After Waiting for More Than a Month - Donation Bins Finally GONE

It's finally GONE!  Took you long enough.

After an entire month of waiting and some heavy handed persistence to the city government to do something, the donation bins blocking public a parking space and meter have finally been moved away.

Initially when I reported on the bins at the corner of Evelyn and Portola, I got a surly response from San Francisco 311 that they want me to call the donation bin company for blocking a city parking space, therefore the SFMTA makes zero revenue on the parking meter.  After giving the 311 folks a kick in the shin, they forward my request to DPW to get the ball rolling.

Three weeks after my initial request, the bins still remained and the city "escalated" the issue because it was taking too long for the task to be completed.  The city contacted the company on February 11th and demanded for them to remove the bins.

Sometime within the last seven days, the bins finally departed.  I know for sure they were still there on March 2nd because I always pick-up some lotto tickets at the market on the corner.

I'm happy that the city took action to get the donation bin company to move their bins off of public property because on some weekends, the lot can get full, and the city doesn't make any revenue on the parking meter.  But I'm very disappointed at the long wait because DPW should have moved it themselves after giving a week's notice and send the bill to the donation bin company.  Those donation bin companies knows they are NOT supposed to put those on public property and should only be on private property with the permission of the land owner.

Clothing Donation Bins Blocking City Parking Space & Meter - SF 311 & DPW Doesn't Care

For the past month, I've been noticing these white donation bins at the corner of Portola and Evelyn.  There used to be just one bin dropped off, but a second one showed-up just a couple of weeks ago.

What's unusual about this is the bins are dumped in a city parking space and in front of a city operated meter.  Since both bins take over a majority of the width of the parking stall, no vehicle can park there, therefore the city cannot generate any money on the meter.

My basic knowledge about these donation bins is they are supposed to be on private property with the permission of the land owner.  But this is on public property and I know the city would not welcome this, especially if its blocking a parking meter that makes money for the SFMTA.  If this bin was in a public metered parking space on Irving Street, you'd get a lot of ticked off people.

Contacting 311

I sent a tweet to San Francisco's 311 with the same photo you see on this blog entry.  I was expecting the city to give a proper response to get those bins removed as soon as they can... But here's the response I got back:

@agentakit As per SF DPW, they don't go out and collect the bins. You can call the 800 numbers on the bins. Thank you.^KH
— SF311 (@SF311) January 28, 2013

Seriously?  DPW wants me to call the bins in?  Wouldn't it be more effective for the city, SFMTA or DPW to make the phone call and demand it to be removed from public property?  The city's voice is much more powerful than a citizen making such a request.

311 got on my nerves.  Here's my response to those lazy pricks at 311 and DPW:

@sf311 I'm not calling them, the city should because they are losing parking revenue on a city meter.
— Akit (@AgentAkit) January 28, 2013

UPDATE 8:27AM:
It looks like I got the city's attention real fast:

@agentakit Issued SR#1944688.The City's goal is to inspect within 5 business days and require the responsible party to correct
— SF311 (@SF311) January 28, 2013

@agentakit immediately and/or issue a Correction Notice or Notice of Violation of the Public Works Code.Thank you. ^jr
— SF311 (@SF311) January 28, 2013

Akit's Opinion

I'm very disappointed at 311 for their laziness and DPW for making me do the job of calling them.  I reported the problem, and they should make the effort to remove it.  For all I care, get a forklift and remove it if the company who dumped it there in the first place doesn't take it away in 24 hours.

I don't know what kind of people the city hires to respond to 311 requests, but I've had my share of idiots responding back.  Here's one idiot who can't read where exactly the problem is:

@agentakit Please let us know which N stop specifically, and what type of pavement defect. If a pothole, how large, deep etc.Thank you.
— SF311 (@SF311) December 22, 2012

Akit Already Knows Muni Won't Take Action Against an 18-46th Avenue Driver - So I Will Just Report it Here

When you ride Muni on a regular basis and strictly follow the time schedule, it's likely your bus operator will be the same person. This is especially true for me when I take the 18-46th Avenue line because it operates on 20 minute frequencies during rush hours.

But when you ride with the same driver, you start to notice certain patterns that are just inappropriate, and I finally got fed-up enough to call 311 and report the driver for poor practices. But as we well know, reporting problems to Muni just gets ignored, so I'm deciding to take another step and use the power of my blog to get a wider audience.

Before I tell you about what happened, did you know that in order for Muni to take action against a bus driver, the union rules states that you have to surrender your name and contact information? I usually call 311 and just state I refuse to provide that info, but without it, Muni can't do shit.

Here's the whole story:
Bus: 8417
Line: 18-46th Avenue inbound (to Legion of Honor)
Time: Bus leaves at 6PM at Stonestown (outbound terminal for 18 line)
Driver #: Not known
Description of driver: African American male, thin build, in his 40s.

First incident: Stop at Lake Merced & Font (SF State)
I normally ride the 6:05PM bus arrival at that particular stop because it's just a short walk from my office and it takes me close to my home in the Outer Richmond District. The same driver always picks up passengers 50 feet ahead of the yellow mark on the pavement that indicates the bus must stop there to pick-up passengers.

To make it even more amusing, I flagged the driver by standing near the yellow mark as it was about 200-300 feet away, enough time for the driver to gently hit his brake and hazard lights, but every single time, pulls fifty feet ahead of the yellow mark, thereby forcing any passenger waiting there to rush over to the front door.

Here's a streetsview map from Google:

View Larger Map

On the map image, you'll see a bench on the right side, and just in front of it on the pavement is the yellow mark indicating it's a bus stop for the 18 line. All other Muni operators who drives on this line always stops very close to the yellow mark and the bench, but the regular driver of the 6PM bus doesn't; that driver pulls up to where you see the green "Font" sign, about fifty feet ahead of the bench/yellow mark.

Second incident: Stop at La Playa & Cabrillo
The bus stop at La Playa & Cabrillo next to the Safeway supermarket is a really long bus stop of about 400-500 feet, and the passenger shelter is in the middle of the long bus stop. This stop is so big because back in the day, Muni used that long red zone as a terminus for the 38-Geary Ocean Beach branch, and those articulated buses are a good 60 feet long. These days, it's not used as a terminus stop because Muni built a terminal area for the 5-Fulton and 31-Balboa in an empty lot just across the street, and the 38-Geary Ocean Beach branch doesn't exist ever since the 18 line was forced to take over that route.

View Larger Map

Since the bus stop is so huge, the same driver always decides to pull to the very front end of the bus stop, this means the people sitting or standing near the passenger shelter has to walk about 50-75 feet just to catch this particular bus. When I ride at other times with other drivers, they stop as close to the shelter as possible, and that even includes the 31-Balboa. A lot of times, the passengers are mostly senior citizens carrying grocery bags, and making them rush to catch a bus that pulled 75 feet in front is just rude and disrespectful.

Here's what made it worse. Yesterday, the driver did the same tactic: Pull the bus to the front end of the bus stop (very close to where that white truck is). Nobody wanted to exit the bus (did not ring bell), and there was about three people sitting in the shelter. The driver slowed down upon approach to the front end of the stop, and I noticed in the window, two people standing-up wanting to catch the bus when they saw it. The driver assumed nobody wanted to board, so he picked-up speed and continued on. I took off my headphones and hollered at the driver, "wasn't there people who wanted to board?" I got no response.

By this point, I was fed-up with this driver. He doesn't give any respect to passengers pulling-up close to the passenger shelter at La Playa & Cabrillo and doesn't make an effort to stop at the yellow marking at Lake Merced & Font. Oh, but he'll allow any of his friends to board at any point along the route that's not a designated bus stop.

Now that I told my story online WILL MUNI TAKE SOME ACTION? It seems complaining to 311 just goes through the cycle of nowhere.

Car Crash at Great Highway & Lincoln - Akit Warned SFPD 2 Hours Earlier of Signal Problems

I am not impressed with the slow response of SFPD and the irresponsibility from the city government on the handling of Upper Great Highway.

Loyal readers of my blog knows I write about Upper Great Highway and when the stretch of roads closes due to flooding or too much sand on the road. When the city government or the police closes a road, they are responsible for switching the signals at Lincoln (Southbound closure) and/or Sloat (Northbound closure) to four-way stop. When the city FAILS to do it, I call 311, DPT signals, or SFPD dispatch to warn them the signals are operating normally (red-yellow-green cycle). Read this story to understand why failing to switch the signals to 4-way stop can be a problem.

What happened today?
Southbound Upper Great Highway was closed today at Lincoln due to the rains from last night. How do I know it was closed today? I drove northbound at about 11:15PM last night after the Giants game, and southbound traffic was flowing normally.

At 3PM, I drove my car along Great Highway to enter the "Upper" stretch at Lincoln, but I noticed the metal barricades indicating a closure, and the signals was not operating on 4-way stop.

