Posts Tagged ‘sidewalk’
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
Via Streetsblog SF (which is having a fun-raiser party January 21st, bring money if you want) comes news of the new, unofficial San Francisco Department of Sidewalk Parking blog.
Read the cheery welcoming message from the Commissioner of Concrete. See? He’s gunning for you, sidewalk parkers.
The DSP operates in District 11, but you can find examples of sidewalk parking all over town. As seen in District 5 on Ashbury Street:
Click to expand
NB: When this self-appointed “commissioner” talks of getting an offending vehicle “removed” he means towed away - towed away with extreme prejudice. Anybody who calls in a tow on a sidewalked-parked car on his or her own street should be prepared for possible blowback. (Those who live in or rent out illegal in-law apartments might very well get ratted out by an irate sidewalk parker, just saying.) Anonymity recommended.
Is it my hobby to ferret out sidewalk parkers and then call DPT at (415) 553-1200 for the ticket /towaway patrol? No.
On the other hand, do I support homeowners who think they own the sidewalk in front of their homes? No.
Can one person change the culture of sidewalk parking in one section of San Francisco via a persistent campaign? Yes, it’s possible.
Bon Courage, San Francisco Department of Sidewalk Parking!
Tags: (415), 11, 5, 553-1200, blog, car, citation, commissioner, concrete, department of sidewalk parking, district, illegal, park, parking, parking control officer, pco, ped, pedestrian, San Francisco, sidewalk, sunset, ticket, tow, towaway, vehicle
Posted in cars | 1 Comment »
Friday, October 9th, 2009
Well this was the scene a few nights back at the Fairmont Hotel, which at the time contained former presidential horndog Bill Clinton, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tiger Woods, you know, people like that. (Who knows, maybe Barack Obama will be there soon.)
You had the TASER-equipped California Highway Patrol, the Secret Service, all kinds of security blocking pedestrain access to this part of California Street so the V.I.P.s could get to their waiting motorcades.
But what’s this? Biker dude just wanted to go home so he’s not caring about which sidewalk is verbotten. He powered up the block, dodging through all the scaffolding, the CHP, the startled security agents, nothing slowed him down. You might think he’d instead just use the roomy, traffic-free slow lane in the foreground…
Check it:
Click to expand
I used to think that this guy, Andy, was the bravest cyclist in San Francisco. But now the crown must pass to the new fellow. (In San Francisco, most sidewalks are off-limits to most cyclists, so it would have been a piece of cake to cite and release the biker.)
He probably also drives his ride as slow as he can in front of harried moms in the East Bay – just for kicks, you know?
(Also noteworthy is the name Tonga on the sign advertising our famous $13/drink tiki lounge, the troubled Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar. With a name like that, it deserves to be shut down, or some people might think. What’s next, Kung Fu Tacos on wheels appearing regularlyat Sansome and Jackson?)
Oh well.
Tags: Arnold, bar, bicycle, bike, biker, Bill Clinton, california, chp, code, cyclists, geisha, golf, Governor, illegal, Kung Fu Tacos, Motorcade, Oakland, police, San Francisco, Schwarzenegger, SFPD, sidewalk, tiger, Tonga room, vehicle, woods
Posted in bikes | Comments Off
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
It’s the Law.
Duboce Park is where the dogs can run free (in the Multi-Use area) and the children get fenced in – it all works out.
But your pup is going to need a leash to get to the leash-free area, as this sidewalk graphic tries to communicate:
See you there!
(And “please please pick up after your dogs“, they are begging over on the Yelp. Oh well)
Tags: castro, dog, duboce, Duboce Park, graphic, haight, leash, lower, park, sidewalk, stripes, tiger
Posted in Animals | Comments Off
Monday, July 6th, 2009
You would think that a car that could fit into a garage could also pass through the sidewalk cut-out made for said garage. Of course you say, it’s axiomatic ‘n stuff. But some people don’t believe that. These homeowners pester the City for official DPT sidewalk curb red paint to keep encroaching street parkers at bay.
As if that’s not enough, said homeowners then proceed to add in their own menacing, hysterical “TOW” lines in red paint, paint that never quite matches the official colour. Thusly, as seen in Ashbury Heights:
Is the owner of this Toyota RAV4 playing a dangerous game? Click to expand.
Is it true that huge WW II-era battleships had less room to play with, width-wise, going through the Panama Canal than what some complaining San Francisco homeowners demand for their little cars? Yes. For example, the 34,000-tonne U.S.S. North Carolina battleship had just 12 inches clearance on either side, back in the day.
But you give a San Francisco homeowner just a foot on either side and it’s TOW, TOW, TOW.
Driving lessons cheerfully given for free. NB: Try not to steer too much. NNB: Try backing her in when you garage it in the first place.
Here’s an idea. After you actually learn how to drive, then take the sandblaster you’ve got somewhere in your garage (you know, right next to the unexploded ordnance you all seem to store) to eliminate evidence of your unneighborlyness.
Good on you, mate.
