The Good Ol’ 39-Coit Will Keep Truckin’
Reposted, with permission, from Tony Long’s North Beach Examiner
The 39-Coit has been saved.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of neighborhood activists and a sudden moment of lucidity from the MTA board, Telegraph Hill’s bus will live to drive another day. Not only that, but the Union Street leg of the route, which was to be lopped off in any case, will be preserved, too.
And not only that, but Muni now favors extending the line to Pier 39, something 39 advocates have been beseeching them to do for some time now. (Numerology alone would seem to favor this extension, wouldn’t it?)
The MTA board took the action Tuesday, finally acknowledging that a viable bus up to Coit Tower is the best way to reduce traffic on the hill. As part of the plan to extend the line to Pier 39, the Muni said it expects Fisherman’s Wharf merchants and the community at large to help publicize the 39-Coit to help increase the ridership.
Keeping the Union Street leg is especially good news for hill residents. Try walking up to Montgomery with a couple of bags of groceries sometime and you’ll know what I mean. Try it with a couple of balky Achilles tendons and you really know what I mean.
Anyway, I don’t get to say this often but I’ll say it now: Thanks, Muni.
More on our reaction to Tuesday’s TEP vote coming soon. — Jeff
Wonderful! I’m glad they finally saw the light. The 39 may be a bit tourist-oriented, but it does serve a local population who are dependent on it. Not everyone who lives on Telegraph Hill is Mister or Miss Moneybuckets.
I agree. The 39 is as much a local resource as a tourist resource, and with the changes they’ve made they’ll increase ridership, but also continue to serve both locals and tourists. it’s a nice day when MUNI listens and acts.
What are the chances that the other reductions in service that Muni is proposing will eventually be removed from the plan after excessive whining from the handful of people affected? I suppose they could always just add handrails to the outside of the N to cram a few more people on at rush hour.