jeff – Page 348 – Muni Diaries

Photo diary: The Passion of the 53-Southern Heights

November 18, 2009 jeff One comment

For those who don’t know, the 53-Southern Heights is one of seven Muni routes scheduled to be completely eliminated on Dec. 5. It served parts of Potrero Hill for many years. And trust me, you don’t wanna walk that hill every day.

There’s some talk of various ways to honor these great urban warriors: flash mobs, wakes, “last rides” (a religious reference for those who haven’t had their coffee yet). How are you going to mark this grievous occasion?

Muni Diaries, being of the written word and all, is asking you to pen an obituary for your most beloved dying Muni route. The deadline passed on Sunday, but you can still sneak one in. We’ll be running them in the upcoming weeks. Details are here. Write a diary here.

*Yes, the title here is an allusion to the story of Jesus. Deal.

Category: Aww: Cute on Muni, diaries, Photos, reflection Tags: obituary

Photo diary: This is the droid you’re looking for

November 18, 2009 jeff Leave a comment

Photo by Stuart of Caliber SF

I spotted this photo in my RSS feed Tuesday morning. It was taken by Stuart of Caliber SF. Aside from simple beauty, it reminds me of a droid from Star Wars. That’s always a good thing.

Share your BART photos in our Flickr group.

Category: BART, diaries, Photos

Muni driver going the opposite of rogue

November 17, 2009 jeff One comment

Photo by Flickr user Whole Wheat Toast

The following was originally left by Amy as a comment on “My own personal N-Judah.”

I used to always end up barely making it onto the last 17 leaving from West Portal — it stops at 11:30 on weekdays or something ridiculous. I could’ve always taken the M, but when it’s foggy and cold and nearly midnight, not to mention dark, if I saw that 17 as the M was pulling into West Portal station, I would take it. I would always be the last person left on the bus when I got off at my stop. I always figured it was because the SFSU kids were usually the only other people on the bus and they all got off near the dorms. One day though, the 17 had a new driver and about 10 minutes before the bus was to approach my stop, he stopped and said it was the end of the line.

I asked him why he was letting everyone off early, and he looked surprised. He then explained that the actual end of the line was at the Lake Merced entrance to ParkMerced because the bus had to go home eventually, and then asked if it was my first time taking the 17. And that was when I found out that the former driver had been going out of his way to drop me off at the stop right across the street from my apartment. I wish I had gotten the name or at least the number of the bus before I left the city — that kind man always, without fail, made sure I got to my stop, and I never realised he was going out of his way in time to thank him.

Oh, how we love an uplifting Muni story. Got one? Send it here.

Category: 100 Muni Stories, diaries, reflection Tags: 17-Park Merced

Derailment on the L-Taraval near West Portal

November 17, 2009 jeff One comment

That’s the scene this morning at West Portal. 511/MTA report a derailment of the L-Taraval somewhere between West Portal and Castro stations. We’ll report more as we learn it. If you were there, share stories and photos please. Form or email.

Photos by @wirelesschunk

Category: News Tags: Castro Station, L-Taraval, West Portal Station

The sweet sounds of music at BART stations

November 17, 2009 jeff 4 comments

Photo by Flickr user Steve Rhodes

We got this email today from Alan (bold ours):

Hi there,

My name is Alan and I seriously considering of playing [sic] music at BART STATIONS, is it legal? Can I do it? I play acoustic guitar and sing and since I lost my job as a Web Designer, I can’t find another one. I need to do something before I die. Please let me know, I need to act quickly.

If I can play music there, what’s the best time to arrive?

Now, first of all. It’s hard to say whether or not to take his desperate words seriously. This rough economy is, well, rough, on a lot of people.

That said, we’re assuming that Alan is just failing to channel his energy into a funemployment activity. And his question is an odd one: Is playing music at BART stations legal?

We don’t see how it could be otherwise, so we poked around BART’s website to try to find some sort of policy. Nothing.

Let’s assume, based on its proliferation, that playing music at BART, at least outside of gated, ticketed areas, is legit. Reminds us of how, last month, we posted a story from BART’s Seen and Heard series about one such rocker, the Punk Rock Johnny Cash. It also reminds us of countless musicians we see just about every time we ride BART.

So I got to wondering: What are some of your favorite BART musicians? Let us know in comments, please.

Category: BART