Aug 25 2008
San Francisco
For my first US city overview, I’ve chosen San Francisco. Having been lucky enough to live there for 18 months, I know the Bay Area very well, and it is now an annual holiday destination for me, both due to the many good friends I made there and because it has a lot to offer as a tourist destination: excellent restaurants, interesting and historic sights, a great public transport network, and an atmosphere all its own. Like most US cities, it is very wheelchair friendly, at least to the extent that the city had any say in the matter: all public buildings and most services and businesses are fully accessible, but the topography of the peninsula San Francisco stands on presents an obstacle that no amount of legislation can overcome. You can’t sue a hill for making it difficult for you to get around. In terms of the infrastructure, San Francisco rates a Very Good, but in terms of how independently a manual wheelchair user can sightsee, it rates a Good.
San Francisco has a lot of hills in it: 52 according to the San Francisco Chronicle. This is San Francisco’s greatest challenge to wheelchair users: its hills are among the steepest I’ve encountered. While it is possible to see the city without having to deal with the worst of them, there is no neighborhood without slopes. If you are visiting San Francisco alone, plan ahead: you can easily see Fisherman’s Wharf, Hayes Valley or the main strip of the Haight without any assistance, as they are relatively flat, but if you’re visiting Union Square, the Castro or North Beach, be ready to tax your battery or arms, or invite a friend to lend a hand from time to time. Japantown is almost all indoors and thus manageable, but Chinatown is either all downhill or all uphill, depending where you park.
On the subject of hills, I would like to give a word of warning to wheelchair users who are new to their situation: don’t attempt steep downhill slopes alone. You can lose control of your wheelchair on a steep slope, either due to the chair starting to slide rather than rolling or due to excessive speed making it too difficult to see cracks in the sidewalk and the like.
The hills of San Francisco also give it one of its greatest assets as a tourist destination: the famous and fantastic views: the Pacific Ocean to the west, San Francisco Bay and the Bay Bridge to the east, the Golden Gate Bridge and the forested hills of the Marin Peninsula to the north, and the mountains and hills of San Mateo county to the south, as well as the city itself. There are a few higher buildings in Downtown San Francisco, but for the most part, the two- to five-story colorful buildings of the city spread out through the hills giving the city a less urban, more laid-back feel. It is also a very green city, with many parks from the long and impressive Golden Gate Park which contains the Botanic Gardens to the small neighborhood parks with their dog runs and children’s play areas.
San Francisco has a very comprehensive public transport network with buses covering every neighborhood, and two light railways: MUNI Metro and BART. As in all US cities, public transport is by law generally wheelchair accessible, but there are a couple of things to note, especially with the railways, as it is not possible to get on and off at every stop. I will go into more detail in a post later in the week, but for now go here and here for more information on the accessibility of these services.
Driving in the city is of course an option, but be aware that parking is very challenging, even with a disabled driver’s permit. The dense population and relatively small surface area mean parking spaces are at a premium, and in most neighborhoods, you need a special local permit to park for more than 1 or 2 hours.
Before you go to San Francisco, research what you want to see, because there is a great deal packed into this small city. Each neighborhood has something different to offer in terms of cuisine and local culture. Over the coming days, I will try to give you a sense of the diverse choices open to tourists visiting California’s most interesting city.
4 Responses to “San Francisco”
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The Embarcadero stretches from Aquatic park (which has amazing views and is very accessible, through Fisherman’s Warf, the Feiry building (which reminds me of a Parisian market place with specialty stores for Bread, cheese, wine and fresh veggies), all the way to Giant’s stadium. It’s possible to start at one end and finish at the other end in one day but I think most people would want take their time.
Thanks as always for the great suggestion. I shall include that walk in my San Francisco Seven this weekend. It’s a great suggestion. I know a lot of San Franciscans overlook that part of the city as a place to go for a day, but I enjoyed it whenever I went with Lanny.
Two things I would add, as a native of the Bay Area and having lived in SF for the last fifteen years. The MUNI system is frequently difficult to board for wheelchair users as many of the busses are overcrowded on a nonstop basis due to the rather cramped conditions of our city, and by the millions of year-round tourists we are at the mercy of. Many MUNI drivers, roundly hated by us all, become the worst representatives of the fact that, like many other world cities relentlessly overrun by visitors, we secretly long for a break from all of your shining faces, and they can often be openly rude.
Additionally, their stress level from having to drive their busses around blind turns and up and down often almost sheer hills, is palpable. Though most are affable enough, many of them will bite your head off for blinking at them. This attitude is strengthened by the fact that their union, one of the strongest in the nation, protects them from anything short of criminal acts, which means they are not afraid of your complaints or admonishments and will tell you off as soon as not for pointing out any of the catalog of bad behaviors they get up to.
If one travels enough in the Bay Area, it becomes apparent that almost every other metro system (there are countless other bus and light rail lines, not including our area wide subway, the BART, as well as the peninsula spanning train, CalTrains, and the North Bay commuter line Golden Gate Transit) is better run: the drivers are more relaxed, the busses and trains are more likely to actually stop (not being as overcrowded), and less likely to run you down in their haste to make the teeth grinding schedule that MUNI drivers are forced to adhere to, which is something like no more that three instances of being five minutes late a year.
All of this adds a level of personal concern when boarding MUNI which I cannot understate. I have several friends who have been hit by MUNI drivers who were speeding; or ran a light; or just weren’t paying attention because they were late and were trying to catch up to their schedule. It is almost always noted, in the wake of a fatal accident caused by a MUNI driver, that SF is the only city in the US that doesn’t exclusively hire experienced drivers, though it seems apparent that they should hire nothing less to drive in such a stressful environment.
Dan,
Wow. That’s an eye-opener of a comment. With all the time I spent in San Francisco, of course I had my issues with MUNI, but I never got into it with anyone to see what the causes were. I generally think of it as a reasonably good service: it is relatively accessible and I had more good experiences than bad ones. However, there were those times when I was stuck on board for extra stops because the driver forgot where I was getting off and/or didn’t hear the bell, and those times when I waited an extra 40 minutes for a bus that wasn’t overcrowded.
Do you really think tourists are a problem on the buses? I don’t think tourists use the buses as much as they use BART and MUNI Metro. I agree the buses are overcrowded, but I don’t think that’s just the tourist issue.
San Francisco is definitely a stressful environment to drive in, and it is clear from your comment that the stress is visible to regular passengers. That seems like an untenable situation.