Posts Tagged ‘lombard’

I Am Become Rob Anderson, #3: StreetsBlogSF Isn’t Simply a Blog, It’s a Religion (Or a Cult, Your Pick)

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

Exhibit A:

Media Coverage of Pedestrian Deaths Misses the Big Story

I don’t know, I think the coverage was perfectly cromulent, but let’s take a look:

“A vague description…”

UH, WHAT DO YOU OFFER THAT’S BETTER, STREETSBLOGSF?

from Bay City News labeled Ferguson a jaywalker

A “JAY” WAS ORIGINALLY THE TERM FOR A COUNTY PERSON BUT THE CURRENT DEFINITION SURE SEEMS TO FIT

“apparently walking outside of the crosswalk”

WELL, IF YOU’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BLOCK ON LOMBARD, THEN YOU’RE WALKING “OUTSIDE OF THE CROSSWALK,” RIGHT?

when he was ”struck by a passing vehicle.”

WELL, HOW ELSE DO YOU SAY THIS?

There was no mention of the driver’s speed.

UH, GEE, THERE WAS NO MENTION OF THE DRIVER’S CURRENT IRS TAX COMPLIANCE NEITHER, RIGHT? SO WHAT? WASN’T THIS PED 100% AT FAULT FOR HIS OWN DEATH? I THINK SO.

(The driver was only mentioned to note that he or she was “very cooperative.”)

WELL, WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?

And here’s the latest:

“Correction: Streetsblog SF does have the most Twitter followers of any news source in the Bay Area.”

Oh, but you’re not a Bay Area news source, you’re more like a religion.

Keep on trying StreetsBlog SF. Maybe someday you’ll become a real blog…

Halloween Edition of the Marina Times: Bros, High-Fives, Charlie Sheen Costume, Passed-Out Sorority Girl, Fuss

Monday, October 31st, 2011

The NIMBYish Marina Times newspaper, via The Tens:

Click to expand

But IRL, Halloween in the Marina District actually looks like more like this.

Driving Down Lombard Street is Still Free, Despite the “Crooked Street Task Force” from a Decade Ago

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

If San Francisco’s famous NIMBYs had their way, you wouldn’t be able to drive down the crooked part of Lombard Street whenever you want 24/7

Just look at what was proposed:

“A barrier halfway down the block, making it impossible to drive the length of the Crooked Street.

A signal system alternating the one-way direction of the street.

Sale of the street to residents, who could install their own gate and security system.”

Obviously, that didn’t happen, so it’s San Francisco 1, NIMBY’s O:

Via ipurbeltz – click to expand 

Hurray!

The 2200 Block of Octavia Near Danielle Steel’s Mansion is Sort of Like the Crookedest Street in the World, Sort Of

Thursday, September 1st, 2011

Well, here it is, the 2200 block of Octavia Street betwixt Washington and Jackson in San Francisco’s tony Specific Whites District right near writer Danielle Steel’s large white mansion and just up the hill from our 3.5-star Yelp-rated German Consulate.*

See? It’s got a brick surface and it’s curvy, sort of:

There it is on the left. (How many of the cars you can see are owned by Ms. Steel? She used to have 26(!) residential parking permits, you know…)

Fake Lombard Street is a big FAIL, IMO.

Oh well.

Why is it here? Who built it? I know not.

*”Gee honey, do you think we should go to the consulate after getting those deportation notices?” “I don’t know, Cupcake. Let’s check Yelp first…” 

Meet MUNI’s Most Popular Bus Route, the #76 Marin Headlands – Only on a Sunday

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

Finally, the Yelpers agreethe 76 Marin Headlands rulez!

Check it, Per Helen L:

“I hate that this bus ONLY runs on Sundays and certain holidays.
I hate that this bus ONLY runs once an hour.
I hate that this bus stops running in the evening.
However, this is still the bestest MUNI route EVER!!!”

Here it is, in action near the Golden Gate Bridge:

Click to expand

See you on the 76!

