This is from back in 2008, when the Central Subway project was projected to carry 100,000 riders per day and spin off cash for the SFMTA to use to fund the rest of MUNI:
“There’s really only one question to ask about the proposal to bore a light-rail subway deep under the heart of downtown San Francisco. You’re kidding, right?“
“Just the initial math makes your head hurt. Basically it works out to somewhere between $1.22 billion and $1.4 billion for an underground railway that runs for less than two miles and has only three stops. That’s not a transit system, it’s a model railroad.“
“Throw in a few of the inevitable cost overruns and this could work out to a billion dollars a mile.”
“No matter. This is the kind of big, splashy project that city officials love to put their name on.”
“Basically, the argument seems to boil down to this - we’ve got the money (as if federal tax dollars grow on trees), the Chinatown community is behind it, why not build it? Oh, let me count some of the reasons.”
“But, critics say, a stop on Market beneath which BART and other Muni lines already run might have made this whole thing an easier sell. That would have created an opportunity for a single station where riders could make connections between regional and local trains, almost like Grand Central Terminal in New York. Instead,riders will have to walk all the way up to Union Square.”
“Oh, and did I mention that in order to get under the BART tube, the subway station at Union Square will have to be at least 95 feet below the surface. That’s nine stories.”
“What is it about that image of deep, underground dirt-munching machines in earthquake country that makes me wince?”
And this is from 2013, after the projected ridership has plunged to about 30,00 per day and its obvious that this subway is going to be a massive annual drain on MUNI’s operating budget:
I believe the vast majority of the city would love to have a north-south subway that extended from SoMa to Fisherman’s Wharf.
There has never been a city that has regretted building a subway. It’s a great system of transit, it gets people off the street and underground, and it doesn’t experience delays like buses.
What they don’t like is constructing a subway. It’s messy, dirty and noisy. But the result is worth it. Suck it up.”
“I would like to know the reasons why the Muni constantly stops trains on the T-Line at 23rd Street as if the rest of Third Street doesn’t exist.
“To see elderly women, men and children waiting over an hour for a train to get home is some of the worse treatment of citizens I’ve ever seen from a transportation system. I’ve traveled extensively all over the country as well as the world and I’ve only lived in this area for one year. However, this is obviously a classic combination of classism and racism being displayed, and it is truly a SHAME!
“I’ve decided to take my car out of the parking garage and drive. I refuse to be treated as a second class citizen. I deserve more and so do all the residents of Bayview. Last check, San Francisco doesn’t end at 23rd Street.”
Well I know the answer – it has to do with the district election system for the Board of Supervisors, and also the SFMTA’s general incompetence.
Now the Supervisor for our Bayview Hunters Point area asked about this sitch and the answer was that the T-Third zipped along at a speedy 9 MPH or something, so a T-Third Express wasn’t really needed.
Hey, here’s a jobs program. Why not tear out the T-Third and bring back the buses? Just asking. I mean the T-Third takes up a lot of space, right? Why doesn’t MUNI use it more?
Now speaking of the N Judah Express, here it is, in action, or lack thereof:
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Is that four buses sitting around on Sansome Street during rush hour? The drivers are just starting work and it’s time for a 40 minute lunch break? All right.
And here’s another on Bush, just idling away.
Actually, even when the N Judah Express band-aid operation is operational during our rush hours, the buses are totally empty, no passengers, most of the time.
Via Bluoz and from the perspective of those in line at the Nike Air Yeezy 2 campout at Sheikh shoes, it’s:
“Air Yeezy 2 Campout Fight in SF”
Just 23 views so far, but this one, she’s a gonna go viral.
“Air Yeezy 2 campout fight in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco. All this happened while we were in line at Shiekh Shoes. This crackhead hopped on the front of the trolly and wouldn’t get off, so when the lady in pink tried to be a hero she got a SMACK SMACK to the face. Air Yeezy campout. Shout out to the homies that were holding my spot down for me while I was at work. Big thanks.”
Is MUNI getting ready for its 100th Anniversary celebrations?
When Stan and Kyle are leaving the Foley family’s house, Mr. Foley tells them to marry an Asian woman to avoid having ginger children, saying “I know a guy who’s marrying a Japanese woman very soon for just that reason.”
“Looking at what’s scheduled for that weekend, there might not be room in the city for many more people, much less cars. First, there’s the free Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park, a three-day event that drew about 800,000 people last year. That Sunday afternoon, the 49ers play the Buffalo Bills at Candlestick Park, while the Giants are hoping for weekend playoff games at AT&T Park, all guaranteed sellouts. About 60,000 people typically attend the Castro Street Fair, scheduled for that Sunday, while thousands more will jam North Beach for the annual Italian Heritage Parade at 12:30 on the same day. A different crowd will probably be at the Burning Man Decompression street fair, also that Sunday afternoon. To add to the fun, two mega cruise ships are expected to dock at Pier 35 over the weekend, disgorging thousands more tourists. Then, of course, there’s Fleet Week, which brings thousands of sailors and as many as a million visitors to the waterfront for the weekend.”
“We need several more docents to work the stops along the E-line on October 6 and 7, helping riders find the right platform and providing information about the service. We have docent books prepared by Paul Lucas, so it’s easy to learn what to do. If you’re interested, send us an email and we’ll get back to you.”
Here’s your accident scene* on Market betwixt Battery and Sansome on August 3rd, 2012…
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…and here’s the streetcar driver, sitting inside of his streetcar, old 1811, pondering developments:
Wow.
Just because the SFMTA MUNI DPT is corrupt and evil and the worst large public transit agency in America and it has spokespeople who are famous for lying all the time, just because of that, doesn’t mean that the average SFMTA MUNI DPT is a bad person or anything…
*Maybe there’s some blame to go around here, having to do with maintenance or procedures or maybe the Mom-ish Subaru driver went on the wrong side of Market for a while only to suddenly pull in front of the streetcar and slam on the brakes – these things are possibilities, I suppose. But, man, things don’t look good for this operator.
At first I thought this was an accident scene betwixt 5th and 6th streets, but no, it was just a cop giving a citation to a driver for driving straight through the intersection of 6th and Market.
You see, the cop stopped the SUV, which blocked the MUNI bus (which I think might have been rerouted for construction of the already-worthless yet very expensive Central Subway), which blocked everything else:
