Posts Tagged ‘Waller’
Monday, February 27th, 2012
The San Francisco Chronicle’s worst writer takes on The Wiggle here.
(As usual, his reliance upon quotes from rich, white, older homeowners leads him astray.)
Leave us begin:
Local residents sometimes sit at the corner of Waller and Steiner streets and place bets on the bicyclists as they approach the stop sign.
FALSE.
Worse, when she yelps, “Watch out!” when riders nearly hit her, the response is often, “F- you. Mind your own business.”
FALSE.
“Our message is that pedestrians always have the right of way.”
FALSE. THAT MIGHT BE YOUR MESSAGE, BUT IT’S NOT CORRECT. NOT IN CALIFORNIA, WHERE PEDS ARE ROUTINELY HELD AT FAULT FOR THEIR OWN DEATHS…
“You literally have to play peek-a-boo,” said Marshall.
FALSE. YOU DON’T LITERALLY HAVE TO PLAY PEEK-A-BOO, ONE-PERCENTER. WHY DOES THE MSM ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO BE CRYBABIES?
The most likely solution is to create “bulb-out” corners for pedestrians.
ASSUMING FACTS NOT IN EVIDENCE, ASSUMING THAT BULB-OUTS WILL “SOLVE” THE ISSUE YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT, NEVIUS.
“Bulb-outs reduce the length of the crossing and also forces the bicyclists to slow down because they make the corner sharper,” Hodge said. “And (police) enforcement is increasingly important. We want to work with the police to identify space and behavior that are dangerous.”
UH, IS THE SAN FRANCISCO BICYCLE COALITION TELLING PEOPLE TO STOP AT STOP SIGNS? IF SO, THAT’S NEWS TO ME.
While those sound like good ideas, there is a school of thought that says the more accommodations the city makes for bikes the more entitled the riders become.
OH, IS THERE ALSO A SCHOOL OF THOUGHT THAT SAYS THE MORE ACCOMMODATIONS THE CITY MAKES FOR REPUBLICANS, SUCH AS CW NEVIUS, THE MORE ENTITLED THOSE REPUBLICANS BECOME?
“I’m no angry motorist. I don’t even own a car,” Marshall said. “But once they completed the bike lanes and made it a complete route, in the minds of cyclists it has just given them the license to just go.”
UH NEVIUS, JUST BECAUSE SOMEBODY SAYS SOMETHING AND BELIEVES IT, THAT DOESN’T MAKE IT TRUE. IMO, THE POPULARITY OF FIXIES HAS HAD A GREATER EFFECT. AND OF COURSE, THE WIGGLE HAS BEEN A “COMPLETE ROUTE” SINCE THE 1800′s.
Bike advocates would probably disagree, but Beckstead suggested a simple test.
WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU SAYING, NEVIUS? WHAT THE FUCK DOES THIS MEAN? THE WORLD WONDERS. BIKE ADVOCATES DISAGREE THAT BECKSTEAD SUGGESTED A SIMPLE TEST?
USE YOUR WORDS, NEVIUS.
Tags: 2012, bay area, bicycle, bike, c w nevius, california, chronicle, CROSSWALKS, haight, light, lower, Nevius, newspaper, red, route, San Francisco, San Francisco Chronicle, signs, stop, Waller, wiggle, Writer
Posted in bikes | 5 Comments »
Thursday, December 8th, 2011
What is the future of this flat skateboard park what used to be Waller Street?
Click to expand
I know not.
Tags: 2011, ashbury, bay area, california, golden gate park, haight, kids, park, police, San Francisco, skaeboards, skateboarders, skaters, stanyan, street, upper, Waller, youth
Posted in NIMBYs, sports | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
Ah yes, it’s the ThinkBike workshop of September 2011, whatever that was.
Now, remember the traffic circle imperative that was foisted upon us eight years ago? Oh man, did that ever suck. But, there were studies that showed how magical and great traffic circles would be, so the experiment began.
Most considered it a massive failure, but somehow the welcomed death of the Waller and Page Street traffic circles was “sad,” or something, for some people:
“Coalition project manager Josh Hart, however, acknowledges the circles may need some fine-tuning to better protect pedestrians and bicyclists. ‘People should give them a chance,’ he said. ‘It would be really sad to see this experiment fail.’”
No fine tuning was needed as fine tuning wasn’t the problem. The problem was the traffic circles themselves.
Well looky here. They’re ba-ack. Or at least some people somewhere want them to come back in some kind of recent fever dream / workshop.
See?
(That’s Page on the right – imagine a big arrow with an N next to it pointing to the left.)
This plan would ostensibly convert this part of Scott into a “slow shared street” but of course it’s a slow street and a shared street right now already, so I don’t know about that.
I’ll tell you, the San Francisco Fire Department would take a dim view of this plan, but oh well.
