Comings and Goings

I went out for a bike ride on Sunday.  Here's some fun stuff that I saw.  I streetcar turnaround up Market street and the value of a bike lane on the Embarcadero...

F Line Turnaround



Embarcadero Free Ride

New Muni LRV Facility

Here are some pictures of the new Muni LRV Repair facility off of the Third Street light rail line. This facility is desperately needed given that all of the vehicles, heritage and modern have to go back to the crowded Geneva Yards. It's kind of neat because i get to see all the vehicles go by my house but at the same time there are a lot of cars going down Church street with no one in them.

The coolest thing about going down there a few weekends ago was that I got to see how the track was going in. Since I'd never seen it before I thought it was pretty cool to see all of the industrial sized C clamps and spacers keeping the tracks an even distance apart over a heavy concrete base.

Mission Bay, Dogpatch and 3rd Street Light Rail

I took a little road trip today around the Dogpatch and Mission Bay Neighborhoods. The interesting thing about the Dogpatch is that it was one of the places that mostly survived the 1906 earthquake and includes some of the oldest working class housing in the city. But as usual I focused mostly on the Third Street Light Rail line and a lot of the redevelopment that is going on along it. It's rather amazing what is happening as the development is coming right out of the ground.

While the dogpatch survived the earthquake in 1906, I would be worried about this area in future earthquakes given its closeness to the bay and its susceptibility to liquefaction. Map of liquefaction susceptibility here. But what is interesting is what they do to deal with the issue. Below is a picture of some of the Mission Bay redevelopment along the Third Street Light Rail Line. On the other side of the fence you can see some of the pylons coming out of the ground. Well those where hammered down there by huge machines to the bedrock to stabilize the building so they would be less susceptible to the liquefaction.

You can also see in the next picture the huge machines that hammer the pylons down into the subsoil and the many cranes which dot the skyline. I apologize for the blurriness of the picture.

Much of the redevelopment is multi story buildings and lofts along the light rail line. With so many acres of land available, the area will add thousands of residents.

Further South along the light rail near the Dogpatch neighborhood other projects are going up and old wherehouses will more than likely be remodeled at some point. The photos below were taken near the Mariposa Third Street Station.

On another note, I drove by an old metal scrapyard where I found a few dead Muni buses. The 38 and 38x buses will be replaced with LRVs just like the streetcar was once replaced by the bus. All things are circular and I think these pictures are an indication of that, given that we saw many pictures of streetcars in the scrapyards after the transit holocaust of the 50s and 60s. Hopefully this is a scene that will be seen more often as we replace bus routes with more efficient rail lines.

Later this week I'll show some pictures of the new LRV repair and maintenance facility.

The Central Subway and Beyond

Today there were numerous articles about the planned Central Subway for San Francisco. There is political backing for going forward with the project even with the objections from some who say it's too little for so much money. I wonder if today's anti-transit folk would argue against BART, the Washington Metro, or even the New York City Subways. They probably would.

The Central Subway for some of its faults is a good project section. It begins to address the North South rail deficiencies that plague the City and completes the second of three segments that will connect North Beach to Downtown and Bayview. I personally can't wait to use it.

Extra Note: Here is a link to a PowerPoint for converting the Geary Subway to BRT then LRT.

3rd Street Light Rail Open in SF

Now running on the weekends, light rail is rolling on third street. This is the first part of the Central Subway project that will be the future lead to the Geary Subway and potential extensions to the Marina. The Central Subway should be paid for completely by the Feds because Muni is looking to use this initial segment as its match in the New Starts Process. Hopefully this means moving faster to the Geary Subway but until then, I'll be watching third street and the Central Subway with great interest.

(The Other) Subway to the Sea

With Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa planning the subway to the sea on Wilshire in Los Angeles, I think Mayor Newsom should start his own program in San Francisco. One of most ridden bus lines in the United States, the 38 Geary is always plastered with faces on the windows because it is so full and needs more capacity. The Geary Corridor also has the limited service 38L which acts as an express bus. So why are they going to spend millions of dollars to take away a lane and save riders only a few minutes while using the same buses?

The first step of the second subway to the sea is the 3rd Street light rail which opens in the next few months. The next step is the central subway project which leaves a spur going west to link up a future Geary Subway before it turns off to go under Stockton(which by the way should continue past broadway). The decision to build the GS to at least Masonic though is very far off while they wait for more money. But really the line is ready to go.

So the problem with this picture is that while the United States FWHA would put in 90% of the cost for a road that desperately needed to be built, they would do it. This is the top example of what is happening with the new starts program. Funding for major urban rail projects is getting stymied for artery clogging BRT and unneeded roads by folks who don't like to invest in infrastructure needed to make cities work. aka the libertarian movement. Where would they be without the Federal Highway Program in their arguments? Probably arguing for better transit to support the free market.

The point is that projects like Geary are the projects that need to be funded. Folks shouldn't be plastered on the windows bus service is not adequate. This is why the case needs to be made for a major transit infrastructure initiative that rivals that of the Highway expansion of the last century. The first project? Geary Subway to the Sea