The N-Judah Chronicles

If you've never been on a "charter" ride on Muni's network of rails, you're really missing out on a fun afternoon. Last year I had the opportunity to participate in a ride via Market Street Railway celebrating Muni's 100th Anniversary, and we managed to tour the entire network (minus the T-Third Line, the subway, and the N-Judah line). Even with those omissions, it was fun, especially when our vintage car would stop, and people would ask what we were doing and take photos of our ride.

There's been discussion that said charter rides could be returning to the N-Judah line this year, and word is that some testing will be done once again late at night to ensure that almost all of the cars can go through (Right now there's only a few that can't make the turn at Arguello by UCSF because they are too wide). This could include...the Blackpool "Boat Tram."

At a meeting earlier this year I had with Ed Reiskin, the SFMTA's CEO, I told him that the moment they "legalize" the boat tram, I'd be down at cash-strapped Muni with a big bag of cash with a dollar sign on it, and sign up for one. I'm serious, and now I would like to gauge if there's interest in such a charter ride. Also, it's not unprecdented to do such a ride - after all there's photos online of people taking the "boat tram" through the Sunset Tunnel and Cole Valley, so technically it's already happened, right?

Setting up one of these is not that difficult - Market Street Railway posted info on how to do so recently (the charters are handled directly by Muni). Personally I think a ride from the Ferry Building to Ocean Beach would be a lot of fun, especially if the weather cooperates.

Lead time is a minimum of 2 months, and I'll need to do some figuring on costs, since while I'm happy to pony up the cash up front, I'm no Rob Conway so I can't afford to pay for everyone to ride for free. For now, I'd be interested in hearing from readers if a) they'd consider riding said charter and b) any suggestions to the route we might take, in the comments section below. AND, if anyone would be interested in helping sponsor said ride, please send me an email and let me know what you think.

This could be a really fun event, and if nothing else, I'll bring the boom box for the music!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 7:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The other day I got a note from my neighbor Barbara, one of the owners of the "Yes We Can" house located at 6th and Irving. A daily landmark for commuters passing through the Inner Sunset, Barbara and her husband, along with many neighbors, host community events at their home, which features a spacious back yard. Coming up in April, they will be hosting their annual "Book Blast," an opportunity for you to recycle your unwanted books and perhaps find something new to read.

Details are as follows. This is a completely cash-free event, and as someone who has attended before, can be a lot of fun, and a great way to meet people in the Inner Sunset:

We're now collecting for the Inner Sunset Third Usually-Annual Book Blast. This year, the event will be a full weekend, Saturday/Sunday, April 27 & 28 at the NW corner of Irving & Sixth; Noon until exhaustion.

Feel free to drop books NOW at 1297 Sixth Ave. in our sheltered doorway, in bags/boxes, not too heavy to make my eyes pop out. If necessary, we can pick up your
donations, just call.

We'd love: kids' books, fiction, dictionaries, books, psychology,
science, cookbooks, travel, maps, books, videos, biographies, books, CDs, DVDs, books, paperbacks, history, and books!

Please note: we canNOT accept text books, encyclopedias or magazines, unfortunately.

This is not a charity event, or a swap and no money will be exchanged...It is our neighborhood's effort to recycle books.

Leftover books will be donated to the SF Public Library for their
annual fundraiser.

Volunteers *very* welcome (err...needed!) Please call Barbara: 2.46.47.48

Sounds fun!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In case you hadn't heard, the SFMTA, working on new ways to make your commute a pain in the ass, is pulling another one of its cuts in service at the end of March (ostensibly for "spring break.") While people who work for a living will be inconvenienced, the agency will save a grand total of $45,000. Out of a
budget of $821 million.

$45,000 is not a lot of money. I mean, they could just simply fire one deadwood employee and have more than that to keep service running. My frustration with the SFMTA, as it has been for years, though is how this agency routinely plays the "we gots no money gimme more money" act when something like this is announced, and yet passes over way easier and better ways to "make money" that stare them right in the face?

Case in point: The replacement of all of the streets signs in San Francisco with the new "upper/lowercase' style (mandated, by the way, by the Federal government in case you were wondering why they're doing that). Right now you can buy old street signs from the 1940s era at the Cable Car Museum. It occurred to me the other day that now there's a massive replacement of every single sign in town, surely said "obsolete" signs being pulled down now would be for sale there.

I called over there, and alas, this isn't the case. Instead, they'll likely all be recycled or dumped in a landfill somewhere. This is a classic case of a missed opportunity. I have bought SF street signs from the Cable Car Museum in the past, and they're not cheap. That said, if I could get say, an "Irving Street" sign, a "Judah Street" sign, and so on, I'd easily pay $40-75 a piece. Heck, you could price them by popularity, and make a lot more than $45,000. Even better, do this all on line in the ALLEGED TECH CAPITAL OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM OR SO WE ARE TOLD. Isn't our mayor the "tech mayor" or something like that?