All the deets after the jump

(more…)

A Raucous Halloween Night in the Marina – Sidewalk Brawl Looks Like a Scene from a Judd Apatow Film

Friday, November 5th, 2010

Uptown Almanac’s Kevin Montgomery rightly points to a Marina Moment in front of Mayor Gavin Newsom’s former Balboa Cafe from Halloween Eve 2010.

It’s at 2300 views so far…

“Who’s got a camera? Let’s YouTube this shit!”

Click to expand

CHP SPFD Enforcement Action This Weekend on Lombard Street in the Marina – Tickets for Speeding

Friday, September 17th, 2010

Oh, it’s on. Word comes from Northern Station:

If you are on Lombard driving towards the golden gate bridge you better be going the speed limit …too many crashes. We and the chp will be doing strict enforcement…tell all of your friends SLOW DOWN…have a great (safe) weekend.”

30 MPH is all right. But 31, not so much.

Click to expand

Innovative 3D Maps Show Where to Find Drugs and Prostitutes in San Francisco – It’s DataSF!

Sunday, June 6th, 2010

Berkeley’s famous Doug McCune is at it again. Earlier this year he pwned Apple / Steve Jobs over Adobe Flash phobia and now he’s taken arrest data for San Francisco and displayed it in three dimensions (sort of) to answer the query:

“What If San Francisco Crime Were Elevation?”

First with the drugs. No surprises here, really. Note the bump in the Lombard / Marina area where it’s cheaper to live in a motel than live in an apartment for some reason. Also note, the hillock in the outer Outer Sunset way out there near La Playa – that surprises me not. However, I was not aware of some of the other baby hills on this map. (Also, appears as if some of our youthful USF students are more into the drugs than their peers at SFSU…)

Simply, this is an awesome way to display this data:

Now, with the sex workers. Again, Lombard Street seems to have more than its fair share of elevation.

The bumps in the Sunset and the Richmond – I can’t relate them to my mental map of San Francisco. But there they are: 

Doug beseeches us to not consider these maps ”as being accurate,” but it’s a little late for that for me.

Anyway, it’s quite an art project. (In fact, there’s your art show right there – just do these maps in 3D for real using paper or whatnot and then get the National Endowment for the Arts on the horn.)

This is doubleplusgood. Three cheers!

The Bizarre Valentines Day Christmas Trees of Lombard Street

Friday, February 12th, 2010

Look at this huge Christmas Tree taking up all the space at a bar on Lombard Street’s Motel Row. 

It’s been covered over with Valentine’s day-related tchochkes, gewgaws, knickknacks, baubles, and lagniappes.

See? (Customers’ and employees’ faces darkened out of respect.)

Happy Valentines!

When in San Francisco, Don’t Use Lombard Street to get to Lombard Street

Monday, September 14th, 2009

See all these people heading up the 1200 block of San Francisco’s Lombard Street? They’re on their way to the Crookedest Street in the World, just a short drive away. But, en realidad, these people will have a long wait to get up this hill. Why? Because they have to take their turn. And that causes problems:

I live one  block from Lombard and Polk and every Sat and Sun Lombard is full of tourists who burn up their clutches trying to get up Lombard street….”

This is gridlock. Perhaps it will take a half hour to get to the curvy part?

Here’s the block of Clutch Sorrow:

IMG_6339 copy

Click to expand

Now, if you’re on this street trying to get to the good part of Lombard, you should just jink on over to Filbert via Polk and then get to Hyde. Then you go north on Hyde and hang a righty to go down the famous block.

That way, you avoid this situation:

Driving up Lombard Street in San Francisco takes patience and a quick foot.  If you have a manual transmission you’ll need to exercise care when releasing the clutch.  Even cars with automatic transmissions squeal tires driving up Lombard Street.  Every time you go from gas to brake the car rolls back until the motor moves the car forwards.  On Lombard Street its quite normal to smell burning rubber from tires and clutches.  Lombard Street is best driven in a rental car.”

So, don’t follow the crowd up Lombard and don’t follow the 49 Mile Scenic Drive (which doesn’t even hit the crooked part of the street), just follow the cable cars on Hyde from Nob Hill.

You’ll do fine.