I had no choice but to turn left and drive along the "Lower" Great Highway, which is the alternate parallel street when the road was closed. I pulled my car over and called SFPD at 3:07PM (see proof below).

I told the dispatcher about the road closure and the signals not switched to 4-way stop. I also told the dispatcher that there is a very high chance a car may collide with another vehicle because some drivers turn left on the red arrow, and risks getting t-boned with northbound traffic. I also warned the dispatcher that without the 4-way stop, four lanes of traffic southbound must turn left into just two open lanes; local residents know that when there's a 4-way stop at the intersection, all drivers merge into the left turn lanes and follows the 4-way stop rules.

THE ACCIDENT
At 5:30PM, I was on northbound Upper Great Highway and noticed police cars and a fire truck at Lincoln. There was a collision of two cars, a grey luxury car's front bumper was smashed into a blue compact car's rear right corner. I had to go around the scene and was able to take a photograph of it:

Akit is Very Unhappy
I WARNED SFPD two hours ago about the potential risk of an accident where two cars will collide due to the road closure of SB Upper Great Highway at Lincoln AND the failure to switch the signals to 4-way red.

There is blame to share, one of the two drivers did not follow the signal or someone ran the red light.

Also, SFPD, DPT signals, and any other city agency is to blame for FAILURE to switch the signals to four-way red/stop. I have called 311, DPT, and SFPD dispatch numerous times throughout the years of the failure to switch the signals when the road is closed. Sometimes they do it, many times NO.

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This is a WARNING to the city government, DO YOUR JOBS and make sure to switch the signals to 4-way stop whenever you shut-down Upper Great Highway at the cross-street of Lincoln.

Someone could have been KILLED or seriously injured if the accident was much worse.

UPDATE: Someone fixed the signal to 4-way stop sometime after the accident. I noticed it from the top of a hill at about 9PM.

Muni is Paying Attention to Akit's Blog - But There's One Mistake They Made

As a result of some recent Akit's Complaint Department reports, Muni has taken the positive steps to make changes after I challenged them to do better.

Youth and Senior Muni Paper Passes - Extended Until May
I was the first to report before the news media and the press office of Muni said it was official: the youth and senior paper passes was extended from January to May.

I first got word from Clipper on their Twitter account, and not long later, Muni quietly updated their website to say the paper passes will end in May.

My initial post about the delay.
My second post about Muni quietly confirming the delay.

But I still challenged Muni do to a little better; they needed to at least get the word to the general public, and their press room did. Read the press release here. They also sent out the same press release via e-mail to local media outlets.

The 2.5 Hour Gap for Saturday evening service for the 38L and 38-Geary
I argued that it was not appropriate for Muni's most heavily used transit line to have a 2.5 hour gap of no service on Saturday evenings when the last 38L departs 48th & Point Lobos at 5:37PM, and the first 38-Geary (regular) bus leaves at 8:02PM.

One of my commentators pointed out Muni posted a service alert over a week later to give notice to the general public about the 2.5 hour gap. Sadly, the agency took the easy route by publishing a notice, and did not correct the bus schedule to at least fill in the large gap.

(The best solution is to have all Fort Miley operators during the 2.5 hour gap to make a right turn on Point Lobos at 43rd, pick-up the folks at 48th Avenue, and start their run inbound towards downtown.)

To make matters worse, I drove by the bus stop just after 6PM on Saturday the 15th and noticed about a dozen standing at the 48th & Point Lobos stop. Some of them looked like tourists while the rest are locals. Since Muni made an effort to put a public notice online, did they post at a rider alert sign at the bus stop? The answer is no. There was ZERO signage at the stop. I saw the 38L outbound that just dropped off passengers drive off back to the garage. There wasn't even a Muni supervisor at the stop, unlike on Saturday the 8th when I noticed the white city truck at the location.

As a courtesy, I decided to pull over my car and give a call to 311. I told the person about the issue and asked for a Muni supervisor to go over there and inform the people because there was no signage telling them to walk six blocks to 42nd Avenue.

It took five minutes to explain this to the 311 operator. Why? The operator is a total moron; he said: "the 38-Geary doesn't run to 48th Avenue from 8AM to 6PM." Well, no shit Sherlock, I live in the Outer Richmond district and know the 38 and 38L lines very well; were you listening to a word I said about the problem? I told him to go to the SFMTA website and look at the alerts.

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I like it when one person can make big changes to a major city agency; but it's only bittersweet for me because Muni messed-up by not modifying 38-Geary service or posting a notice at the bus stop.

Illegal Dumping is a Big Problem & How to Fight Back

Almost every single day I ride Muni's 18-46th Avenue from the Outer Richmond district to SF State, I find illegally dumped items on sidewalks; in many cases, at the same spot time and time again. For example, I always find some kind of nasty looking treasure on the intersection of 33rd Avenue and Balboa, and the problem has been so rampant in that location, the city put up warning notices on the utility poles saying "NO DUMPING."

Some of the most common things I find is old televisions (the bulky tube TVs) and soiled mattresses. I sometimes find drawers and cabinets, while others are e-waste like computers and monitors.

Dumping items on the street is illegal. Our streets are not places where you can dump your used personal property and it's a free-for-all for people to grab the freebies. Dumping stuff on the streets is a huge eyesore and makes our streets look ugly.

Anyway, nobody wants a used mattress. I don't even want to know what the hell is that stain on it. Do you like a computer? How about one full of someone's personal information and possibly a virus?

I try to do my best as a local citizen to get those illegally dumped items removed. I always give a quick tweet or call to San Francisco 311 so it can be picked-up, but for every time the city has to do it, it comes with a high cost. DPW's clean-up trucks go around the city picking-up illegally dumped items from requests from the general public and whatever they find when they pass by. One time, I called 311 to report a huge TV on the street corner, and due to its size, they have to bring two city employees to remove it because who wants to pay workers comp for a back injury?

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Here's some ways to fight back:

• If you find someone illegally dumping, call the cops: (415) 553-0123.
• If you find illegally dumped items, call: 311 or (415) 701-2311. You can remain anonymous.
• Humiliate people who do it: Tape a sign on the illegally dumped item stating: "Illegally dumped, SHAME ON YOU!" You could also post a sign on a nearby lamppost saying: "To those who illegally dump, I know who you are."
  

How to get rid of large & bulky items (legally):

• See if a local charity organization is having a pick-up. In my neighborhood, we get a courtesy card every couple of months of a charity asking for donations. Usually, huge items like mattresses are not welcomed, but they may accept large electronic items like TVs and computers.
  
• Keep an eye out for drive thru drop-off events in your area. Some of them are available to anyone, regardless of what neighborhood or city you live in. In other cases, you must live in a particular neighborhood to utilize the service. Be aware, there may be certain limitations on what you can drop-off.
• Goodwill locations are usually happy to accept a lot of items, that is, if you are willing to haul it and carry it yourself.
  
• Contact Recology (a.k.a. Sunset Scavenger & Golden Gate) for pickup. If you have trash service in the city, you get free junk removal. The freebie pick-ups depends on the service the company provides (homes, apartments, multi-unit buildings, etc.), but each pick-up can be up to ten items. They can collect all kinds of items, and usually more than what other services will do for you. For more information, click here.

Take action! Keep our city streets looking nice!

Upper Great Highway Closed - No Reason Why from City Officials

UPDATE: SF Appeal reports it was pranksters who shut-down southbound Upper Great Highway. Thanks Eve! Hopefully, the city will confiscate the cones so nobody can pull this stunt again.

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(Original posting)

If you commute on Upper Great Highway, you know the road can be closed for issues such as sand on the road due to high winds or a bad rainstorm flooding the intersections. More often, southbound between Lincoln and Sloat gets frequently shut-down because they are next to the beach, while northbound is closed less frequently because of the protection of the beach plants that keeps the sand off the roads.

The general rules the city follows during a closure in either direction is to lock the metal barricades that prevents vehicles from entering the road, and switch the signals at either Sloat (northbound) or Lincoln (southbound) to 4-way stop so drivers can turn away from the closure safely and use Lower Great Highway.

This morning, southbound Upper Great Highway was closed at Lincoln, but it's a little bit odd. The metal barricades was in the open position, and there was only a bunch of traffic cones blocking the entrance to the stretch. Also, the signal was still running on red-yellow-green cycle when it was supposed to be operating in 4-way stop. The signal problem alone forced four lanes of traffic to turn left into two lanes and raises the risk of a collision.

I called 311 this morning to find out information, and the lady on the phone could not find any information about why the road was shut-down. I soon after called the Taraval SFPD station to find out if they knew anything, and they are usually told by the city if that stretch of road is ever closed. The nice sergeant informed me an officer is going to take a look into what's going on.

After this little fiasco, there is only two reasons why this road closure happened with all the oddities:

1. A prankster thought it was funny to shut down a major road.
2. Incompetent city officials failing to lock the metal barriers, switch the signals to 4-way stop, and failure to inform the police.

