Tag: 71-Haight-Noriega

Two Way Haight Street and Your Muni Ride

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71-Haight: 77 Minutes
Photo by Andy B

The SFMTA has just approved the Haight Street Two Way project between Gough and Octavia. How would it affect your Muni commute? Streetsblog reports:

When constructed in 2014, the project is expected to improve transit reliability for the roughly 20,000 daily riders on the 6 and 71 Muni lines by eliminating unnecessary detours that delay buses behind congested car traffic.

The current experience on the 71, said SFMTA Director Joél Ramos, is a ”long and painful ride.”

“I take offense at people who have guffawed at the 3-minute savings,” he said. “When you’ve got a bus load of people, that’s 60 people times 3 minutes each. That turns into hours which quickly turns into days of time for people that are late to work, away from their families, and these are people that are doing the right thing by not driving and getting out of our cars in this transit-first city.”

More from Haighteration:

Currently, Haight Street traffic flows in one direction — westward, away from Market Street — on the block in question. That means Muni buses traveling eastward on Haight Street have to be diverted, turning left once they reach Laguna and then right onto Page. The route brings Muni into direct competition with automobile traffic approaching Octavia Boulevard, which can often make for a painfully slow commute.

What do you think of the Haight Street Two Way Traffic Plan? Good idea to improve your commute?

Category: News Tags: ,

Haighteration Birthday Party Deals Tuesday

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Oh Lower Haight! It’s home of the beloved and colorful 22-Fillmore, 71-Haight/Noriega, and official hood of the awesome blog Haighteration. Tuesday is Haighteration’s first birthday party, and Andrew at Haighteration has a long list of deals for you to celebrate! I’m getting my hair done for 20% off at On Mars, getting 10% off of the charcuterie plate at Uva Enoteca, and finishing off the night with beer ice cream scooped by the Haighteration crew at Three Twins.

Check out the list of deals for Tuesday’s Haighteration birthday party.

Category: News Tags: , ,

Scratching an itch on Muni

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Photo by purpletwinkie

Katie posted a story on her Tumblr blog (A Streetcar Called Taraval) that had me covering my face in laughter and horror. Read on:

So I’m riding a 71 from downtown with my boyfriend. At Sixth street, a woman begs the driver, “I don’t have any money, I just need to go to the hospital!” The driver doesn’t have time for her story, so he lets her on without fare. She sits in the designated seating, spread across three seats. She’s wearing an ankle-length skirt. She has a stained T-shirt stretched over pendulous breasts that reach her navel. She has a shock of bright pink hair and is about 5’3” and 350. It’s late December, and she’s smiling and wishing a Merry Christmas to all of the riders.

All the locals summarily ignore her because we’re used to sixth street crazies on the bus. Then she starts itching her leg. She works her skirt up a little bit and claws at her calf. Whatever. A couple of tourists get on the bus with their muni 3-day passports. They look like a young couple from New England. The woman wishes them a drunk “Merrrrry Christmuss!!” and smiles. They awkwardly exchange a holiday greeting back. This woman has since moved on to itching her inner knee…. Her skirt is hiked up a little bit more, so she can reach it. She’s still overflowing with holiday cheer.

Finish reading Katie’s story on A Streetcar Called Taraval.

Category: diaries, Funny: Muni LOLs, WTF: Weirdness on Muni Tags: ,

Found! Singing Muni Driver

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It’s like Christmas morning here at Muni Diaries headquarters.

On Wednesday, after months of private longing, we went public and asked you to help locate audio of the widely reported and seemingly highly adored singing Muni driver. Almost every report we had heard came from aboard the 71-Haight/Noriega.

The good folks at Tenderloin Geographic Society found our white whale, and in so doing, have made our week, our month, our year with the video above. Thanks, guys!

But the rest of you 71 passengers, don’t take this as a case-closed signal. Gluttons that we are, if you’ve got more audio or video of this mobile baritone, share it here on Muni Diaries!

Category: diaries, reflection Tags:

On Muni, the Camera is Mightier Than…

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Photo by Flickr user Jessie Johnson

When photographer and friend Julie Michelle sat next to a man who started to make her really uncomfortable, her camera became a way to stop his behavior. But as a photographer, that fact made her equally uneasy. Here’s what happened, from Julie’s blog:

I sat in the back … the middle seat was then taken by a young man with a large duffel bag. He found a way to really wedge himself between me and the other woman, touching our sides more than I am used to even on a crowded bus. He did not look at either of us. Did not apologize for sitting on my coat, the little niceties that people make when crammed together because that is the nature of public transportation.

He spread the long, flat, dirty canvas tote bag across his lap. … So I looked down, and under the duffle bag I could see that he was masturbating. That was the wiggling. That was why he flattened the bag and flattened himself against us. I don’t think the girl [next to him] knew what was going on. I looked straight ahead.

At the next stop, several people got off the bus and I moved to the seat perpendicular to him.

I took his photo.

He pretended not to see me and kept on with his activities.

I took another photo of him: zooming in on his face, his hand in his pants–and this time he looked at me.

I took another photo of him.

He got off the bus at the next stop.

When I asked Julie about the incident later, she said, “I have never pointed my camera at someone with the intent to make that person uncomfortable. I was uncomfortable doing it, just as I would have been if I would have shouted or drawn attention to him verbally. I don’t know if this person was mentally ill or what, and I am certain I didn’t stop his future behavior, but perhaps I gave him pause in turning the tables just a bit.”

We’ve documented more than a few instances of bad behavior on the bus, and technically the bus is a public space, so what Julie did didn’t seem so out of line to me. But everyone has a different opinion on photography on the bus. What would you do if you had to confront someone who’s behaving badly on the bus?

Category: WTF: Weirdness on Muni Tags:

On Muni, the Camera is Mightier Than…

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Photo by Flickr user Jessie Johnson

When photographer and friend Julie Michelle sat next to a man who started to make her really uncomfortable, her camera became a way to stop his behavior. But as a photographer, that fact made her equally uneasy. Here’s what happened, from Julie’s blog:

I sat in the back … the middle seat was then taken by a young man with a large duffel bag. He found a way to really wedge himself between me and the other woman, touching our sides more than I am used to even on a crowded bus. He did not look at either of us. Did not apologize for sitting on my coat, the little niceties that people make when crammed together because that is the nature of public transportation.

He spread the long, flat, dirty canvas tote bag across his lap. … So I looked down, and under the duffle bag I could see that he was masturbating. That was the wiggling. That was why he flattened the bag and flattened himself against us. I don’t think the girl [next to him] knew what was going on. I looked straight ahead.

At the next stop, several people got off the bus and I moved to the seat perpendicular to him.

I took his photo.

He pretended not to see me and kept on with his activities.

I took another photo of him: zooming in on his face, his hand in his pants–and this time he looked at me.

I took another photo of him.

He got off the bus at the next stop.

When I asked Julie about the incident later, she said, “I have never pointed my camera at someone with the intent to make that person uncomfortable. I was uncomfortable doing it, just as I would have been if I would have shouted or drawn attention to him verbally. I don’t know if this person was mentally ill or what, and I am certain I didn’t stop his future behavior, but perhaps I gave him pause in turning the tables just a bit.”

We’ve documented more than a few instances of bad behavior on the bus, and technically the bus is a public space, so what Julie did didn’t seem so out of line to me. But everyone has a different opinion on photography on the bus. What would you do if you had to confront someone who’s behaving badly on the bus?

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