Posts Tagged ‘Station’
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
Things were worse back in aught-seven, back when drivers waiting to fill up at the always-cheap ARCO station on Fell Street in the EaPA would queue up in the bike lane. But it’s no picnic these days neither, as you can see in this shot from a few days ago:
Well, comes now award-winning Michael Helquist of BIKE NOPA to learn us about planned changes:
“‘We have a design hashed out to take out parking on the south side of Fell Street,’ James Shahamiri, MTA Assistant Traffic Engineer, told BIKE NOPA. The new design would designate the former parking spaces as a curbside queue for motorists awaiting entry to the gas station.”
(IMO, that’s a painfully obvious solution that any other town in ‘Merica would have implemented years ago when the issue first cropped up. But oh well.)
So, you see them cars parked on the left side? You know, the Porsche 944 (or 968?), the Saturn S-Series, and the Honda CR-V cute-ute SUV? They’re parked in spaces that could soon be the ARCO queue.
What’s that, NIMBY? Over your dead body you say? O.K., well, I think this cake is already baked, but maybe you’ll be able to hear more about all the deets at this meeting:
Thursday, March 18th
7:00 pm, visit with neighbors
7:30 pm, meeting begins
9:00 pm , meeting ends
Change is Good, huh?
Tags: 1775, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 76, arco, area, Assistant, association, automobiles, autos, bicycle, bike, BIKE NOPA, block, blocking, BP, cars, cyclists, divisidero, EaPA, east of panhandle, engineer, fell, fulton, gas, gasloline, golden gate park, intersection, James Shahamiri, jannah, lane, Line, meeting, metropolitan transportation agency, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, michael helquist, mta, Muni, neighborhood, nimby, NOPA, nopna, north of panhandle, oak, panhandle, parking, queue, San Francisco, SF, sfist, SFMTA, Station, street, traffic, union, vehicles, wait, Waiting
Posted in bikes, cars | 6 Comments »
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
Look at all these people patiently lined up by the Civic Center BART Station using their own private bus service – they’re commuting to work up to the Pacific Campus on Buchanan in Pacific Heights.
Of course CPMC pays taxes to fund MUNI but, for whatever reason, it’s easier for them to just opt out and buy their own vans and hire their own drivers to start up their own private bus line. You’d think that it’d be easier for the workers to get off at Embarcadero Station and take MUNI on a straight shot with no transfers, but you’d be wrong.
Oh well. Who’ll be the next to opt out of MUNI?
Sic transit gloria transit
Tags: (BART), Buchanan, civic center, CPMC, Muni, Pacific Campus, private bus line, Sic transit gloria transit, Station
Posted in transit | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
Why did Shanghai, the largest city in China, become one of our 16 Sister Cities in 1979? Well, we should all thank former Mayor and current U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein:
“It was sort of a race between Los Angeles and San Francisco to establish a Sister City relationship with Shanghai and of course San Francisco won – and it was the first such Sister City relationship between an American city and a Chinese city.”
(Once again L.A. loses, of course(?) - thanks DiFi.) Now it turns out that our Big Sis is hosting a big party this year – it’s World Expo 2010. So, that’s a good excuse for a bunch of the Bay Area’s cultural organizations to represent, via the Shanghai Celebration featuring Honorary Chair and San Francisco First Lady Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
Jay Xu, Director of the Asian Art Museum, confronting a media scrum after today’s announcement:
Check out the calendar of upcoming events all related to the Paris of the East - it’s packed, baby. Swan Lake featuring San Francsico Ballet Principal Dancer and Shanghai native Yuan Yuan Tan will kick things off from January 23-31 and then on February 12th comes the debut of the cornerstone of the Shanghai Celebration, a big exhibit at our Asian Art Museum simply called Shanghai. It’s going to be mega.
Just ask Jay Xu:
“The 2010 World Expo that opens in May is Shanghai’s coming-out party, the official debut as the city reclaims its position as a global powerhouse. The Asian Art Museum’s Shanghai exhibition was timed to coincide with this prominent international event. Only through understanding its tumultuous history, can one truly understand the progressive and stylish Shanghai of today.”