Thanks for making me arrive late to my destination. Grumble...

Surviving the 2010 Outside Lands Festival

It's that time of the year again when the Outside Lands festival returns to conquer Golden Gate Park with music, traffic, and everything else in between.

Akit's Complaint Department is here to give you all the tips you need to make it an easier weekend for all of the Sunset and Richmond district residents who has to put up with this stuff.

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First of all, Outside Lands will NOT be starting this Friday and having a three day music orgy. This year's event will only be on Saturday, August 14th and Sunday, August 15th. This is a big relief for those who commute on Muni to and from downtown on weekdays.

Second, for neighbors who live near Golden Gate Park, you should have received a letter from the event organizers. It's hard to identify as they mailed it to "Resident" and the return address says "Outside Lands" in very small print. If not, click here to read the same info on their site.

Important Phone Numbers:

• (415) 752-2098: Outside Land's community hotline will be manned on Saturday and Sunday from 10AM to 11PM if you care to bitch and moan at the event organizers. Be warned, this is not a government agency and thereby not responsible for maintaining public records of phone calls.
• (415) 831-2774: SF's Park and Rec's office will have signs available for residents who want to tell people to not block their driveways.
• (415) 553-0123: The non-emergency line of the police if people start getting out of line. Call 911 if it's a really bad problem.
• (415) 553-1200: Department of Parking and Traffic's hotline if you want to report illegal parking, including blocked driveways.
• (415) 554-7410: Supervisor Eric Mar's office for the Richmond (District 1). Highly likely nobody will answer the phone on the weekend.
• (415) 554-7460: Supervisor Carmen Chu's office for the Outer Sunset (District 4). Also unlikely to answer phones over weekend.
• 311 or (415) 701-2311: San Francisco 311; the all in one place to get answers and file complaints; manned by some of the most incompetent idiots in San Francisco.
  

Transit Information:
Outside Lands is offering private shuttle buses for the second year in a row to drive people to the event and back. The three pick-up locations are: Marina Square, Daly City BART, and 22nd Street Caltrain. For the locals who don't want to go to the concert, Daly City BART's parking lot won't fill-up because it's illegal to park in their garage and ride the shuttle to the concert, it's only for BART passengers only.

Taxicabs will be heavily used and abused, so be wary that if you depend on a taxi, you might not get one this weekend. Warning, watch out for price gouging by legal cab drivers, and never ride an illegal taxi or livery car. (Tips from the Taxicab Commission).

As usual, the cheap concertgoers will take advantage of Muni, which means more pain for us residents trying to get somewhere. Here's some tips I provided last year (modified due to certain lines not running on weekends):

Avoid the following Muni lines (in no particular order):

• 5-Fulton **SEVERE IMPACT**
  
• 71-Haight/Noriega
• 28-19th Avenue **THE BUS FOR CHEAPSKATES WHO DON'T WANT TO PAY FOR THE SHUTTLE FROM DALY CITY BART**
  
• 29-Sunset
• N-Judah **SEVERE IMPACT**
  

Alternate lines to ride:

• 6-Parnassus (inner Sunset residents)
• 18-46th Avenue (outer Sunset & Richmond residents, in exchange for the 29-Sunset)
• 31-Balboa (Richmond district residents)
  
• 38-Geary (everyday) and 38L-Geary Limited (doesn't operate on Sundays)
• 43-Masonic

Driving around the event from hell:
The same park roads will be shut-down from last year. Here's my driving tips from last year's event:

If you must drive, definitely stay away from these East-West direction streets.

• Fulton
• Cabrillo
• Balboa (maybe)
• Lincoln
• Irving (it's always crowded with the merchants on those blocks from 25th Avenue to 19th Avenue)
• Judah

If you are trying to go North-South, you can still drive through:

• 19th Avenue (GG Park South) via Crossover Drive to North entrances 25th Avenue and Park Presidio. EXPECT DELAYS.
• Great Highway, but do expect traffic delays as the Sunset Blvd. road entrance to Golden Gate Park will be shut down and forced to used Great Highway at Lincoln.
  
• Stanyan (east edge of GG Park)

Other Information:

• If you live near the event site and park your car on the street, park it on Friday night and don't move your car until Monday morning. Once you move your car, don't expect to find a space in your area.
• If you need to take care of any required business like grocery shopping, get it done as early as you can.
• For information about park access and details on park road closures, click here.

The best alternative:
If you want to have free entertainment without paying tons of money to Outside Lands, why not join me this weekend in SF's Japantown for the annual Nihonmachi Street Fair? Free music, great food, and lion dancing.

Lastly... Your rights as a San Francisco citizen during Outside Lands:

1. You have the right to complain to your district supervisor, police department, mayor's office, or any other appropriate city agency.
2. You have the right to have your complaint heard by a competent individual and you shall expect a response within a timely manner.
3. If you need help, call 311. If you believe the information they provided to you sounds incorrect or unhelpful, either hang-up and call again, or demand a supervisor. If they refuse to take complaints on certain matters regarding the event, keep cramming it down their throats until the report is filed.
4. Any comments, suggestions and complaints filed with a city agency, including SFPD, DPT, and 311 are considered public records under the Sunshine Ordinance. Calling Outside Land's hotline may not be considered as "part of the record."
   
5. If you notice limo or towncar drivers trying to pick-up passengers "on-demand," this is illegal under San Francisco law. Take down their plate and their unique chauffeur vehicle number on their rear bumper and call 311.
6. If you still hear concert music beyond 10PM, the end of the day's event, report it to your city supervisor and police department.
7. If you notice something shady going on in your neighborhood, don't sit on it, and give the cops a call.

SF Muni FAILS to Provide Information on Re-Routes Due to SF Marathon

The SF Marathon is tomorrow and it will cause a world of hell for everyone in the city, especially those who have to drive through Golden Gate Park, cross the Golden Gate Bridge, and get in and out of the Inner and Outer Richmond via 26th/27th Avenues.

With all these marathon routes, you'd expect Muni to be up to date with the latest information about any re-routes or changes because it does affect a lot of people who are trying to get around the city. The answer is NO.

I've got proof, the photo I've attached is the "updates" page of the SFMTA's transit section and was taken at 9:10AM on Saturday, July 24, 2010. There is NOTHING specific on how the marathon course will affect transit lines.

I even gave 311 a call to get information. The operator admitted he could not find anything on the SFMTA website, and he looked through his other resources. He told me one of the lines I'm interested in more information will be "going around the [Golden Gate] park." I asked for his source of information and he said he was reading it off a flier given to the drivers. I also asked him if I can get that information in writing and the answer was a big fat NO.

What the hell is wrong with this city government? As a citizen, I have the right to know what is going on and how it affects my movement around the city. The SFMTA should have posted the re-route information at least a week in advance prior to tomorrow's event, but they FAILED.

The reason why I'm arguing this is because I am meeting a co-worker tomorrow at the Academy of Sciences on Sunday, and I will have to take the 44 line in order to get there. Since the marathon goes through Golden Gate Park, I'm worried I won't make it there in time as Sunday service on Muni is far less frequent than weekdays.

Lack of Communication between San Francisco Government Agencies?

You would expect that in this day of age and a modern city government, that their agencies/departments would be communicating with each other so they are all on the "same page." Surely the 311 program has helped bridge that gap by directing people in the right direction when they need services and information...

Yet, there are still problems between agencies sharing information so the public can be informed with straightforward information, instead of getting one answer here and a different one there.

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Example #1: Just today, I was riding Muni's 18-46th Avenue bus to work and noticed that Upper Great Highway was shut down due to sand on the road. Both entrances at Sloat and Lincoln (north and south directions) had to be closed.

But whatever city agency shut-down that road segment did not inform SFMTA/Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT) about the closures so they can switch the road signals at those two key intersections to 4-way stop.

How did I learn this fact of lack of communication? I called DPT traffic signals directly, instead of calling the incompetent idiots of 311 who would just ask questions of why the signals should be changed.

This leaves two big problems, lack of communication between city agencies, and if the signals ran their normal (three color) cycles, some person may think it's OK since it's a green light and ram the steel gates closing the road and this means a possible LAWSUIT against the city for negligence.

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Example #2: The PGA golf tournament (President's Cup) is coming to San Francisco's Harding Golf Course next week (October 6-11) and this will bring in up to 25,000 golfing fans every single day to the south west region of the city. As always, combine it with over 32,000 SFSU students who are getting their education right next to the golf course, and hell will be here in no time.

But to the point: The city is informing the public that the entire length of John Muir Drive will be closed (south end road of Lake Merced, also home to the SFPD shooting range), and a portion of Skyline Blvd. from at least Sloat to Great Highway. While they are informing drivers with big electronic signs, 311 has not been helpful if these closures will affect SFMTA/Muni's 18-46th Avenue bus line that goes directly into both of these closed areas, mainly because city agencies failed once again to share information.