Instead, we're getting a service cut and told there's "no money" for basic service at the end of March.

This is one of many missed opportunities. With all the people who are out there selling Muni themed merchandise, you'd think by now, again in the TECH CAPITAL OF THE GALAZY OMG, Muni would make a few bucks (maybe $45,000?) selling t-shirts and other items online, Zazzle style. When I wore my T-Third t-shirt one day I could not count the number of people who immediately asked "Where can I buy one?" (No, really, I don't wear it anymore because I'm tired of having to tell them they can't.)

Hell, I could run this and I wouldn't need to have a six figure salary, personal chauffeur and the like. Oh wait, I already do. The point is not to get me a gig at the MTA, the point is that once again, low-hanging fruit like this (to borrow a phrase from my fundraising background) is passed by, due to excessive BS regulations at the City of SF, and because no one seems to see what they have right in front of them that could pull in a few extra bucks without a lot of overhead.

More to the point, if we did things like this, we wouldn't have phony cuts like this "spring break" cut in service in March. Ah, well.

PS: Well, if Muni won't sell things online, then I'll fill the gap. Today (March 15th) you can use the code POTOGOLD at our Zazzle store, and you get 20% off select merchandise. Buy something today! Proceeds will go towards a charter ride on a historic streetcar if the N-Judah line is opened up once again to said streetcars. I'll publish a separate post on that shortly.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

While I've never understood the "need" for cell phone service in tunnels Deep Under The Earth, especialy since we got along without cell phones for decades, some people think this is a big deal. Thus, it was interesting to read news about cell phone service in the SFMTA subway and service on two lines of the LA MTA on the same day. It provides an interesting insight into how two different agencies take on the problem.

First up: our SFMTA. The article in SFGate.com compares and contrasts Muni's experiences trying to install service vs. BART (which obviously has more riders and tunnels, hence more interest from cell phone providers). In the end, we find that nothing is happening because no one will install the equipment on their dime, and Muni has "other priorities" (Like taking another 9 million dollars out of the general fund to appease North Beach residents regarding the bazillion dollar Central Subway.)

As I stated before, personally I find it to be a minor irritation at best, although some riders have told me there is a legitimate safety issue - if there's an accident or other Big Incident, having some sort of way to communicate beyond the nominal system on the trains might not be a bad idea. What bothers me more is how clearly this is something that doesn't have to cost the agency any money, but there's a lot of talking and treating this like it's the biggest math problem in the world, when it's not.

Why? Well read this article about cell service for the LA MTA's various subway lines. Not only have they found a provider to install the equipment necessary, the LA MTA won't just get the equipment for free - they'll be making a minimum of $360,000 a year off of the system. Cell phone companies will pay to access the system (and who is going to want to miss out on such an opportunity to one-up the competition).

It seems to me that even with Muni's shorter tunnels, I've got to believe in tech-heavy SF, such a system would be a money maker for everyone. Perhaps in LA, they spend less time appeasing the masses with endless "outreach" and spend more time getting things done than we do. Surely, we can do better.

UPDATE: The LA MTA Board approved the contract to get cell service in stations on Feb. 28. Meanwhile the SFMTA spent $9 million local dollars to appease Sup. David Chiu's (loud) constituents regarding the tunnel boring equipment in his district. That's $9 million being taken away from existing maintenance and needs for other lines. Way to go, San Francisco!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 1:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Believe it or not, despite writing a locally focused blog all about San Francisco, I have occasionally received mail from people from Far Away Elsewhere. For example, a while ago a group of fans from Europe of the TV show "Streets of San Francisco" looking for advice on how to find various locations on the program, as well as how to best navigate Muni.

Yesterday I received an interesting email from Prague, Czech Republic from Reader Aude, who found the blog via The Google for an interesting reason - they are translating a book set in San Francisco, and found one passage difficult to decode, despite consulting both Google and Muni Maps. Read on:

Hi Greg!

This is Aude, from the other side of the Atlantic :-)
I've never been to SF but I'm currently translating into French a book you've maybe heard of since it's set in your city, that is Homeboy, by Seth Morgan.
At one point there's this sentence (in case (!!!!) you have the book it's on p.80) which mentions the N Judah. I've been trying to follow through the Muni web and Google maps, but must say I'm at a loss.
Here it is:

"He turned onto a side street and parked in its culdesac over the streetcar tunnel. He walked to the railing overlooking the tracks and leaned against a streetlamp that looked, in the swirling mist, like a giant dandelion atop a wrought iron stem. The N Judah car burst out between his legs, rattle-trapping down the cutbacks through the steep backyards, jiggling in its yellow windows like a corn in a popper newspapers, crossed legs, a woman applying lipstick. Scanning the gray density of buildings, Joe spotted the house on Treat Street by the police lights. They pulsed in the fog like red amoebas."

