SF Weekly Plays in Traffic, Sees Naked People and Angry Muni Drivers
Categories: Transportation
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| Coburn Palmer |
| People ... lots of them |
As the lowly intern, I decided to spend the weekend in traffic to get a firsthand account of the transitpocalypse -- and to play SF Weekly's Hardly Strictly Bingo.
Much to my surprise, the city was unusually prepared for the weekend crush of people.
As I made my way to various events, I noticed that the rest of San Francisco was eerily silent and empty; perhaps city residents had locked themselves inside to dodge the crowds? But those who were brave enough to venture outside found themselves among the throngs of people -- tens of thousands attended events. However, the nightmarish transportation delays we all braced for never materialized.
Maybe this is why: Muni had diesel buses running along tracked lines that acted as shuttles, carting people to and from events without a hitch. BART also played its part with longer trains running more frequently, which really helped keep things moving.
And down at Golden Gate Park, Muni had buses lined up, waiting for the crowds as they left the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival. In our experience, people were allowed to shuffle on board without paying, just to keep things moving. So while we were all packed in like sardines, at least we weren't late for dinner.
Now, if you were dumb enough to drive into the city after we told you not to, then you probably noticed the cyclists and pedicabs passing you by as they plied their trade up and down the Embarcadero. That's because the city blocked off one lane and opened it to cyclists only. However, from what we saw, most everywhere else in the city -- from Golden Gate Park to the Castro Street Fair -- traffic flowed seemingly better than a Monday commute.
Of course, I took this as a good opportunity to play our very own Hardly Strictly Bingo, where I saw, among other things, a leather vest, an angry Muni employee, and an empty police car double-parked.
Here's my Bingo score card. Did you beat me?
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