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Bravo City and County of San Francisco, bravo. How long until Mayor Newsom's term is up?

SF Residents - How to Survive Outside Lands

Get your aspirin ready because hell is starting this Friday through the end of Sunday. OK, actually it starts this Thursday at 8PM.

As you may recall from last year, Akit's Complaint Department was the lead opposition against the Outside Lands for such major problems as:

• Overselling tickets to the point where people were breaking down fences to get around the festival.
• Failure to give proper road closure information to SF 311, 511, city supervisors' offices, and the local police stations.
  
• Destroying the park's irrigation system.
• Massive amounts of litter in the park.
• Muni overcrowding and overloading.
• Limo companies illegally trying to pick-up passengers and ripping them off in cost.
  
• Loud and drunk people doing their "business" at people's homes.
• Noise so loud, you can hear it a mile away from the event site.

Read the stories that grabbed me over 500 visitors a day, and lasted for nearly a week:
No Park Street Closure Information
Muni Terrible, Complaints, and Not Making any Friends
Goodbye, Get Lost, and Never Come Back

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This year, I am still opposed to this event. The city is the pimp and basically sold their beautiful park for a cool $1.5 million dollars for a few years to literally rack up costs that will nearly meet or exceed the money being raked in.

Once again, there will be tons of people going to Golden Gate Park, playing loud music late into the night, and leaving the area on public transit. If you think this is going to be pretty, expect the worst.

Outside of the negative crap, I will acknowledge some improvements versus last year's mess:

1. Tons of signage are on lamp posts all around Golden Gate Park and points towards major event entry points and main exits to streets.
2. Golden Gate Park finally installed street name signs at nearly every intersection (something we citizens have been begging for decades).
3. Shuttles, thank god, private shuttles.
   
4. Mass mailed every resident in the Richmond and Sunset districts about the event, with at least two weeks notice. The letter is basically this website page from SF Outside Lands.

--------------------

Here's Akit's guide for neighborhood residents to survive Outside Lands:

If you get ticked-off by something gone wrong from Friday through Sunday, call their community hotline at: (415) 933-6901 (number fixed).

Akit suggests you should also contact your city supervisor. If you have Muni problems or witness cab and limo drivers ripping people off, call 311 (415-701-2311).

Remember, reporting to public officials goes on public records (Sunshine Ordinance); calling Outside Land's public hotline may not be considered part of public records.


Almost all Golden Gate Park road entry points will shut-down at 8PM this Thursday and will re-open at 11PM on Sunday. I say, expect the park roads to re-open much later, say early Monday morning before the commuters take Chain of Lakes. Road closure info here.

Since Outside Lands starts on FRIDAY, you should make some alternate plans to ride MUNI to work, SF State, public school, or wherever it goes near Golden Gate Park. Avoid the following Muni lines (in no particular order):

• 5-Fulton **SEVERE IMPACT**
  
• 71-Haight/Noriega
• 71L-Haight/Noriega Limited
• 28-19th Avenue **THE BUS FOR CHEAPSKATES WHO DON'T WANT TO PAY FOR THE SHUTTLE FROM DALY CITY BART**
  
• 28L-19th Avenue Limited
  
• 29-Sunset
• N-Judah **SEVERE IMPACT**
  

Alternate lines to ride:

• All Muni express buses like the 16X, 31 AX and BX, 38AX and BX (weekday peak hours only).
• 6-Parnassus (inner Sunset residents)
• 18-46th Avenue (outer Sunset residents, in exchange for the 29-Sunset)
• 31-Balboa (Richmond district residents)
  
• 38-Geary (everyday) and 38L-Geary Limited (doesn't operate on Sundays)
• 43-Masonic
  
• 66 Quintara and transfer to 6-Parnassus at 9th Avenue (all Sunset residents)
  

If you live near the concert site, or somewhere close to Golden Gate Park (even if away from the main site), park your car on the street Friday and don't plan to move it until Monday. If you have a garage, good for you (and bad for me).

If you must drive, definitely stay away from these East-West direction streets.

• Fulton
• Cabrillo
• Balboa (maybe)
• Lincoln
• Irving (it's always crowded with the merchants on those blocks from 25th Avenue to 19th Avenue)
• Judah

If you are trying to go North-South, you can still drive through:

• 19th Avenue (GG Park South) via Crossover Drive to North entrances 25th Avenue and Park Presidio. EXPECT DELAYS.
• Great Highway; but JFK Drive entrance closed, and you won't have a lot of luck parking at Ocean Beach or Beach Chalet.
• Stanyan (east edge of GG Park)

Outside Lands has promised at least two tow trucks and a parking officer dedicated to both the Richmond and Sunset districts. While this sounds like a nice thing to do, remember the parking officer will be overloaded and may not be able to address issues such as a car blocking your driveway because hundreds of others will complain too.

If you need to take care of any business, from grabbing breakfast at your favorite dim sum restaurant, or buying groceries, do it in the early morning. Less traffic congestion equals a brighter day.

And if you decide to sequester yourself at home, I don't mind playing against you online on my Xbox 360.

--------------------

If you have any suggestions on how to survive Outside Lands this weekend, post a comment!

--------------------

Added information as of 11:45AM on Saturday, August 29, 2009:

Your rights as a San Francisco citizen during Outside Lands:

1. You have the right to complain to your district supervisor, police department, mayor's office, or any other appropriate city agency.
2. You have the right to have your complaint heard by a competent individual and you shall expect a response within a timely manner.
3. If you need help, call 311. If you believe the information they provided to you sounds incorrect or unhelpful, either hang-up and call again, or demand a supervisor. If they refuse to take complaints on certain matters regarding the event, keep cramming it down their throats until the report is filed.
4. Any comments, suggestions and complaints filed with a city agency, including SFPD, DPT, and 311 are considered public records under the Sunshine Ordinance. Calling Outside Land's hotline may not be considered as "part of the record."
   
5. If you notice limo or towncar drivers trying to pick-up passengers "on-demand," this is illegal under San Francisco law. Take down their plate and their unique chauffeur vehicle number on their rear bumper and call 311.
6. If you still hear concert music beyond 10PM, the end of the day's event, report it to your city supervisor and police department.
7. If you notice something shady going on in your neighborhood, don't sit on it, and give the cops a call.

SF 311 Costs Muni $6.2 MILLION?

And you think the Muni budget nightmare can't get any worse, until now...

Word from SF Appeal is that the SF 311 program costs Muni $6.2 million for their operators to provide Muni and NextBus (or so-called "NextMuni") information. Based on all that math, each phone call costs Muni $1.92.

And I have to ask myself... is this some kind of stupid joke? This was Newsom's pet project, but while the operators are helpful in most occasions, help with Muni questions is not their best field.

Remember the days when you could call "6-SF-MUNI" and you quickly get a person on the phone who will help you? In those days, they knew Muni like the back of their hand; quick to give you an answer and give you the correct routes to take where ever you needed to go in the city. They can also look-up time schedules for you in a mere matter of seconds.

Unfortunately, 311 are not well equipped to take-on Muni questions. In my last few experiences, they take minutes, unlike Muni's phone center taking just seconds. They heavily depend on their computer workstations to find the information, and a lot of times, they provide the wrong information. I think they depend on the 511 Trip Planner program, and I honestly feel that program has been flawed ever since 511 started using it.

Here's a quick example. You need to get from the Cliff House to Pier 39.

• 311: They will ask you where is the Cliff House (I'M NOT KIDDING), and using their computer, tell you all the options to get to your final destination. Time taken: 2-4 minutes.
  
• Muni info line: Will immediately tell you to take the 38L, and transfer to the 47. They won't ask you where the Cliff House is located. Time taken: 30 seconds.

Winner: Muni information line.

Also, since it take Muni info folks much less time to answer questions, there is less need for Muni phone operators. Since it takes 311 much longer to answer Muni related questions, they need more people to take the brunt of phone calls, which means each person equals at least a $30,000+ salary (not including benefits).


As for NextBus information:
311 should work with TellMe networks to make an automated voice command system. Several years back, a random user of the "TellMe extensions" program wrote a program that used the tacky voice speaking program (similar to BART's train arrival voices), used voice commands for people to name addresses, intersections, and major train stations, and used the data directly from the NextBus website to communicate back the next arrival times. And IT WORKED.

But I also don't understand... why do people call for NextBus info when literally every stop with a shelter has a Nextbus sign installed? People with data plans on their cell phone can easily get their NextBus info and even bookmark their usual routes (I do that), and even using the NextBus website at work and bookmarking the Google Map on where the vehicles are (I use this too).

I'm able to time when I should leave my home and office so I never wait for a bus for more than five minutes. Even if I need to transfer to another bus, just a couple of minutes of using the mobile NextBus will help me on how long I have to wait for the next vehicle to take me to my destination is very helpful.

