San Francisco is only 50 square miles in total. It is being sunk in the sea of vehicle pandemonium.
Bloggers Liz and Lee at car free JFK Promenade election victory – November 2022
The real question that needs to be asked here is two fold.
Why do so many people feel a need to drive a private automobile in San Francisco?
Why are there so many large scale public events which overwhelm San Francisco?
The answer to the first question is that Americans have been indoctrinated to love their cars and as a result have come to regard the car as an everyday necessity.
The solution to the second question is to call a halt to these seemingly nonstop weekly large scale events in San Francisco. This fixation with entertainment speaks volumes to the lack of introspection and time for quiet reflection pervasive in American society.
Excerpted from The San Francisco Chronicle 9.24.2026
The fatal flaw to driving in San Francisco – FATAL CRASH
What caused the epic Golden Gate Park traffic jam —
Should S.F. drivers brace for a repeat?
A woman who gave birth in the midst of a Golden Gate Park traffic jam became an instant symbol of human resilience, though her ordeal also showed what happens when a city is paralyzed by congestion.
Typical motorist Road Rage game face
Days afterward, San Francisco officials and transportation planners are still trying to untangle the root causes of the chaos as motorists brace for a repeat. That weekend of Sept. 19 and 20 included closures along the “Hospital Curve” section of Highway 101 that led to about 20 minutes of backup — mostly for people trying to get on the Bay Bridge in SoMa, said Lori Shepherd, a spokesperson for Caltrans. But snarls on downtown streets and roads were compounded by additional traffic stemming from the King of the Streets Low Rider Parade and Festival in the Mission District on Saturday.
San Francisco’s October calendar is packed, starting with Fleet Week on the northern waterfront and continuing with the bluegrass extravaganza in Golden Gate Park, as well as the rehabilitation projects on major freeways and a “No Kings” march on Oct. 17. Drivers heading out during these times should be aware that anything could happen.
The blogger has gotten through life without a car and it’s an adventure to travel to Sausalito.
The first town in Marin County north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge. Sausalito, California – Wikipedia the wealthy enclave where the blogger spent his high school and college years.
Today’s journey is a public transit adventure. Taking in total seven rides on public transit and walking the streets of San Francisco and Sausalito. All this to meet our daughter Atlanta. For lunch at the Bayside Cafe at the northern edge of Sausalito.
Atlanta, born in San Francisco and now a woman who can be called a true Marin County resident. Having lived in Mill Valley over 20 years.
The public transit trip on San Francisco Muni and the Golden Gate Transit went smoothly. Except for one self inflicted glitch. Coming home the blogger boarded a San Francisco Muni bus and did not look at the destination signage. Then having to wait 15 minutes at a distant bus stop in the late afternoon as the motorists sped by.
Following is a photo montage of the dayto and from Sausalito.
A passenger in colorful stockings waits for the SF Muni 28 bus at Park Presidio and Geary Blvd.
Waiting for the 28 line
Approaching the Golden Gate Bridge
The busy visitors center at The Golden Gate Bridge
Round House Cafe
A pair of cyclists check their travel Appat the Golden Gate Bridge
The iconic world famous Golden Gate Bridge. To the north is the Marin Headlands
On the Golden Gate Bridge aboard the Golden Gate Transit 120 line
Passing by the still thriving The Golden Gate Market. A place the blogger frequented in his youth
There are still climate killing cars on Great Highway Park four months after San Francisco voters, by a 55 percent majority, approved creation of the permanently car free sanctuary along San Francisco’s Pacific Coast shoreline.
Cars continue to pollute Great Highway Park four months after the passage of Proposition K. Cars should have vanished by now.
The OCEAN BEACH landmark near Great Highway Park
We took this photo montage the afternoon of February 18th. A graphic exposition of the land and streets nearby the newly voter mandated Great Highway Park.
Liz passes by an exercising couple.
Why the delay in implementation of the voter mandate?Where is it, San Francisco City Hall??
Hands up for Tai Chi.
Two old guys parley off the beaten path in the park while practicing martial arts.
San Francisco is full of fascinating people and places.Great Highway Park will add to the international city’s allure.
