http://abc7news.com/traffic/sfmta-votes-to-close-san-franciscos-lombard-street-this-summer/69672/
The Residents of Lombard Street hate tourists in their area.
Mod Note: No need to yell in the thread title... –roadfro
If what I saw in Stanley Roberts's latest report is accurate, I can't say I blame the residents for their frustration. On the other hand, it's not like it wasn't already a tourist attraction when most of them moved there....
http://youtu.be/KrpaLg4uzSs
I have little sympathy for the residents of that block–the same way that I smile and take it in stride when tourists interrupt my run on the Golden Gate Bridge and ask me to take their photo.
But just three blocks west of the famous meandering section, Lombard is a major arterial street carrying 101 traffic between Van Ness and the Presidio. If the traffic is spilling out onto and beyond the Van Ness intersection, I do agree that the situation needs to be mitigated somehow. That said, I've been through that intersection hundreds of times and haven't seen a tourist-fueled backup yet.
I am planning on driving it early Sunday morning, so I am glad to hear it should be open.
Well I know that the painted ladies part of San Francisco is also a tourist attraction and residents in that case hate the tour bus and commuter buses in that area.
I am originally from the bay area and I once lived in South San Francisco I lived with airplanes flying over Daly City and ssf because of sfo. I miss seeing the planes near my backyard and I 280. Those were great memories but then these cities got complaints from residents for noise control a few years back at sfo and I thought this was some bad joke here.
I can sympathize with the residents of that block. Not for the traffic generated, because it is a tourist attraction and that traffic should be expected. I sympathize because of the frustration caused by the stupidity of the tourists, as seen in the YouTube link posted by 1995hoo. Stopping in the middle of the street for photos, disrespecting peoples' property, etc. is just rude. It may be a tourist attraction, but it is still people's neighborhood.
Quote from: bing101 on May 22, 2014, 09:27:01 PM
http://abc7news.com/traffic/sfmta-votes-to-close-san-franciscos-lombard-street-this-summer/69672/
The Residents of Lombard Street hate tourists in their area.
That bit of Lombard has been a tourist attraction for the past 90 years! Why'd they move there?
If they don't want tourists, let 'em live in Daly City.
Sure tourists can be annoying (*really* annoying in some cases) but the residents had to have known what they were getting themselves into when they bought their houses.
Quote from: myosh_tino on May 23, 2014, 05:35:34 PM
Sure tourists can be annoying (*really* annoying in some cases) but the residents had to have known what they were getting themselves into when they bought their houses.
And what they paid for the house reflects the annoyance value of the tourists.
Let the residents of Lombard street move to daly city? Wait one second you still deal with tourists anyway they are on airplanes flying over your house and that personal experience for me and i like planes flying over my house. I used to live in Daly city 25 years ago.
I just had the opportunity to drive this today (on a holiday weekend), and I hate to say it but I think it is a good call.
Honestly, there's way too much traffic for it to be an enjoyable drive- you're just on an insanely steep hill rolling at like 2 MPH while the dingus in front of you takes pictures.
To add to that, the volume of cars is ridiculous. I approached it coming straight on Lombard, and traffic was backed up three blocks in both directions (Lombard and whatever the cross street is at the top of the hill) with cops actually having to stand at the top and bottom of the hill directing traffic through those intersections.
It's a neat view- definitely it should be open for walking, but I genuinely don't think having the ability to drive it on holiday weekends like this where you sit in line for 20 minutes (that's how long it took from the time I hit the backup to the time I was at the bottom of the hill) to drive down another hill for about 40 seconds adds anything, and I'm a roadgeek. Then again, I also question the point of standing in line at an amusement park for hours for a line that lasts two minutes- but I don't even think the payoff is there nearly as much as it is for a neat roller coaster. It would be fun and neat if you could more or less drive down it one car at a time, but obviously there's no way that could work.
There were at least six officers on hand to control the flow and make sure pedestrians weren't running in front of cars, and I'd assume that the ability to drive that hill has negative economic impact on surrounding businesses (driving to them is all but impossible). Beyond taxi fares, the hill doesn't generate any revenue. There is definitely a safety risk there, and I don't think this is all that important a landmark in San Francisco. I highly doubt losing the ability to drive it on certain busy weekends would deter a single visitor from visiting San Francisco, and the costs I saw to have it open in a (honestly, despite the efforts of cops) fairly disorderly fashion seem far greater than whatever benefit.
If you don't feel it was worth it to wait in line for 20 minutes, by all means don't do it again. It's the crookedest street in the world (TM) as well as very pretty, and it's all part of the SF tourist experience. Yes, people would still come to SF without it, but it would be a disappointment. I did it once, as a passenger when I must have been about 10 years old, and I'm not about to repeat the experience.
I'm not sure the impact on the surrounding businesses is all you've stated. Driving is a pretty losing proposition in most of central SF (north of Market and east of Van Ness). Most of their customers probably get there by walking, biking, or Muni anyway, and would continue to do so if the twisty blocks of Lombard were closed. Besides, some of those businesses stay alive by selling postcards and "I drove the crookedest street in the world!" T-shirts.
Quote from: kkt on May 26, 2014, 09:20:13 PM
It's the crookedest street in the world (TM)
As a SF native (and someone who spends quite a bit of time in the Bay), I always find that appellation amusing only because there IS a crookeder street in the City (a portion of Vermont Street near the Bayshore Freeway)...
...that is less scenic, and thus not emphasized for tourists. :spin:
I've gone through the street generally at least once or twice a year and have never minded the experience at all, even with friends who grew up in the area.