IRL back in the day, you’d never know what car drivers would do at traffic circled intersections - sometimes they’d stop anyway at each circle, sometimes they’d treat the circle like a Formula 1 road race chicane and cross over the crosswalks without slowing down. The promised gardens in the middle of the intersections were supposed to make the neighbors happy but that didn’t work.
The graphic also mentions deterring ”cut-through traffic” on Scott Street, but isn’t that the whole point of Scott Street? You know, so people can cut-through from one part of town to another?
Oh well.
Now here’s Market, Duboce, Buchanan which is no picnic for cyclists these days, particularly people using the Wiggle route inbound going behind the Church Street Safeway:
You make the call on this one. I’ll just note that the current situation is a mess.
I don’t think I’d favor slowing down Market Street traffic any more than it’s being slowed down now by, among other things, nearby Octavia Boulevard, which for some reason takes the lion’s share of the minute and a half traffic signal cycle.
Tags: 2003, 2004, 2011, bay area, bicycle, bicycle coalition, bicycles, bike, bikes, Buchanan, california, cars, circles, cyclist, cyclists, duboce, dutch, fell, Josh Hart, market, oak, page, San Francisco, scott, sfbc, shared, slow, street, think, think bike, ThinkBike, ThinkBike workshop, traffic, traffic circles, trees, Waller, wiggle, workshop
Posted in bikes, paranormal | No Comments »
Friday, August 26th, 2011
Off The Grid has come into its own at the Upper Haight Location at the end of Waller near Stanyan (just one block north of our landmark Haight Street McDonalds).
I had no idea that it’s become so popular, like it was yesterday, in the pouring fog.
And, of course, you can’t ignore the almost-perfect Yelp rating
Check it:
Click to expand
Doublecheck the sked if you want to, but this is it, currently:
“Off the Grid: Upper Haight
Thursdays from 4:30PM-8:30PM”
I’ll tell you, I was there at the beginning, at the very first OTGUH like a year ago. Back then, it wasn’t slammed with people, but these days it is.
Get on out there next Thursday, why not?
I don’t know about other OTGs but this one is off the hook.
Enjoy the consensus, plus the Minority Report, which focuses on the fact that too many people are there (is that a bug or a feature?) and the air-conditioned summer weather (is that a bug or a feature?):
“Went last night, and wow. Bites of the night included the pork belly with pickled daikon from Chairman Bao (the bun was super soft and delicious with a generous serving of pork belly) a pandan waffle, and unagi onigiri from Onigilly (which also has miso soup, an awesome treat in the freezing Haight AND they give you free refills). Highly recommend going with a group of 5 or 6 and sharing bites of things.”
“If you’ve tried the Off the Grid at Fort Mason, then this is pretty much the exact replica of it except on a smaller scale. I recognized some of the exact same food trucks too. And just like Fort Mason, it is crazy packed. I had a burrito that I think might have been from El Huarache Loco, which was decent and had a nice spicy kick to it. Other than the novelty of experiencing the food truck craze, I think the food is only okay and a bit on the pricey side based on portion size. The crowds also get a bit overwhelming especially when you’re waiting in a humongous line in the freezing SF cold. Fun to try on occasion if you just want to dabble in different types of food.”
“Off the Grid is the new age of food trucks. They promote alot of fusion foods and foods not normally served in restaurants. Since I’m a Pilipino who loves food well, I go often. They have a cupcake truck, Senior Sisig, and that Korean truck. I need to try out the bacon truck the next time I go there. It’s great place w/ your friends to meet up and snack on great foods. They have live music as well. I need to try out the other OTG.”
Tags: 2011, ashbury, bay area, california, chinese, crowded, crowds, cupcakes, Dessert, dinner, end, evening, Filipino, food, haight, night, off the grid, otg, otguh, people, reviews, San Francisco, stanyan, street, taco, thursday, thursdays, treucks, truck, upper, Waller, yelp, yelpers
Posted in food and drink | No Comments »
Monday, June 6th, 2011
For some reason, the NBC just loves shooting bad television shows, ones with with horrible ratings, in the 415.
Comes now, Love Bites, which just had its national debut on June 2. It’s terrible.
But it’s been filmed (or taped or whatever) in town, so you might want to check it out for that reason alone. (Well, the first ep. had three vignettes, of which only the second is set in S.F.) Every scene from that segment practically screams “we made this on location!”
So you’ll see plenty of shots of the T/A Building and Belvedere Alley in Cole Valley:
Click to expand
Here’s the reaction:
“The long-delayed premiere of NBC’s anthology romantic comedy, “Love Bites,” failed to meet even the lowest expectations Thursday night.”
Ouch.
Check it out yourself here starting at 1:50. Yish.
Maybe it could be best described as a television romcom, like Friends except sexier and not funny.
So, does it make sense to shoot TV shows on location in San Francisco these days?
No, it does not.
