know melissa. any network friends,ucsb,ucsf,etc. thank you.=i’m not sure exactly were on the beach it is going to be,i cant reserve a fire pit.i just need to go early and save one.if anyone wants to help in any way firewood,passing this on,food.you are more than welcome. p.s. this is a drug and alcohol free event.”
The scene at Fell and Broderick:
Tags: 2009, 29, 600, accident, beach, bike, BIKE NOPA, california, cars, chalet, cited, crosswalk, da', dead, denison, denisson, dennison, department, dept., District Attorney, divisidero, driver, facebook, fell broderick, fire, haight, helicopters, homicide, Honda, hope, intersection, Kamala Harris, killed, lake tahoe, Lieutenant, lt., manslaughter, melisa, Melissa, melissa dennison, melissa dennisson, melissa hope dennison, memorial, NOPA, north of panhandle, ocean beach, Park station, ped, pedestrian, pit, PM, police, prosecutor, Ramlin, referred, San Francisco, september, sfgo, SFPD, SFSU, shrine, snowboard, snowboarding, state, street, truckee, university, vehicular, western addition
Posted in cars | Comments Off
Monday, September 21st, 2009
Read this bit here over at BIKE NOPA to see that at least one SFPD lieutenant doesn’t consider the death of pedestrian Melissa Dennison to be a case of vehicular manslaughter. According to Lt. Ramlin of Park Station, at this point:
“There is no determination that it was manslaughter.”
The memorial at Fell and Broderick as it appeared a few days ago:
(Personally, I think when people use the term “speeding” in regards to traffic on Fell and Oak, they’re not saying what mean. Are they talking about cars literally going more than 30 mph? It’s not clear.)
The police report should be coming out soon…
Tags: accident, bike, BIKE NOPA, california, cars, cited, crosswalk, da', dead, denison, denisson, dennison, department, dept., District Attorney, divisidero, driver, fell broderick, haight, helicopters, homicide, Honda, hope, intersection, Kamala Harris, killed, lake tahoe, Lieutenant, lt., manslaughter, melisa, Melissa, melissa dennison, melissa dennisson, melissa hope dennison, memorial, NOPA, north of panhandle, Park station, ped, pedestrian, police, prosecutor, Ramlin, referred, San Francisco, sfgo, SFPD, SFSU, shrine, snowboard, snowboarding, state, street, truckee, university, vehicular, western addition
Posted in cars | Comments Off