San Francisco's 311 works 80% of the time

San Francisco's "311" program was created by the local city government as a one stop place for citizens to call 311 for information and to report issues. The "one stop" concept is used in many places, and when it runs well, becomes a very successful way to conduct business. A perfect example is SFSU's "OneStop" Student Services center where students can see the registrar, financial aid, bursar, and get their campus ID in one central area.

From my own personal experience from calling the 311 service line, I feel they are able to resolve about 80% of the questions and problems I call them about.

Here is a list of the successfully resolved and answers found in an appropriate amount of time:

• Reporting potholes and they are patched-up within 3 days, in some cases, 24 hours! If you tell them it's a really bad pothole or a major Muni bus line keeps hitting it, they get on it quick.
  
• Answering general Muni questions, like "when is the first bus of the day for X line?"
• Removing a broken "Yield to Pedestrians" sign after the wind literally made it lean into the streets, and my car's mirror hit it, nearly making it fall off (I didn't sue).
• A small rock slide happened near the Cliff House, and it was cleaned-up the next day. But nobody reported it for two weeks until I did.
• Some cab driver flicked me off after cutting me off on Geary. The person on the phone was very pleasant to take the report.
  

So basically, when I ask very general questions or report problems, they get resolved or answered in a very quick fashion. While this is a short list, I've reported multiple potholes and other broken stuff, which accounts to about 80% of my calls.


Now, here is the list of problems that usually don't get resolved, provided inaccurate information, being hassled for more information (beyond common sense), and other similar issues:

• OutsideLands festival road closure information. One person transferred me to 511 without question, and I called 311 again to ask the question and was placed on hold for ten minutes. They claimed all the park roads were "open," when I knew that one nearby my home was closed. Their source of info: A poorly written SFMTA website advisory.
  
• Answering more complex Muni questions, like the nearest bus line to the (criminal) Hall of Justice building. It would take them a few minutes to find out, when the old "6-SF-MUNI" phone number (pre 311) would get you that answer in mere seconds.
  
• The city forgot to put the sticker on a street sign stating that street cleaning comes the 1st and 3rd week of Friday. I reported it over two months ago and it has not been resolved.
• Reporting potholes that may be under the jurisdiction of a different agency (such as Caltrans), but may be within the city limits. Sometimes they take the report, sometimes they don't even give you the phone number of the right person to call.
  
• Refusing to take a citizen's complaint about the Tour de California closing down Great Highway over 90 minutes before the bikers were to even enter the city.
• When the southbound Upper Great Highway had to be shut-down due to a storm, the city forgot to switch the signal at G.H. & Lincoln to 4-way stop (flashing red). Try telling that to the lady on the phone who asked why the signal cycle needs to be changed... I had to give a very detailed explanation of why it needs to be flashing red (by running the signals on a regular cycle, drivers heading southbound might think that the Upper Great Highway is open, and will zoom through the green and hit the security barrier that closes the road... a.k.a. LAWSUIT!). If 311 simply reported that the signals need to be on 4-way stop due to a road closure, the report goes to the traffic signal folks at DPT, and they know why in a snap. Before 311, I would call the traffic signal folks at DPT directly, and I told them very briefly of the situation and mentioning the road closure, and they said: "we got it!"
• Do you really have to ask how big the pothole is? The question of it being safe for a bicycle or motorcycle to drive over it is a simple enough question to determine priority.
• Reporting roadkill. They ask: "Is it smaller or bigger than a pigeon?" I would answer: "Does a skunk count as smaller?" (It sounds funny, but it's not a joke).
  

So this material covers about 20% of the issues that don't get resolved/answered or provides inaccurate information. It looks longer, but covers very specific incidents.

In summary, San Francisco 311's call center can answer/resolve the basic stuff, but when it comes to more complex stuff, they don't do well under the pressure and provides inaccurate answers, reports it improperly, and just simply shrugs it off their shoulder.

One note of improvement they do now, if you report something, they check their database for any similar reports before filing your request into the system. If something similar pops up, they tell you about it and confirm if it is the same problem. I could tell them a specific address or intersection, and whatever search program they use can narrow it down, even if it is off by a couple of address numbers or a block away.

Lastly, this may sound a little bit odd, but when I encounter a problem and I don't call 311 in say... a week, I find out that nobody has reported it while dozens to thousands of drivers pass by the problem area and sometimes on a daily basis. Just like that small rock slide, it was there for two weeks until I called it in.

I personally believe our city will be a better place if we simply report the deficiencies of our city as often as we can so they can be repaired in a timely manner (I don't mean snitching to the police every single time a driver doesn't use their turn signals). When people report problems and they get fixed: the better the reputation of 311, other city agencies, and the citizens will have a boost of morale!

When you experience issues with 311, post a comment or e-mail me at: complaints (at) akit [dot] org. I'll post it here at Akit's Complaint Department, where local officials do read my blog and either take action or post anonymous commments.

Outside Lands Festival - Goodbye, Get Lost, and Never Come Back

It is such a relief that I can now post this and say that San Francisco's huge disaster festival known as Outside Lands is finally over. Criticism from the commentators of SFgate and other blog sites have noted this to be an entire disaster.

It is not just the residents surrounding Golden Gate Park (the Richmond, Sunset, and Panhandle), but all the people who experienced the nightmare known as Muni and those who had to walk miles to hopefully catch the last BART and even Caltrain back home.

Also, Jack Johnson headlining? I'm going to puke. Jack Johnson sucks. They used to play his crap on one of my favorite radio stations and I called the station to tell them to kill off his songs! And you know what, they did.

So let's look at the final comments after the entire event from the Chronicle/SFgate:

From shastasky of SFgate:
"What a difference than any other concert in GG Park?! Sound out at RadioHead a few times, trampling at the fences, long lines, over-priced items, trash inside the venue and in the nearby neighborhood, a few cars broken into, one big fight (Friday)-- missed Sunday-- I could hear the music on Sunday from a half mile away. Good music-- very poor planning. Not again next year! APE should go back to Oakland! One of the promoters owns the Independent-- let's trash that place like what happened to the park! I like one day concerts in the park. This was overboard; not like Hardly Strictly Bluegrass or Green Apple. Supes Carmen Chu and Jake McGoldrick-- was it worth it to your districts and the park? 3 day events-- go to Pier 30 - 32 where the X games were held. 150,000 fans-- don't think so. Rothbury, High Sierra, etc. were better this year. Again, the planning was horrible! I'll point fingers at Another Planet, first and foremost, then Supe Chu and McGoldrick and Parks and Rec. Never again!"

From norcalguy101 of SFgate:
"Gosh...if there were only 6,000 porta-poties and 150,000 in attendance...that works out to 25 people per porta-potty...now I'm even happier I didn't "go" there..."

From wesquire of SFgate:
"WOW - way to insult my neighborhood innerrichmond - go F yourself and thanks for giving me one more reason to complain to the City about this event. The patrons were rude, walking in the middlke of the streets where there were not cross walks, doing drugs outside my house, leaving trash everywhere in the park and in the street. What pigs people are. You may be trendy, but you have no substance."

From anderthalneal of SFgate:
"GREENWASH--eco-friendly event my a$. Thousands of pounds of plastic cups, thousands of plastic wrist bands and plastic badges, tons of plastic plates, plastic forks, spoons, knives, hundreds of dorks driving in circles for hours trying to find a place to park. Tour buses idling for HOURS. Gotta get a buzz from that diesel exhaust. How much energy was used to amplify the crappy music? The only thing organic about this festival was the hippy poop."

From shastasky of SFgate:
"this is not the first concert in GG Park-- many that came before were much better planned and executed. the music was good at Outside Lands.... APE has a lot of experience, but missed this one in a big way. i think they are the 10th or 11th largest production company for these events. can you believe that?! it was deplorable considering their experience. where was the coordination with the City and MUNI-- this was on the producers as it normally at venues. most of the crowd was fine-- but there were scores of people trashing the neighborhoods both in the Sunset and Richmond. Let's see how APE responds and cleans. It is not an event for GG Park-- so many over the years have been "stellar" and a few have missed the mark-- this one was well off base. i was there Fri. and Sat. and live in the neighborhood. bad for the park, the neighborhood, and likely the city. just saying a one day gig usually works out. this one didn't; too problematic for too many people. many on these posts were there"

From dwjsf of SFgate:
"It was noisy. There was a lot of traffic. Lot of rude folks. Hope it doesn't come back next year."


In summary of this whole fiasco, the organization of the festival was poor, Muni was not prepared for the masses (screw the union), and residents of the affected neighborhoods were not notified of park road closures or received very little information (the morons of inaccurate information at 311 and the supervisor's office, and no information posted on the event's website).

The blame and my MIDDLE FINGER goes to Outside Lands, SFMTA/SF Muni, 311, 511, Mayor Newsom, Park and Rec department, San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and anyone else who played a role in this event.