Tags: 2010, 2011, alley, annie, april, ashbury, bay area, Belvedere, blocked, california, Cindy Chupack, cole valley, comedy, dating, drama, dramedy, film, fran, Frederick, Greg Grunberg, haight, haight Ashbury, hollywood, Jordana Spiro, Love Bites, march, nbc, parking, pilot, production, romantic, romantic dramedy, San Francisco, Sex and the City, street, television, trauma, TV, upper, virgin, Waller
Posted in TV | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
Remember NBC’s Trauma? Remember what a looser(sp) it looked like from the get-go? Well, NBC is back for some more abuse – they‘ve just started are continuing to film the pilot for Love Bites on Belvedere in the Haight Ashbury District. Who knows, it might be watchable.
You’ve heard of the 40-Year-Old-Virgin? Well Becki Newton will be the 32-year-old virgin:
“The romantic dramedy, from “Sex and the City” alumna Cindy Chupack, is in the vein of anthology series “Love, American Style” and chronicles several loosely connected, modern stories of love, sex, marriage and dating. Becki Newton will play one of two permanent cast members, Annie, an optimistic, infectiously bubbly social worker who is a virgin.”
Oh, here she is:
NBC
And here’s the mise-en-scene this afternoon:
All the action seems to be focusing on 120 Belvedere Alley, mas o menos.
This little bit of Hollywood magic should wrap by 3:00 AM(!) Thursday morning.
Break a leg, cast and crew of Love Bites
Tags: 2010, alley, annie, april, ashbury, Belvedere, blocked, Cindy Chupack, cole valley, comedy, dating, drama, dramedy, film, fran, Frederick, Greg Grunberg, haight, haight Ashbury, hollywood, Jordana Spiro, Love Bites, march, nbc, parking, pilot, production, romantic, romantic dramedy, Sex and the City, street, television, trauma, TV, upper, virgin, Waller
Posted in art, TV | 3 Comments »
Thursday, March 18th, 2010
Here’s the scene this morning at the official ceremony kicking off all the Divisadero Streetscape Improvements and the Cafe Mojo Parklet at 639 Divisidero betwixt Hayes and Grove.
BIKE NOPA has all the deets for the new parklet in front of popular Mojo Bicycle Cafe, where you are beseeched to “ride in – hang out – get your fix – ride on.”
Of course District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimiwas there* – he was working the crowd and expressing his appreciation for improved bicycle and pedestrian safety on the Divisadero Corridor. He also pointed out the success of the nearby Divisadero Farmer’s Market, which is no longer seasonal. It’s open every Sunday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM year-round these days.
Mayor Gavin Newsom addressing a large crowd on the tiny parklet:
Click to expand
And all the while, the honking yellow Hummer of Main Contractor Synergy Project Management was discretely parked across the street, as discretely as possible given that it’s a honking yellow Hummer:
I’m on the record as not being a big fan of all the changes, but oh well.
SocketSite has more info about Divis and Curbed SF has all the history, as you’d expect.
Brand new median trees and old-school streetlamps for as far as the eye can see:
These days, it’s Mojo a gogo. A fixie bike mounted outdoors as art:
Welcome to the New Divisidero.
*Wearing the same drip-dry suit he was wearing at the recent opening of the Hamilton Recreation Center and Pool.
All the deets, after the jump
(more…)
Tags: 19th avenue, 2009, 2010, 24th street, 639, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, architecture, ARRA, Balboa Street, Berenio Lumber, bicycle, bike, Bison Innovative Products, board of supervisors, bulb out, cafe, cafe mojo, cars, ceremony, Cesar Chavez, cycklists, cyclists, debut, department of public works, director, district 5, district five, divisadero, Divisadero Great Streets Project, Divisadero Streetscape Improvement Project, divisidero, dpw, Ed Reiskin, Feeney, Flora Grubb Nurseries, gavin newsom, geary, great streets, grove, hayes, hummer, Improvement, inc, kick off, kickoff, lamps, Leland Avenue, lights, Lower Polk Street, management, median, mojo, Mojo Bicycle Cafe, Muni, OEWD, Office of Economic and Workforce, park, parking, parklet, PAVEMENT TO PARKS, paving, program, project, refuge, repaved, repaving, Rg, RG-Architecture, ross mirkarimi, San Bruno Avenue, San Francisco, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, sewer, SFMTA, SFPUC, sidewalks, space, stimulus, street, streetlamps, streetlights, streetscape, Studio Upwell, Supervisor, synergy, Synergy Contractors, synergy project management, TLC, traffic, Transportation for Livable Communities, trees, valencia, van ness, Waller, wide, widen, widening
Posted in streets | 3 Comments »
Friday, February 26th, 2010
Tags: 232, art, beams, bicycle, bike, cable car, cats, destroying, eyes, fillmore, giant, Golden Gate Bridge, haight, kittens, kitties, lower, lower haight, mouth, mural, page, painting, path, red, steiner, street, upper playground, Waller, walrus, webster, wiggle, Window
Posted in Animals, art | 2 Comments »