Tags: blocked, call, curb, cutout, DPT, drive, garage, homeowners, know, mta, note, overhand, paint, parallel, park, parking, rav4, red, san francisco parking street ashbury heights, sfdpt, SFMTA, sidewalk, star, ticket, tow, towed, towing, toyota, truck, wacky, yellow
Posted in cars | Comments Off
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
Just as you could see Mark Bittner feeding wild parrots in the movie Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, you can see people going out of their way to feed wild pigeons on Masonic Avenue. They’re just like the feral cat feeders of Golden Gate Park.
Time for the daily sidewalk feeding:
‘
Click to expand
Maybe that’s why we have so many pigeons around town.
Tags: Animals, ave, avenue, birds, bittner, blossom, cherry, Cherry-headed, collector's edition, conure, feeding, green, hill, mark, mating, parakeet, parrot, parrots, pigeons, red, red masked, San Francisco, sidewalk, telegraph, tree, wild, wild parrots
Posted in Animals | Comments Off
Saturday, April 25th, 2009
Of course you all already know about the 1994-1996 Chevrolet Impala SS General Monkeybusiness B-Body. This one here impresses not with the size of the wheels fitted underneath, but with the sheer parking audacity of completely blocking a fairly wide sidewalk in broad daylight.
What’s stopping somebody from calling 415-553-1200 (dispatch - blocked driveways, sidewalks, etc.) or 311? Nothing, that’s why this parking strategy isn’t sustainable, that’s why drivers generally don’t make a habit of doing this kind of thing. (Personally, it’s not my style to dial, but for some people, it is - see below)
Click to expand
I would agree that it’s probably no picnic trying to park an 18-foot-long vehicle at night on the Streets of San Francisco, but your ride will eventaully get vandalized, ticketed, towed, whatever, depending on the neighborhood. For example, the evening dog walkers of Specific Whites Pacific Heights all have DPT’s phone numbers preprogrammed into their cellies. They’re simply waiting to see something like this blocking their path.
Just saying.
Tags: (415), 311, 415-553-1200, 553-1200, b car, B., block, blocked, blocking, body, california, call, car, cell, cellular, Chevrolet, chevy, citation, department, dial, dispatch, DPT, driveways, enforcement, general monkeybusiness, general motors, gm, impala, meter maid, mta, number, pacific heights, parking, parking control officer, pco, phone, San Francisco, SFPD, sidewalk, specific whites, ss, ticket, towed, transit
Posted in cars | 1 Comment »
Monday, March 16th, 2009
Don’t you just hate walking on the grass when you visit Golden Gate Park? Wouldn’t a stroll be so much better on a Segway Human Transporter? Of course.
This guy has it right – his “4WD” version of the Segway has big tires. All the better for riding on turf.
He’s a regular Segway Cowboy Outlaw:
Ballad of the Segway Cowboy Outlaw
Its all the same, only the names will change
Everyday it seems were wasting away
Another place where the faces are so cold
I’d Segway all night just to get back home
Im a cowboy, on a Segway I ride
Im wanted dead or alive
Wanted dead or alive
Sometimes I charge, sometimes its not for days
And the people I meet always go their separate ways
Sometimes you tell the day by the bottle that you drink
And times when youre all alone all you do is think
I roll these streets, a loaded NiCad on my rack
I play for keeps, cause I might not make it back
I’ve rolled everywhere, still Im standing tall
I’ve seen a million faces smack into the wall
Im a cowboy, on a Segway I ride
Im wanted dead or alive
Im a cowboy, I got the night on my side
Im wanted dead or alive
Wanted dead or alive
Tags: cowboy, gob, golden gate park, grass, ht, human, outlaw, personal, pt, San Francisco, segway, sidewalk, transporter
Posted in Uncategorized, parks | Comments Off
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
Our recent rains appear to be too much for the sewers of San Francisco - it’s not easy navigating sidewalks when they’re underwater of course. But cheer up, we’ll probably be back to the drought in no time.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission would like to take this time to remind us all: Only Rain Down the Drain.
Click to expand:
Remember their Snitch Hotline for ratting out your neighbors: (415) 695-2020.
Enjoy.
Tags: (415), 695-2020, blocked, no dumping, only rain down the drain, Public Utilities Commission, PUC, rain, San Francisco, sewage, sewer, sidewalk, storm, water
Posted in streets | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
This example of raw sewage on Clayton Street in the Upper Haight (right in front of the busy 94117 Post Office, actually) has been sitting around for about 48 hours or so.
Somebody put up an orange cone, so that’s a sure sign that some progress is being made.
Yes, that’s what you think it is. That other stuff? Again, it’s also what you think it is. Click to expand:
[UPDATE: 24 hours later, all better. Merci boocooh!]
Tags: 94117, ashbury, clayton, haight, hazmat, raw, San Francisco, sewage, sewer, sidewalk, street, toilet paper, upper
Posted in streets | 2 Comments »
Friday, February 6th, 2009
Ho hum, just another abandoned TV on the sidewalks of the City and County. But this one weighs 153 pounds – who’s supposed to haul this thing away?
Click to expand:
And here’s another thing. This monster boob tube went from brand new to abandoned obsolensce in less than 3.5 years.
Next time, try ecoFinderrr, why not?
Tags: abandoned, electronics, made, San Francisco, sidewalk, thailand, TV
Posted in environment | 1 Comment »