I'd have two questions, if you're kind enough to help.

- First do you have an idea of where the character can be? It looks like Treat St is very short and quite far from the N Judah way.

- Second, do you have an idea of what the cutbacks are here? Does the author mean this kind of tortuous, steep and narrow streets of San Francisco? (I can't imagine the tramway following a zig-zaggy way...)

Thanks a lot for your help, I hope I'll make it one day to San Francisco and take the N Judah :-)

All best from Praha, and a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Treat Avenue is within semi-walking distance from the J, but not like the way it's described here. As for a cul-de-sac (or any spot above a tunnel vis a vis the N) the only place this could be describing would be somewhere above one of the entrances to the Sunset Tunnel (this book was written long before the N went to Caltrain).

After much discussion, I told Aude that it was likely the author was taking some artistic license with San Francisco geography, much as Hollywood does when filming car chase scenes or having cable cars appear like they criss cross the City.

What do you think? Post your thoughts in the comments section!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

After reading local Twitteratti for the past week, I think I've discovered a truly renewable, non-polluting source of sustainable energy - the endless whining by people about paying for parking on Sundays!

Well, that is, if there was some way to harness it.

Imagine the possiblities. San Francisco would become the world's most dominant energy provider, and we'd put all of the OPEC nations out of business. Seriously. On and on people are loudly whining about this like it's a human rights violation on the level of a low level atrocity the UN usually intervenes in. One almost expects these aggreived souls to call Jimmy Carter to show up and provide relief, as he has in the past in truly troubled parts of the world.

Memo to San Francisco: Calm The Frak Down. It's not the end of the world. Also: you are not entitled to free parking on public streets, and those of us who don't have a car have been seeing our fares on Muni go up and up, while auto parking continued to be subsidized. If you don't think it is, think of what would happen if the SFMTA decided to charge market rate, on a parity with private lots? Talk about a "human rights violation," eh?

Before we go on, a shout out to the screamers - I'm not unsympathetic to the plight of the motorist who gets a ton of tickets. I used to own a (big, gas guzzling luxury) car, and part of the reason the SFMTA is low on cash is because I'm not getting tickets anymore.

I also do not like the idea of using "parking tickets" as a revenue source (vs. using them as punishment for causing dangerous situations), something I've said about a million times on this blog in the last 7+ years. Nor was I happy when a forgotten ticket escalated to almost $100 and the SFMTA went after my tax refund (yes, they will do this, and we'll discuss this in a future post). So there.

That said, this is not an Armageddon for business owners. I say so because I live in a business district, the Inner Sunset, and I can say for certain what happens now - people park their cars after 6pm on Saturday and leave them in the "free" spots all along Irving Street until Monday morning.

This not only reduces the number of spots available for people who might need a car whilst patronizing local businesses, but it also creates a lot of traffic when people are circling the neighborhood or double parking waiting for a spot. Just on the block I live on, what should be a neighborhood street starts to pile up with endless traffic, with the inevitable horn honking on par with a street in Manhattan.

People need to realize that the only reason we didnt' have metered parking on Sundays in the first place was because most businesses weren't open on Sundays, so there was no point to it. In Not Very Religious San Francisco, that's changed, and people hogging the spots for 24 hours+ on Sunday isn't very conducive to business nowadays.

If we'd implemented demand based parking city-wide (which, ironically has reduced the cost of parking in zones experimenting with it) we could manage this even better for those who actually need it. (those of you who are able to walk or whatever and instead drive a few blocks for a pack of cigarettes don't fall in this category). Sadly, the shrill sounds of a Tea Party-esque minority refuse to listen to, content to keep up the shrill.

In the end, to make this work, the SFMTA has to make Muni run more efficiently on Sundays, so for the most part this isn't the Big Issue everyone's whines make it out to be. That's not an impossible task, but it will only happen if Muni's owners (you) make it a priority. Whining on blogs never changed anything, but putting pressure on the clown car that is City Hall sometimes works, and might even end up making a real difference that benefits everyone.

A shocking concept, I know, especially in the City of Choose-Up-Siders, but again, not impossible. Really!

Fun Fact: Los Angeles no longer has coin-only meters. You can pay with a credit or debit card, you don't need to use some stupid "app" that charges you an extra "fee," and they'll be doing more to manage parking in the future than we could hope for. They also are doing more to get people to ride buses, trains and their light rail system. Kinda puts SF and its alleged superiority to shame, doesn't it?

Posted by Greg Dewar at 9:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)