One of the busiest F-line stops, Wharf-bound at Fourth and Market, is too narrow to allow an ADA ramp, thus denying access to disabled people. That’s because the boarding island, which predated ADA and is thus "grandfathered," sits parallel to a BART/Metro escalator entrance, which narrows the street. Moving some downtown F-line stops to mid-block would allow wider islands with ADA access and faster boarding for all riders, while leaving more space for other street users by removing the current constrained islands.
News
“Seattle’s Classic Waterfront Streetcars Stuck at Dead End”
Ex-Melbourne tram No. 605 on the Seattle Waterfront Streetcar line before it was shut down in 2007.
Accident Highlights Market Street Challenges
A man was trapped under an F-line streetcar (PCC No. 1074) on Friday, as reported by ABC7 News as it happened:
Remembering Art Michel, 1927-2012
Art Michel was remembered at a funeral service yesterday at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in San Francisco. Art passed away on May 28. Today would have been his 85th birthday.
Happy 120th Birthday, SF Streetcars
On April 17, 1892, the first electric streetcar service opened in San Francisco. The line started at Market and Steuart Streets, a block from the Ferry terminal and just a few feet from our San Francisco Railway Museum. The line of the San Francisco & San Mateo Railway ran out to Holy Cross Cemetery south of the county line, in what is Colma today. The line zigged and zagged through downtown, partly to avoid infringing on other companies’ street franchise rights, but generally followed Steuart, Harrison, 14th St. and Guerrero to reach San Jose Avenue.
This Just In: Muni Used To Be Faster!
F-Stockton streetcar, southbound on Stockton at Vallejo, 1916. Muni Archives photo, displayed in our San Francisco Railway Museum’s Muni Centennial exhibition.
Carl Nolte: The Only One Who Does What He Does
Carl Nolte. Photo by Mike Kapka, Courtesy SF Chronicle
Flood of New Faces on the F-line
PCC No. 1070, in 1953 Newark livery, testing on The Embarcadero, January 15, 2012. Copyright Jeremy Whiteman.
Car 1040: Newest All Over Again
Restored Muni PCC No. 1040 at Muni Metro East, December 15, 2011. (Yes, it can run the outer end of the L-Taraval line, and others, too.) Click photos to enlarge.
Just Hear Those Sleigh Bells Jingling
Decorated Milan Tram No. 1818 heading into service on Church Street. Click photo to enlarge.
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