They raised the first steel posts and roof beams yesterday for the new Geneva Canopy. This is the culmination of more than a dozen years of advocacy by Market Street Railway to give the irreplaceable historic streetcar fleet protection from the elements when the vintage streetcars are not on the streets. (We have a major article on this in the new issue of our newsletter, Inside Track, which will be mailed to our members next week.)
Our friends over at Muni Diaries recently steered us toward this vintage film from 1930. It appears to be home movie, and the good stuff starts at around 0:23, when we get a superb view of The Loop — the once-famous streetcar turnaround at the foot of Market Street — as seen from the second floor of the Ferry Building. Check out all those Iron Monsters!Also worth noticing: The pedestrian bridge that used to connect the Ferry Building to the rest of Market street, lots and lots of ferries, and a big-gunned Navy battleship at anchor in the Bay. Noticeably missing: The Bay Bridge and Treasure Island! Enjoy…
Over the course of a few days last weekend, Muni replaced a large section of streetcar railbed around the intersection of 18th and Church streets near Dolores Park in San Francisco.
The project is part of the J Church Improvement Project, but the vintage streetcars of the F Line will benefit as well, as they too traverse this stretch of rail while traveling to and from their base camp at the Geneva Yard.
Happily, a few amateur infrastructuralists were on hand document the work, and it’s interesting stuff to see. Apart from the photos above, one neighbor also produced a short video of the project, which you can watch here:
A large group of pedestrians and cyclists gathered during Sunday Streets when it expanded into the Mission District last year. Jamison Wieser photo.
Yesterday, the SFMTA Board of Directors voted on a range of measures to begin close the year end deficit currently figured to be $12.1 million. The meeting ran over and will be continued until Tuesday, but some decisions were made on Friday including a 10% cut in Muni service. Unlike the changes made in December, no routes or segments of routes will be eliminated as happened with Decembers cuts and there will be no new or increased service to offset the cuts.
As the SFMTA Board of Directors hears public comment on proposed actions to address a $16.9 million deficit, Streetsblog San Francisco’s Bryan Goebel is there liveblogging coverage.
To: Nat Ford, SFMTA
From: Rick Laubscher, Market Street Railway