O.K. then.
Our jet-setting mayor was on hand to cheerlead for San Francisco, a part of his job which I think everybody would agree he does well. He was dressed for rain today, with blue jeans, and a pair of brown shoes that he claimed were “ruined” by the wet:
More deets from the AAA:
“The Shanghai Celebration is an unprecedented, year-long festival presented by more than thirty San Francisco Bay Area organizations commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the sister city relationship between San Francisco and Shanghai.
Spearheaded by the Asian Art Museum, the Celebration runs throughout 2010, coinciding with the World Expo presented in Shanghai from May to October. The more than 50 Shanghai-related programs feature exhibitions, concerts, performances, films, lectures, book readings, artist demonstrations and other special events and cover topics such as Shanghai’s architecture, jazz, historic Jewish communities, Art Deco design, filmmaking industry, contemporary art, cuisine, high-rise urban planning and fashion.
The cornerstone of the Celebration is the Asian Art Museum’s presentation of Shanghai, a major exhibition examining the visual culture of one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities, scheduled for February 12-September 5, 2010.
For the Shanghai Celebration program calendar of events, and a list of participating organizations, please visit www.shanghaicelebration.com.”
Check the lengthy, lengthy sked, after the jump.
(more…)
Tags: 2010, American Jewish Committee, Anchee Min, angel island, Angela Au, architect, Architecture and Survival, art, Art Deco, Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Art Speak, Arts Commission, Arts of Pacific Asia, AsiaAlive, asian art museum, Assignment Shanghai, Ballet, Better City, Better Life, Birth of Jazz in Asia, botanical garden, building, Building Green in China, celebration, Chamber Music Concert, China, chinese, Chinese Jews of Kaifeng, city club, City Club Roundtable, comics, concert, Congregation Emanu-El, Conservatories, Contemporary Figurative Painting, Cultural Encounters, Dany Chan, de Young, Decorative Arts, documentary, dr., Drunken Dishes, East Meets West, Economica, Ellen Lou, Embroidery, Exhibition Opening, Eye of the Tiger, Fabric of Everyday life, Fall Antiques Show, Fall Antiques Show Preview Party Benefit, First Free Sunday, First Thursday Lecture Series, Forbidden City, Friday Nights, gala, Gavin, Golden Age of Chinese Nightclubs, High-rise Architecture, Historically Sensitive Development in Shanghai, immigration, Immigration Station, jay xu, Jeff Heller, jennifer, Jews in Modern China, joan chen, Later Jewish Communities of Shanghai, Lehrhaus Judaica, Li Xiaofei, library, life, Lisa Claypool, lounge, Lunar New Year, Lunar New Year Flower Market, Lynn Marie Kirby, matcha, Mayor, Mint, Moderne and Modernity, Music at Meyer, Music Festival, Newsom, O Perspective, old, Old Mint Building, Open Books, Opening NIght Gala, Oregon Reed College, Past/Present/Future, Personal Stories and Reminiscences, Photographs on the Eve of Revolution, piano, Preview, professor, Propaganda Poster Art, public, reception, Recital, Remaking of China’s Gateway to the World, Renee Chow, SAA, San Francisco, san francisco ballet, San Francisco Botanical Garden Society, San Francisco Museum and Historical Society, Sandra Lee Gallery, shanghai, Shanghai 2010, shanghai celebration, Shanghai Connection, Shanghai Dress, Shanghai Film Series, Shanghai Jazz, Shanghai Painting, Shanghai’s Jews, Shuang Stella Zhang, siebel, sister city, Sisters, Society, society for asian art, spur, SPUR Urban Center, Station, stories, String Quartet, swan lake, Swinging Chinatown, target, Target First Free Sunday, U.S. Immigration Station, UC, uc berkeley, UC Berkeley Art Museum, urban center, Visual Narratives of Inter-War Shanghai, Women & the Global Economy, Xian Rui 2010, Yuan Yuan Tan
Posted in art, events | No Comments »
Monday, January 4th, 2010
After a gestation period rather more appropriate for a large mammal fetus, MUNI has finally birthed some bouncing baby SFMTA Guidelines for Photography and Videography. Read all about it and see the reaction courtesy of Troy atCaliberSF.