Lastly...
To the organizers of the Outside Lands Festival (concert):
Bye bye! Never come back!

Outside Lands Festival - Muni Terrible, Complaints, and Not Making Friends

The Outside Lands festival (concert) is getting some really negative reviews for its Friday evening concert, from complaints about packed Muni buses and trains, loud noise, and 30 minute waits to go to the bathroom.

First of all, I am going to post the complaint information. This is from SF 311's event calendar:

COMPLAINTS-
Outside Lands has a community hotline to respond to any issues that might affect the community during the festival which will be available 11 am to 11 pm on festival days (415) 387-1935.

Now, since this complaint line is private and more than likely the data they collect won't be released to the city government, here's some more information to complain:

• To complain about Muni, call: 311.
• To complain to your city supervisor: http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp and click on your supervisor for contact info.
• To complain to the Park and Rec department who issued the permit: (415) 831-3700.

NEW! PHOTO EVIDENCE OF THE INSANITY:
http://flickr.com/photos/swellkh/2788291025/
http://flickr.com/photos/swellkh/2789129852/
http://flickr.com/photos/swellkh/2789129020/
http://flickr.com/photos/chrisjb/2788177701/
http://flickr.com/photos/mimizone/2788149719/

Now readers, let us view the comments from SFgate, Curbed SF, and SFist about how the event is going. This is sorted out by categories:

For Muni's terrible service:

From Fsharp of SFist:
"I just got back from the Outside Lands festivals. DO NOT RIDE THE N JUDAH TO THE SHOW THIS WEEKEND.

Sorry for the shouting but really. We waited at Embarcadero for over 30 minutes for the first N to show up at 5PM on a completely packed platform.

Once we squeezed in, it was a nightmarish 55 minute ride to 19th ave with asses and elbows everywhere. In 22 years here I've never been on a train here that crowded.

It was another 25 minute wait to get another N out and back home. Again packed and excruciatingly slow.
We left in the middle of the Radiohead show because we were so worried about getting home on Muni. (Also Radiohead's sound kept cutting out completely in mid-song).

Ride your bike or take a cab. The increased N service is a lie.

Also, if you cab it, or take Muni anyway, go to Sunset ave not 19th like it says in on the festival web site. The entrance is a long walk from 19th."

From Greg of SFist, and author of the N Judah Chronicles:
"Folks from the air it looks groovy with lots of Ns on the line in and outbound. But reports from NJC agents indicate it's a perfect storm of drunks, cars, traffic, and a lack of DPT presence.

Ouch!"

From erik_flannestad of SFist:
"Oh, Jesus Holy Christ what a nightmare that was getting home from the Outlands concert. 2 1/2 hours from the sunset to Glen Park.

We coulda walked it in that time."

From noneyabidnis of SFist:
"I wish I would have brought my camera. My experience with Muni was miserable.

We decided to walk north and catch the number 1 at 29th and California. NextBus said 16 minutes, 39 minutes, and 39 minutes.

First bus shows up as expected, 15-17 minutes later. Completely packed. Our stop had probably 40 people at it. Bus just blew through.

So we decided to walk California inbound. Block after block of completely packed stops, everyone wondering what was going on with the buses. I'm shocked a riot didn't break out.

We walked California all the way to Maple and California (from 29th) - not one bus came on the inbound route. 4 passed going outbound.

Walked up Sacramento, and at Sacramento and Cherry there was a 43 line bus just sitting there. Completely empty, minus two people asleep in the back, and no driver. Unbelievable.

I called 311 on the treck down California and they said Muni were doing all they could. Filed a formal complaint as well. I wasn't very nice to the lady, and I feel bad now - it certainly wasn't her fault. But I did get the complaint filed... I just wish I could apologize to the nice lady I talked to.

Also sent a message to Mr. Ford, using this link:

http://www.sfmta.com/cms/acontact/formgm.htm

I'll try to get some photos of the bus fiasco.

Also, 60,000+ people in attendance friday night. Let's say 20,000 people don't take the bus, that means 40 buses can take the whole crowd if they squeeze 1000 people on a bus."

From munchkin of SFist:
"Last night I walked all the way to 22nd where the 71 turns, so a bunch of us caught it before it got to the crowd of walking people on Lincoln. It wasn't planned though- we were passed by several packed N trains."

From 99paa of SFist:
"Coming back last night from radiohead, two N trains in a row wouldn't even stop to let people on -- and they were empty! the extra muni fare inspectors were yelling at muni hq on their cell phones to make the trains, you know, actually pick people up.

then one N did stop, not at an actual stop, and opened the doors. it then started moving while the last door was still open. i'm surprised nobody died.

great job, muni!"

From looist of SFist:
"Let me sum up both Muni and Outside Lands in one word: Clusterf*ck.

5 mostly jammed busses in a row (3 had space in the back, typical Muni style) flew by Fulton and Masonic, none stopped. So we walked for a while and were lucky enough to bully our way into a cab.

On the way home there was no way in hell we were getting on a bus. Every bus that passed by was full of miserable sardines.

All of the private town cars/limos and airport shuttle vans caught on but were charging exorbitant rates, $40 for 20 blocks. And they weren't willing to negotiate down.

The show itself is really poorly organized too. Such a disappointment. I hope they get their acts together today and tomorrow. Someone will probably lose their job over this."

From skeletal_lamper of SFist:
"what an absolute fiasco.

my girlfriend and i had planned to go way early at 3 pm and already at this time, buses were not picking up hordes of people at the stops. at least six 5 buses passed us on the corners of mcallister and hyde/larkin and only one was full. there was tons and tons of space on these buses on the back and drivers refused to stop. one bus stopped to drop a passenger off and didnt open the front door.

we walked to market and decided our luck on the 71 and the first one we saw was completely packed so we decided to fuck any of the lines that were supposed to "help outside lands commuters" and get to the 38 geary, which we got on on our first try.

i just read an article that festivals pay muni up to 2000 - 4000 dollars to re-route their buses when they close down streets. and these are miniscule festivals. i can only imagine what the organizers of outside lands paid muni for to get us festival-goers to the park. and they can't even do their fucking job and stop for us when the buses are half-empty.

on the way home, and this might be useful to anyone going back to the financial district or nob hill or inner richmond tonight or tomorrow, we walked back to geary and their were hordes of people waiting for the 38 without much luck. we went to the starting point of the california 1 on geary and 33rd (it faces westbound and turns on 33rd) and were able to get on it right away. however, it did not stop AT ALL for any festival goers on the way even though our bus was NOT FULL at all. what motherfuckers."

From smiley1 of SFgate:
"When Muni said to "expect delays on the N Judah" they weren't kidding. It took me almost 2 hours to get home when it usually takes me 45 min. But hey, I heard the music perfectly from my house."

From Noeist of SFgate:
"Agree with most posters. 2 1/2 hours to get home, and would usually take 45 minutes. No cabs to be found. Got on some "express bus to Civic Center" that just dumped a lot of people in the Haight. Incredible lines. Couldn't see anything at RH - way too big. This is why I don't go to these huge shows. That said, the crowd was very, very laid-back and chill, even when frustratingly waiting for N-Judah and then shoved onto buses 100 at a time headed who knows where. If I had a 3-day ticket, I'd skip the next two days, or leave at least an hour before the end to try to beat the crowds."

From sunsetsaint of SFgate:
"Has anyone blamed Muni yet? Riding the N-Judah during rush hour is, as all locals know, unbearably unpleasant every day. Yesterday it was ridiculous -- you couldn't even board because each street car was jam-packed with people who don't live here. After passing up several of the cattle cars, I finally managed to squeeze in between a bunch of scraggly characters (Was a scuzzy appearance required for festival attendance?). It took me twice as long to get home. Clearly, there was no public transit planning; special buses should have transported the festival-goers so that locals could have just suffered as usual."

From an anonymous poster of Curbed SF:
"Left the show at 9:55pm immediately after Radiohead got off the stage. Swam through hundreds of people, walked to Judah, only to find every N Judah Muni packed to the gills. Ended up walking about 20+ blocks to catch the #6 bus to Civic Center where we caught the last train to Oakland. Got back to the East Bay at about 12:30am due to maintenance on the tracks. I suspect plenty o' people missed the last BART."

From mariesnews of SFgate:
"Before the even getting to the concert. The promoters, muni and the city said to take public transit. There would be lots of extra cars and buses. What happened? The N-Judah broke down at 4th and Irving. There were already six trains there when our train arrived and there was nobody from muni to fix the problem. We ended up walking down Lincoln with hundreds of other people. In the time we walked to the event only two 71's came by and they didn't stop. WHERE were the extra buses. Once again muni lied."

Akit says: Damn, this is just Muni alone...

