Muni Diaries

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