Two things jump might jump out at you:
1. The ban on the use of “large cameras” doesn’t give too much guidance to MUNI employees tasked with enforcing the policy. How large is large?
2. The ban on photographing stuff in non-public areas wouldn’t apply to somebody who isn’t on MUNI propertah, obviously. There’s no way a shot of a non-public bus yard from a public sidewalk could be banned by the SFMTA.
Anyway hurray, I guess.
Hear that, little critters? Those recording your late night bus rides now will have no fear of harassment from The Man.
Congrats to Troy Holden and MUNI spokesmodel Judson True for working on this.
SFMTA Photography and Videography Guidelines
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which operates the
Municipal Railway (Muni), welcomes photography and videography on SFMTA
vehicles and publicly-accessible property subject to the following guidelines. All
photography and videography activities should be pursued safely and with respect for
all SFMTA customers and employees. SFMTA facilities and vehicles are for the
exclusive use of the SFMTA, its employees and its customers. Any and all
permission granted to photograph or take video in connection with these guidelines is
subordinate to the SFMTA’s obligations to its customers, employees and to the
general public.
Non-commercial Photography and Videography
The general public is permitted to use personal, handheld photography and
videography equipment on all Muni in-service transit vehicles and on publiclyaccessible
SFMTA property, including Muni stations, as long as such activities do not
interfere with transit operations.
While on SFMTA property, all photographers and videographers must comply with
the following restrictions:
• Photography or videography activities cannot interfere with the safe operation
of any Muni vehicle as determined by the vehicle’s Operator or other SFMTA
personnel.
• Photography or videography activities cannot impede the safe movement of
Muni customers as they board or alight from transit vehicles or make their
way through Muni stations.
• Stairways, escalators, doors and aisles cannot be blocked by photographers
and videographers at any time.
• Photographers and videographers must fully and immediately comply with
any requests, directions or instructions from SFMTA personnel related to
safety concerns.
• Large cameras, photo or video equipment or ancillary equipment such as
lighting, tripods, cables, etc. are prohibited.
When using photography or videography equipment on SFMTA vehicles or property,
always be aware of your surroundings, including your proximity to moving transit
vehicles or the edges of Muni platforms.
All photographers and videographers are prohibited from entering, photographing, or
taking video in non-public areas of the SFMTA’s transit system.
Questions about the SFMTA’s Photography and Videography Guidelines can be directed to judson.true@sfmta.com or 415.701.4500
Tags: ban, bus, camera, cameras, guidelines, judson true, metro, mta, photography, photos, pics, SFMTA, spokesperson, Station, transit
Posted in photography, transit | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
Via Jamie Whitaker’s Rincon Hill blog comes news of a fight against consideration of the so-called “Beale Street Alternative“ for the San Francsico terminus of California’s nascent High Speed Rail line.
I don’t have a dog in this hunt, but you, well take a gander if you’d like:
Targeting: Supervisor Chris Daly (District 6, City and County of San Francisco Board of Supervisor), Medhi Morshed (Executive Director, CA High Speed Rail Authority) and Curt Pringle (Chair of the Board, CA High Speed Rail Authority)
Started by: April Veneracion
Demand the California High Speed Rail Authority stop its consideration of the infeasible Beale Street Alternative that is…
· Risking over $400 million in federal funding to the Transbay Transit Center
· Harming property values in the South Beach neighborhood of San Francisco
· Wasting millions of Prop 1A dollars on study of infeasible alternatives that should be spent on construction”
So that’s the issue. All the deets, below.
Quentin Kopp with youthful HSR supporters at San Francisco City Hall during happier times last year:
The whole magilla:
“As a strong supporter of building High Speed Rail throughout the state and into San Francisco’s downtown Transbay Transit Center, I am appalled at your consideration of the Beale Street Alternative. This study is not only wasteful, it risks over $400 million in federal funding for the Transbay Transit Center and is harming property values in the South Beach neighborhood of San Francisco.