Quote from: kkt on May 23, 2014, 04:53:30 PM
Quote from: bing101 on May 22, 2014, 09:27:01 PM
http://abc7news.com/traffic/sfmta-votes-to-close-san-franciscos-lombard-street-this-summer/69672/
The Residents of Lombard Street hate tourists in their area.
That bit of Lombard has been a tourist attraction for the past 90 years! Why'd they move there?
If they don't want tourists, let 'em live in Daly City.
Remember - It is better to be dead in Colma than alive in Daly City!
Quote from: TheStranger on May 27, 2014, 11:37:14 AM
Quote from: kkt on May 26, 2014, 09:20:13 PM
It's the crookedest street in the world (TM)
As a SF native (and someone who spends quite a bit of time in the Bay), I always find that appellation amusing only because there IS a crookeder street in the City (a portion of Vermont Street near the Bayshore Freeway)...
...that is less scenic, and thus not emphasized for tourists. :spin:
I've gone through the street generally at least once or twice a year and have never minded the experience at all, even with friends who grew up in the area.
I remember Vermont Street its on US-101 @ I-80 Interchange Vermont Street exit on US-101 has a great view of Downtown San Francisco. too though I been there before looking for alternate routes.
Quote from: TheStranger on May 27, 2014, 11:37:14 AM
Quote from: kkt on May 26, 2014, 09:20:13 PM
It's the crookedest street in the world (TM)
As a SF native (and someone who spends quite a bit of time in the Bay), I always find that appellation amusing only because there IS a crookeder street in the City (a portion of Vermont Street near the Bayshore Freeway)...
...that is less scenic, and thus not emphasized for tourists. :spin:
I've gone through the street generally at least once or twice a year and have never minded the experience at all, even with friends who grew up in the area.
I enjoyed walking Lombard Street the last time I passed through there, and it was a pleasant experience to see the landscaping and count the number of curves rather than drive it with tailgaters and tons of traffic. We'd actually walked all the way from the Embarcadero area, which took us past Columbus Avenue and North Beach for lunch.
Vermont St is also a neat crooked street; I drove that in the 1990s and haven't been back in awhile (I actually knew someone who lived near there). I wonder if it could be walked too.
Quote from: corco on May 25, 2014, 09:49:40 PM
I just had the opportunity to drive this today (on a holiday weekend), and I hate to say it but I think it is a good call.
Honestly, there's way too much traffic for it to be an enjoyable drive- you're just on an insanely steep hill rolling at like 2 MPH while the dingus in front of you takes pictures.
To add to that, the volume of cars is ridiculous. I approached it coming straight on Lombard, and traffic was backed up three blocks in both directions (Lombard and whatever the cross street is at the top of the hill) with cops actually having to stand at the top and bottom of the hill directing traffic through those intersections.
It's a neat view- definitely it should be open for walking, but I genuinely don't think having the ability to drive it on holiday weekends like this where you sit in line for 20 minutes (that's how long it took from the time I hit the backup to the time I was at the bottom of the hill) to drive down another hill for about 40 seconds adds anything, and I'm a roadgeek. Then again, I also question the point of standing in line at an amusement park for hours for a line that lasts two minutes- but I don't even think the payoff is there nearly as much as it is for a neat roller coaster. It would be fun and neat if you could more or less drive down it one car at a time, but obviously there's no way that could work.
There were at least six officers on hand to control the flow and make sure pedestrians weren't running in front of cars, and I'd assume that the ability to drive that hill has negative economic impact on surrounding businesses (driving to them is all but impossible). Beyond taxi fares, the hill doesn't generate any revenue. There is definitely a safety risk there, and I don't think this is all that important a landmark in San Francisco. I highly doubt losing the ability to drive it on certain busy weekends would deter a single visitor from visiting San Francisco, and the costs I saw to have it open in a (honestly, despite the efforts of cops) fairly disorderly fashion seem far greater than whatever benefit.
I wonder if there isn't anything else that can be done to improve traffic in this area. I notice that the corner of Hyde and Lombard has a stop sign for Lombard eastbound and Hyde northbound, but not for Hyde southbound. (Lombard westbound doesn't exist, because that block is one-way eastbound down the crooked street). Perhaps an all-way stop or maybe even traffic lights to better control the traffic flow. Maybe more one-way streets around the surrounding blocks.
http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/traffic-control-experiment-will-close-lombard-st-p/ngQBY/
Another issue in San Francisco between Tourists and Residents. On Lomabrd street.
There's already a topic here on the closure of Lombard Street in San Francisco...
Mod Note: Forum link removed due to topic merge.
@Bing101, you created a thread on this topic last month... Per the Forum Guidelines (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=992.0), please remember to look for and post in existing topics. Thanks. --roadfro
First, thanks Roadfro for merging the topics. :clap:
Second, I saw footage of yesterday's closure of Lombard Street this morning on the news and although the road was closed to automobiles, people were still showing up in droves. If tourists are increasingly walking Lombard, it wouldn't surprise me if the residents push for a ban on walking it too. :-/
UPDATE
The San Francisco Chronicle ran a story...
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/place/article/Lombard-street-closure-begins-smoothly-5569909.php?cmpid=hp-hc-bayarea#photo-6489455
... about the weekend closure of Lombard and while it stopped the flow of cars, it didn't stop the flow of tourists!
The closure doesn't seem to be a problem. A windy street like that is only important for its tourist value and access for the block residents. I'm sure that people driving from the west end of town towards the waterfront are not taking this block of Lombard if they want to go the quickest way.
Surprising how minimal an effect on vehicular traffic this seems to have had.