Now let us look at the event complaints:

From rationalgal of SFist:
"re: chainlink fences again. I thought they had been put up to keep people out, but apparently they had been put up to "funnel" people in and out of venues as well. I saw a report on the local CBS newscast this morning that there was a near stampede when too many people got crammed between the fences, and the fences had to be breached. One attendee said that they had to hop over the fence to avoid being trampled. You're right, looist, poorly organized indeed. Heads should roll. Anyone out there who was there when this happened, who can give us a firsthand account?"

From theRichmond of SFgate:
"I've lived here for over 20 years, and these are the worst folks in Golden Gate Park ever. Screaming in the streets afterwards, throwing shopping carts down the street, running stop signs. And there is absolutely no security to be seen. Hopefully, this event will never be allowed again."

From mastermikeyb of SFgate:
"NOT GREAT. 1st, they were no way prepared for this many people-the lines that people were waiting in starting with WillCall, ID Braclets, Beer/Wine, Food, Bathrooms, anything you may have wanted to do, were HORRENDOUS. To wait for 30-40 minutes to get a drink? Come on... 2nd, this was billed through the media (and JackJohnson) as a 'Leave No Trace' Evnt, but is was nothing of the sort. There was garbage EVERYWHERE. Even the guy who was giving out ID bracelets was just throwing the wrapper that was left after he attached it onto the ground. When I asked him about the fact that this was a LNT, he just shrugged and said that it would be picked up--yeah right! 3rd. The Sound by MEYER SOUND was BAD! During Radiohead alone it went COMPLETELY out 3 x during the show. Radiohead kept playing, but no one could hear a thing. 4th. Overlapping Artists sets is bad enough, but trying to get from one stage to another was silly. I give this a 2 out of 10. They could do MUCH better!"

From mcmunchkin of SFgate:
"The multiple recycling/garbage/composting bins were well planned, but other more important considerations were not. They closed off the entire bank of 30 porta-potties near the Radiohead (main) stage. The line for the normal park bathrooms was over half an hour. The other bank of porta-potties on the Polo green was near the only narrow path to get from the Polo grounds to the Sutro stage. This thing was dangerous. The fence was down, so there was pointy metal the entire way, with people pushing through a narrow 20 foot gap, anxious to get to the next band in time. People were desperate for bathrooms. They were running past the guards through the woods just trying to find a place to pee. Anyone there for Saturday and Sunday should give themselves a lot of bathroom time, because I doubt they fixed both those situations overnight. Radiohead was awesome, except when the sound cut out twice."

From adampasz of SFgate:
"Major disappointment. It tried to be Coachella, but failed. I was looking forward to *seeing* Beck and Radiohead, and I couldn't due to the enormous crowds. Whoever was in charge of scheduling for this thing should be fired. The 1st half of the event was packed with bands, so there was no way to catch most of them; the 2nd half of the night was dedicated just to Radiohead. So you have 50,000+ people all trying to cram into the front of the Polo Fields because there's nothing else to do. There was a tiny video screen that looked about 32x32 pixels in resolution. At $100 this was a rip-off, and I would urge people not to attend if they haven't bought tickets yet. You can just sit outside the concert, in the woods, and get the same experience of hearing but not seeing your favorite bands. I agree with the other posters that the crowd was very mellow, and I didn't see people trashing stuff. I was surprised by all the smokers -- cough."

From manyboymom of SFgate:
"Just drove through GGP at 8 am and the park is trashed! Garbage everywhere. Not sure how they got a permit for the music to be so loud - I love radiohead but that was ridiculous. I think the neighborhood has had enough of these mega events. Leave no trace my a**."

From sluefootsue of SFgate:
"I spoke to the head of Park and Rec yesterday to complain. No environmental impact report was required by the city and the Parks and Rec decided that, even thoug their job is to be guardians of the parks, they would't require one either. Basically, the Parks and Rec are selling a public area to the highest bidder. And why isn't the Chronicle or other media covering the frustration and anger at the poor planning by the concert promoter? This type of greedy dismissiveness endangers the park, its wildlife, and the surrounding neighborhood. Bluegrass in the Park does a wonderful job in contrast. And it's free for the public on public lands!"

From inkandpaint of SFgate:
"This was a fail. Beck's stage was sloped downhill so nobody could see him. the narrow walkway back to the polo fields for radiohead was crammed and people tore down the fences. radiohead was good but the sound cut out. there were lines everywhere. poorly planned. i bought a three day ticket but won't be going back"

From jjups of SFgate:
"This was one of the worst put together shows ever. In comparison to Jazzfest in New Orleans which charges less and offers way more, your $100 got you nothing but headaches. Moving around the grounds was so bad that people had to start ripping down fences to move from one venue to another. I am not going to even begin talking about the lines to get anything."

From JANDEK of SFgate:
"Overall, I give the festival a 2 out of 10 as well. The audio during Radiohead cutting out twice at an event that costs what it does is unacceptable. Luckily for the concert promoters, their performance was a 10, otherwise it would have got a 1 or 0. The overlapping bands playing all over the park was the worst bit of planning, it made it impossible to see multiple bands. The trash everywhere and the ridiculous lines for everything just point to an amateur hour operation. Outlands Festival=Fired"

From jmusick of SFgate:
"Though the crowd did a good job at remaining calm - there were moments that people were on the verge of panic/fights about crushing/trampling. As the crowds left Beck and tried to push towards the front for Radiohead, there were many people at the front that were getting scared and started frantically trying to exit. Don't know what other places do in that situation, but it was by far the closest I've been to crowd-panic because of inability to move anywhere."

From Nezumi of SFgate:
"This was the LOUDEST concert in the Polo Field in over 25 years. I had to turn the volume on my TV up to around 8 (usually on 2) in order to hear anything. Why doesn't the City think about using McLaren Park for large events? Why do all these events have to impact the Richmond and Sunset districts? Spread the love, noise and mess around. Concertgoers, when you are walking back to your cars or to the veritable missing MUNI, please do not shout when talking to the person 18 inches away from you. I heard all of your conversations through double paned glass. Promoter, hire a third-party transportation company. MUNI only makes around 69% of their normally scheduled runs, adding more makes the natives angrier than they already are. FYI, MUNI stands for Maybe U Not Important."

From birdwomansf of SFgate:
"Nezumi-you must be my neighbor. I could not believe the volume. My house felt like it was shaking. Ridiculous. Think of the effect on the poor animals in the park that were freaked out. No to next year. Find somewhere else. No to night time performances. Total disregard for the neighbors, the animals and the environment. This is suppose to be a park."

From rwaring of SFgate:
"For many of the fans, the only way out was to exit the field through the two north and and south narrow tunnels. At the south tunnel, as several thousand people were pushing toward the south tunnel, many in the crowd talked about the risk of a stampede. This situation was insane and was poorly planned. Finally, the crowd knocked down some fences and streamed over the hill. A nest of bees then began to swarm and scores of fans were stung. Because of fences around where the bees were, there was no way around the swarm. My wife got stung twice. This all would have been avoided if the crowd had more exits without bottlenecks."

From jfm of SFgate:
"Outside Lands was a disaster, salvaged only by the greatness of Radiohead. Note that all complaints about the lines, the crowds, the poor planning get nearly all thumbs up. I GUARANTEE there was AT LEAST 80,000 people in there - in violation of their permit. The promoters must have decided the (understandably) weak sales for Sat and Sun (portending a money losing FAILURE) could be buttressed by OVERSELLING Friday. Ridiculous. Half the crowd we had would have been bearable. It should be about perfect Sat and Sunday, where weaker lineups will draw smaller crowds."

From thenisaid of SFgate:
"I stood in line during Beck's whole show to get a beer. That didn't matter, though, because you couldn't see him- no screens and someone placed a large white tent in a terrible spot. There were way too many people, definitely not worth $85. And leaving the event was impossible; ended up having to walk from 25th ave all the way to Haight and Masonic. Radiohead was great but that's about it."

From sftroybob of SFgate:
"Don't be surprised if this turns out to be one of those shows where people are killed by being crushed in the crowd. Despite that lesson being learned time and again, the organizers here are doing no kind of crowd control, and they're leaving the main act for one stage at the end of the night, with the audience areas not divided up and with nobody else playing at the same time, pretty much guaranteeing that there is going to be a crush of people from the very back that is going to hit the front in waves."

From hennessymade of SFgate:
"This festival was a disappointment. The scheduling was bad, the park was completely over-crowded, and the amount of people peeing all over the park (due to lack of restrooms) was disgusting. I feel sorry for the people who have to clean up after this disaster. The bands I saw were fantastic, but getting anywhere near the stage was impossible. I'm not paying for this next year."