Your study of the Beale Street Alternative was proposed to you by a lobbying and law firm on behalf of an unidentified special interest. This location has already been rejected as a technically and economically infeasible terminus for High Speed Rail in San Francisco. San Franciscans overwhelmingly voted for Proposition 1A to bring high speed rail to our Transit Center. Your study of the Beale Street Alternative, widely thought to be pushed by Board Member Quentin Kopp, is a wasteful expenditure of limited Proposition 1A money that should be applied to construction of the project.
With the passage of Proposition 1A, we believe that your study of the Beale Street Alternative is illegal. The voter approved mandate codifies in State law that the northern terminus for high speed rail will be the Transbay Transit Center.
The Transbay Transit Center is a federally approved project currently in construction in downtown San Francisco that has received the support of the San Francisco electorate on multiple occasions. Over $2 billion in funds have already been secured, independent of Proposition 1A. This Center is designed to accommodate high speed rail to downtown San Francisco.
The existence of this project is reason enough to drop your study of the Beale Street Alternative. Additionally, the Beale Street Alternative would likely result in the taking of more than 1,800 current and future residential units in the South of Market area. Your study alone has made many of our homes unmarketable by the required disclosure of your irresponsible study into any potential home sale. In contrast, the approved downtown extension to Transbay will take only 2 dozen residences. Given San Francisco’s housing crisis, this is a far more reasonable approach.
Meanwhile, the Transbay Joint Powers Authority has applied for $400 million in ARRA funds to build the rail box in the Transit Center. While this application has the support of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Mayor Gavin Newsom, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Dianne Feinstein, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, we understand that the Federal Rail Authority has expressed concern about your Beale Street Alternative. We are worried that the Beale Street Alternative is not about adequately addressing environmental issues, it’s about political brinkmanship.
It’s time to put high speed rail to San Francisco back on track.
As a supporter of high speed rail and Proposition 1A, I demand you halt your irresponsible study of the infeasible Beale Street Alternatives. I also ask that you hold a formal meeting of the California High Speed Rail Authority in San Francisco, to hold yourselves accountable to the people whose properties and projects you are jeopardizing.”
To Be Continued…
Tags: alternative, association, authority, beale, caltrain, Chris daly, Curt Pringle, High Speed Rail, hill, hsr, jamie whitaker, Judge, Medhi Morshed, mission, neighborhood, petition, Quentin Kopp, rincon, rincon hill, soma, south of market, Station, street, Supervisor, terminal, terminus, transbay
Posted in travel | 1 Comment »
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
Here’s last night’s protest against Barack Obama’s Afghanistan escalation made up of members of Code PINK, ANSWER, World Can’t Wait, and the International Socialist Organization, among others. It was a fairly ho-hum affair, without the expected Black Blockers.
Several hundreds gathered at 6:00PM near the cable car turnaround at Powell and Market. Click to expand:
A few words and then they were off down Market Street:
A “hopeless” escalation? Really?
Only Time Will Tell.
Tags: 2009, Afghanistan, answer, Barack Obama, black block, code pink, december, escalation, International Socialist Organization, iraq, market, military, mission, Powell, president, protest, San Francisco, Station, street, uinion square, World Can't Wait
Posted in protests | Comments Off
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Here’s the thing about bicycle U-locks in San Francisco – bicycle thieves don’t want to deal with them. Now, back in the day, back in the 1990’s, bike stealers would first break into a Volvo to get a car jack to use to crack open your U-lock. It s0unds like a lot of trouble and it was.
These days, this is what you’ll see on the streets of San Francisco (and Daly City, at the BART station).
Stolen wheel or the sign of a cautious owner – you make the call:
Of course, people can break your heavy U-lock as well, but that doesn’t happen too often nowadays. The vast majority of thieves will just move on to an easier target of opportunity when they see a U-lock.
But things not U-locked are fair game.
Oh well.
Tags: (BART), bay area, bicycles, bikes, car, daly city, daly city bart, jack, lock, San Francisco, Station, stolen, u-lock, volvo
Posted in bikes | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
This is just a routine bust from yesterday in the Civic Center. But can you see Officer Lennan’s golden S.W.A.T. badge?