The well trodden path only a wanderer can appreciate.
Two elves in the bush.
During our trek, we met the genuinely friendly inhabitants of this great city. They were not sitting in their cars. They were out enjoying nature and cherishing the environment.
Liz sitting on a log in Golden Gate Park musing about Great Highway Park while birds sing in the background.
Lee stands amongst the remains of a fallen tree in Golden Gate Park.A group of young students learn about nature off the beaten path in Golden Gate Park near The Chain of Lakes.Liz was greeted by a Recreation and Park staff member in Golden Gate Park.
Explore the natural unspoiled scenery sans the Car of the two neighborhoods running the length of Ocean Beach.
A coot in her home territory.Orange mushrooms in the park. Colorful and potentially deadly.
It is as easy as a walk in the park when you toss your car keys and put on comfortable shoes and a backpack.
Lee surrenders to the impassable path in Golden Gate Park.
Be aware that the car-craving penchant to drive rather than walk to stores a short distance from your home may not be a common occurrence.
A Waymo leads the caravan of climate killing vehicles through a section of Golden Gate Park where cars can still pollute.
But be assured it’s a healthier life style than sitting in a car and experiencing road rage.
Luna and her owner greet Liz and Lee.
It’s always a Dog’s Day in Golden Gate Park.
Cycling on a beautiful February morning in Golden Gate Park.
Father and child enjoy a February cycle in Golden Gate Park.
The go-getter shopper expending the time and physical exertion to turn a shopping trip into an outing can show off their photos. To natives and tourists alike, giving insight into what’s uniquely San Francisco.
The San Francisco Fire Department hook and ladder truck. An essential tool for the safety of all citizens and animals.
Entrance to the now shut down Equestrian corral in Golden Gate Park.
A worker from Rec and Park, dog walkers, a legacy business dog stylist, the servers at the historic Java Beach Café where the colorful N-Judah train reaches the end of the line at the Pacific Ocean, and a fashion model-looking Hungarian shopping at Safeway, all are staples of San Francisco life.
Lee peers through a portal as the Muni Metro rumbles by.Portal to the San Francisco Muni Metro ‘N’ Judah line.
The end of the Line …or the beginning .. of the N Judah line in San Francisco.
We saw many aspects of the legendary San Francisco people oriented culture. From a Hippie mother and daughter reminiscing over lunch at the Café to a class of school children studying the habitat and wildlife of Golden Gate Park.
Liz and Lee enjoy their triple decker sandwiches at Java Beach Cafe.
The people oriented and the politically charged, the nostalgia for what’s gone and the anticipation for what’s to come. All juxtaposed together as only two San Francisco old timers can view and appreciate it. The genuine San Francisco as experienced during our adventurous outdoor trek through the Richmond and Sunset districts on a beautiful day in February.
A community wall of art at Judah and 43rd Avenue in San Francisco.
Liz swapped Italian heritage stories with Matt the dog groomer who bathed our dogs for years.
A colorful display drying food in the sun graces the front and balcony of a pink home.
An old house in the Sunset neighborhood displaying a poster, “VOTE FOR REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM.”
Newly constructed affordable housing adjacent to an old funky house with roped off CAUTION tape on 43rd Avenue
Our trek through the Park was ostensibly about shopping for staples at Other Avenues, a supporter of Great Highway Park, the worker owned co-op store, and the monolithic Safeway at Ocean Beach Supermarket at either side of Golden Gate Park.
Liz proudly displays her Miyokos plant butter. The alternative to saturated fat.
Soak in the occult at the bath soap section of Other Avenues Co-op.
Liz in Safeway at the Beach holds aloft her organic bananas at the end of the trek.
We are waiting for the scene of cars being towed from car free Great Highway Park. We have never owned a car.
A car being towed on Street Sweeper Day at 43rd and Irving. This is the fate which should await the motorists who violate The Great Highway Park sanctuary.
We won by a 55 percent majority. Open The Great Highway Park NOW!!!
Top photo: Lee stands frustrated as cars whiz by on what should be car free Great Highway Park.He’s been assured the car free oasis is coming soon.