From jcfinsf of SFgate:
"The music was terrific (save the inexcusable dropped sound during Radiohead), and everyone seemed up for having a good time. A bit on the cool side, too, but hey, it's August and the fog looked cool under the lights. But, come on, it's fair to admit that the organizers were in way, way over their heads last night. The lines were awful and the planning for moving hordes of people about insane. The path between the Polo Field and Sutro stage area was about twenty yards wide. Of course, in the middle of that path, too, was the largest collection of bathrooms. And then you had tens of thousands trying to get through that confined area with just ten minutes between Beck and Radiohead at different stages. Why? I overheard a few of the medics talking that there could be a first-class emergency there if luck wasn't on their side. Luck was: people just knocked over the fencing and hiked it every which way. And security? It needed to be doubled. I'd say this event has little chance of an encore"

From briansabeans of SFgate:
"As someone who lives on 25th and Irving, this thing sucked. No I didn't care about the noise -- I had no problem with being able to hear free Radiohead while sitting at home. No, my problem was the ridiculous crowds. You simply could not get around the neighborhood whatsoever. Parking was impossible. Utter scuzzbuckets were everywhere...or were they? Actual genuine trash wouldn't have been able to afford these tickets, so it was probably just a bunch of rich Marin kids dressed like bums and acting like criminals. I have no problem if they do this again so long as they figure out a way to keep the streets unclogged. The Sunset is simply not built to accomodate this kind of crowd."

From southbaygurl of SFgate:
"I hope the organizers read these comments. I went for Radiohead and Beck, couldn't see a thing! Beck had no screens and the screens at Radiohead were ridiculously small. The lines for IDs were stupid long (skipped them all together) and the lines for the porta potties were long, and they were nasty. Getting in and out of the park on public transport was a mess. We walked for an hour and 1/2 after the show before being able to get transport. There was no directional signage in or around the festival. So glad I didn't buy a 3-day ticket. And they'd have to have a huge headliner like Radiohead for me to consider going back next year. Someone should talk to the organizers of Coachella. It's a much larger festival (more talent, more attendees) and runs like a well-oiled machine (with clean porta potties). Sad, but maybe GG park just can't handle this sort of event."

From catalystgrrl of SFgate:
"It was truly crap. The sound went out 3 times in the middle of Radiohead's set. The crowd was aggro. Garbage everywhere. Whoever planned the event had absolutely zero forethought. After an hour's wait in line at the ATM (which one of five worked occasionally) and then an hour's wait for a beer, I was kindly told I needed to wait in the hour long line for an ID bracelet, only to get back in the hour long line for a beer, miss the entire Beck show because it was all the way across the park on the other side, through which 60,000 people were expected to pass through an unreasonable thoroughfare... Really awful. I'll never go again. To anything. Ever. [okay I'll totally be at hardly strictly bluegrass ( ;]"

From fingafing of SFgate:
"I could hear this last night & I live over 1 mile away from the Park. The entire area is one big garbage dump - who is paying for the cleanup, taxpayers or the promoter?"

From sfhinsf of SFgate:
"I live TWELVE blocks from the stage. It's clear that no one realizes that this area of the park is a bowl and like a natural loudspeaker -- much more so when it's FOGGY. is HIGH in my house with windows close. I like music and I like a lot of these bands -- but imagine THREE days (sound checks started at 1 p.m. on Friday) of this from 1 p.m.l to 10 p.m.? Plus I have to park in my driveway for 3 days -- or odds are someone will block me in. Ending at 10 p.m. means people drunk loud on street until midnight -and we're in quiet neighborhoods. Plus, I run in the pk everyday -- fences us everywhere since Weds. & will be till end of Mon. We already to Bay to Breakers, the Marathon, Hardly Strictly and many other events that are a lot of hassle in this hood. How come Hardly Strictly has to stop at 8 p.m., but these guys don't? They're right, the City doesn't care about Park or residents -- it's just TOTAL GREED -- and NO parking. I chose to buy in a quiet 'hood -- not next to PacBell Park!"

Another from sfhinsf of SFgate:
"I run in the Park about 5 days a week...past Lloyld Lake, through Speedway, 2 or 3 times around Polo Field. You have NO IDEA the destruction that these shows do. It's a nightmare -- esp. the HUGE HEAVY trucks that drive over grass and trails and leave DEEP ruts that are still there in rainy season...when the ground turns into concrete...so we end up with ridege 4 & 5" high to run over. Ruin the lawns. Golden Gate Park is one of San Francisco's greatest treasures, but because it's "way out there" on the West Side, no one gives a damn. Hello! It's the backyard for an awful lot of people -- and I'm not sure you'd like to see your backyard trashed 5 or 6 times a year Yeah, I want the Park to be used -- and I like concerts here. But one of this size, with this many acts, attacting this many people and three days long is NOT appropriate. Hardly Strictly is mostly acoustic and attracts a very different crowd."

From dumbnative of SFgate:
"it is evident that the park and reck is no better then the bus at city hall. They sell their mothers soul to the devil. I wonder what sombody got out of this? To close off that much of the park for more then three days and disrupt two residential neighborhood with traffic and noise it's not except able. Evedently the two stupervisors of the distric age sent to the park dont give a hoot about their constituents. They probably got a nice campaing contribution."

From bigthings of SFgate:
"I was attacked by a swarm of angry bees on my way out! I was stung three times. Talk about a buzz kill!"

From hawky of SFgate:
"Expect more of this type of park use from Rec & Park (Wreck the Park) They'll sell their soul to earn a few bucks and pimp out our beautiful park like a cheap whore. Pity the gardeners who will try to heal this damage to the landscape. Oh, and Chron: ask the beat gardeners about the massive damage the set-up did to the park's irrigation system. At least at the free shows there is no need for fences so no metal fence poles driven through the water lines. Will the bond put forth by the concert company even cover all the damage done? Just ask Yomi, he's a numbers man."

From luvfothaset of SFgate:
"It's a blessing no one got hurt. I was in the middle of the crowd at WOMAD when Beastie Boys came to GG Park. They had two stages that were next to each other, but fans still rush from to the other. That is when it gets ugly and people start getting crushed and panicking. Needless to say it got ugly and I literally feared for my life. I was about 5 seconds away from climbing over people. Luckily people started shouting 'Walk away!! Walk Away!!' and the crowd started to de-compact. But with this many people it is like an ocean of energy with currents and swells. Just don't get caught in a tide pool. I hate crowds now and try to avoid these types of venues where you need binoculars. I can still remember girls screaming and being trapped."

From bobsicle of SFgate:
"I'm at Geary and 25th avenue, INSIDE an apartment, and I can hear the sound. I had sort of forgotten about the festival, so I actually thought my upstairs neighbor was playing his stereo loud, which struck me as odd because he is so quiet. Only when I went outside and still heard the noise did I remember, oh, right... that festival. Fortunately, I didn't move my car. As usual, the bridge and tunnel crowd invade like a horde of Mongols, parking illegal everywhere."

From bigbite of SFgate:
"None of these bands are worth the ticket price,they should call it the RIP OFF FESTIVAL."

From AmericanMark of SFgate:
""Environmental" groups sponsoring the trashing of the park? Ridiculous. But these groups are just a business, like any other. The dollar is their bottom line."

From mailbean of SFgate:
"Some neighbors were none too happy"? Somehow I think that's a serious understatement. I live somewhere around half a mile from this thing, and yet I can still hear it. It's on the other side of the park, and yet hundreds of kids are still crowding my streets, hanging around, loitering, doing who knows what. This area is usually fairly quiet: home to a large number of seniors, working people, and young children. This ridiculous event has made a outlaying residential area look like a busy downtown area and feel like the middle of a riot zone."

From bobsicle of SFgate:
"rdframe -- "it is only a three day festival. Any damage done was minor compared to the revenue (MILLIONS) brought in by the event both from the organizers and from the associated tourist." Exactly WHAT revenue are you talking about? The promoters made their money and the bands got paid. What's left over? The tourists spent nothing that wasn't on the event itself. So what money are you talking about? As is typical for these events, the amount the city collects isn't enough even for the cleanup."

From therichmond of SFgate:
"The park is trashed. There are people screaming and fighting in the streets up here as this even lets out, and then they are trashing the houses. The public services are over taxed - no buses, police or even taxis for us locals. I doubt if the City will be able to cover its expenses. And worst of all, no one is spending money at the businesses. The regulars are staying away from the restaurants because of the crowds and no one from the event is replacing them. GOOD JOB!"

OK now, let's sum this whole crap hole up. Muni was totally unreliable with packed vehicles, scams happening with those luxury cars and airport vans charging an arm and leg for only 20 blocks worth of driving, cab drivers refusing to pick-up people in the event area, huge lines so that you can get your $7 beer, near stampedes, broken down fences, and over capacity crowds.

HEY GREG PERLOFF AND ANOTHER PLANET ENTERTAINMENT (WHO CREATED THIS PIECE OF CRAP FESTIVAL), NEVER COME BACK... EVER! THE RICHMOND, SUNSET, AND PANHANDLE DISTRICTS WILL DEMAND A PUBLIC HEARING AND YOU WILL PAY (not with money, but pure embarrassment).