Didn’t know that BART’s SWAT team (cue music) walked around without their assault rifles. Thusly:
Click to expand
“SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics)“
“The BART Police Department maintains several specialized units to deal with the variety of needs which may arise within the BART system. One of these units is the SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics) Team.
The department’s SWAT Team was established to deal with situations within the BART system which require equipment, techniques and training which are beyond the norms for most police officers.
Personnel assigned to the SWAT Team and assigned personnel have other full-time assignments within the department. Personnel are selected from applicants based on a range of criteria including: physical fitness, firearms proficiency, and supervisory recommendations. Members of the team receive specialized training from several sources including local F.B.I. courses and joint training with other local teams. Personnel on BART’s SWAT Team have developed proficiency with a number of specialized weapons and with techniques designed to increase their efficiency and safety in dealing with situations unique to underground transit systems.
Team members train on scenarios which include situations on-board trains within tunnels, on elevated trackways, or in stations. In addition to situations unique to the BART system, the department’s SWAT Team is also utilized to make “high-risk entries” pursuant to warrants obtained by the department. When crimes occur within the BART system which lead to the issuance of arrest or search warrants, an evaluation is done to determine if the service of the warrant will present a risk to officers or the public. In cases where there is a high potential for violence, the SWAT Team is utilized for the initial entry.
The use of the specially trained team members decreases the likelihood for resistance and enhances the safety of police personnel, occupants of the residence and the surrounding community.
The department’s Hostage Negotiation Team works in conjunction with the SWAT team.”
If I ever get busted by the BART police, I hope it’s the SWAT team that does it…
Tags: (BART), 8th, arrest, aussalt, badge, bay area, Bay Area Rapid Transit, bust, california, cane, civic center, county, detention, east bay, eights, gold, handgun, homeless, hyde, lennan, market, officer, p. lennan, police, rifle, s.w.a.t., San Francisco, special weapons and tactics, special weeapons and tactics, Station, street, swat, television, train, transit, TV
Posted in crime | Comments Off
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
The San Francisco 8 case regarding the death of John Victor Young in 1971 is now 87.5% finished, so only the fate of final defendant Francisco Torres remains undecided. (These legal proceedings seem to get more attention outside of San Francisco County than inside, so the average resident is still probably ignorant of what the term “SF8″ means.)
Will the famous Bernal Hill slogan need to be updated?
Click to expand.
It’s not easy getting a handle on things, based on what I’ve read. If the deputy AGs can establish a fingerprint match on a lighter, then what does that, by itself, prove about what Francisco Torres was actually doing on August 29, 1971?
To Be Continued…
Tags: 850 bryant, attorney general, bernal, black panthers, california, City, Francisco Torres, free, Hank, Harold, heights, Henry, Ingleside, Jalil Muntaqim, John, jones, letters, new york, panther liberation army, pla, Ray Boudreaux, Richard Brown, san francisco 8, san francisco eight, sargeant, sf1, sf8, SFPD, Sgt., slogan, Station, taylor, terrace, v, young
Posted in crime | Comments Off
Monday, July 6th, 2009
At the site (if not the exact same address) of the former Korean-themed brothel Gabin comes Jannah. It’s at 1775 Fulton in the NOPA, just down the street from the candyBar at 1335.
And guess what, they’re hiring! Servers, apparently, atleast that’s what the signs said.
And guess what, they’re already five-star rated at the Yelp!
See you there on Wednesday, the updated forecast for opening day.
Tags: (415) 567-4400, 1775, 17xx, 2009, albertsons, asia, asian, brothel, california, chef, Cuisine, Daebul, fulton, gabin, hours, jannah, july 8, jussim, korea, korean, license, liquor, lucky, masonic, Middle Eastern, Middle Eastern California Cuisine, NOPA, nopna, north of panhandle neighborhood association, open, owner, park, prostitution, Salih, SFPD, Station, supermarket, van ness, wafa, western addition, yahya, Yahya Salih, yaya, yelp
Posted in food and drink | Comments Off
