Avenues or Streets ?

My friends always ask me about what line I am driving. Then they ask about the F Streetcar line on Market Street. The railway has a number of historic streetcars from around the world, and they have been restored and repainted in colors from cities such as Melbourne, Philadelphia, Milan, and Kansas City. It is a wonder to see these multicolored street cars make their proud way down Market Street.

Like most streets in San Francisco, we just use the name of the street when we converse. So we refer to our promenade thoroughfare as Market. We rarely add the word street, except when directing those to our numbered avenues or streets. The avenues are out west by Ocean Beach, the Sunset, and the Richmond, and streets are downtown, SOMA, or in the Mission.

Curiously, few visitors or first-timers are aware of this. The question, “Do you go to 25th?” can be answered incorrectly by just saying yes or no. If on a crosstown bus, we must get avenue or street from the visitor. If leaving downtown, we must also ask, “Do you mean street or avenue?”

Twenty-fifth Avenue is nowhere near 25th Street, so by answering yes, someone can be misled by several miles from their intended destination by only giving the number without street or avenue. This can add over an hour to transit time. Directions are critical when talking on the phone or writing information down on a piece of paper. Most of those who fail to meet a friend or get to a new residence or employer are missing a key piece of information when they obtain it over the phone.

The next problem is not having the phone number to recall the person who gave the directions. Or not carrying a charged cell phone to make another call while on the bus. If I am driving in a peak direction, I refer the person asking questions to another person on the bus if it looks like he/she doesn’t have all the information needed to arrive at the intended destination. After two attempts, I have to disengage. Not being sure of a stop request can be a distraction while I drive, so I have to be careful that I am still friendly in ending the conversation. Sometimes, a lack of understanding about safety creates a discourteous impression, and I have to keep my Zen if I am to stay out of trouble.

Make sure you get the cross street when asking for directions. Make sure the other party is not giving you a side street as a cross street; a side street is only one or two blocks long. Many of us are unfamiliar with these side streets or alleyways. I would love a driver test about the streets of San Francisco, and I know certain shuttle companies do have this. I would like to see a tourist question guide added to our training. “Do you go to BART?” “Do you go to Fisherman’s Wharf?” “Do you go to the train station?” Inevitably, the time and place where these questions are asked are as predictable as the tides. (Good idea for my next book!)

Keeping the Zen in transit means having the cross street down before boarding a crowded bus. Having the connection point and knowing the interval or headway between bus lines also helps to reduce lost time between transfers. The transfer cost between modes and agencies is a primary reason for loss of ridership to the automobile.