Road crews uncover old streetcar tracks during sewer work.

As we move around in our modern world, we tend to forget how things used to be. But every now and then, during the most meaningless of moments, we are reminded.

That’s what happened on Monday, when cub reporter David H. came upon a road crew on California between 15th and 16th Avenue. The street had to be opened up for some sewer work and as crews dug in, they stumbled upon a piece of San Francisco’s transit history – old streetcar tracks.

“The wooden ties were a bit rotted but the rails and spikes were as good as new,” David said. He even snagged a couple of the spikes for his collection.

After seeing pics of this accidental archaeological dig, I contacted Richmond District historian John Freeman to get more background on the streetcars that used to run along California Street.

California Street had the first rail line that went completely through the Richmond, as the steam train of the Ferries and Cliff House Railway. It opened September 30, 1888 to take passengers from the end of three cable car lines that terminated at Central Avenue (now Presidio Avenue) at the Laurel Hill Cemetery, to Sutro Baths and the grand chateau Cliff House which opened in 1896.

The C streetcar at 2nd Avenue & Clement, 1948. Courtesy outsidelands.org

John says the rails uncovered on California Street could date as far back at 1905. The #1 Sutter and California streetcar may have traveled on them. According to outsidelands.org, the C Geary-California streetcar line began running in 1915 out to Park Presidio / 13th Avenue as the Municipal Railway’s seventh route. The line was then extended to 33rd Avenue and California in 1915.

But with progress comes changes, and on July 3, 1949, all rail service on the California Street trolley tracks ended, to be replaced by buses. The Richmond District did have the B-Geary streetcar line up until December 1956, when it was replaced by the #38 bus line.

John says that simply covering over the streetcar rails was a common practice. Just a few years ago, he saw a similar scene on Balboa when they were doing roadwork.

“You would think the rails had salvage value, but in a post-WWII world, scrap steel was not very valuable and it was cheaper to cover the rails than to remove them for their scrap value,” John told me.

Special thanks to David H. for snapping pics and to John Freeman for providing the background on what was uncovered.

Sarah B.

Another great photo from the SFMTA Photo Archives, this time of a station sign being stenciled at the Municipal Railway Elkton Shop. No date given.

A crew repairs the 5 Fulton bus line near 12th Avenue. Photo by Edward Betts

19th Avenue northbound through the park was closed off this morning for over an hour after a 2 car accident caused police to shut down the roadway entirely. The cars were pretty banged up but SFAppeal reports that no serious injuries were sustained by the drivers. As I headed southbound this morning around 8:30am, traffic was backed way up on 19th Avenue southbound and drivers were being routed away from Golden Gate Park.

On top of the 19th Avenue closure, it was also a rough morning for 5 Fulton riders. RichmondSFBlog reader Edward Betts reported that somebody stole a piece of the DC power cable for the 5 Fulton line at 12th Avenue (if you know why someone would do this, please let us know in the comments!). Buses were forced to turn around at 8th Avenue until the repair could be made (pictured above).

Were you stuck in the westside snarl this morning?

UPDATE: According to the April 22 police blotter, the thief did indeed climb the pole to snag copper wire.

Sarah B.

The SFMTA announced yesterday that they have begun road work for the 5 Fulton Muni bus route on Fulton Street between 8th and 32nd avenues.

The work will include putting the electrical feeder cables that power the trolley buses for the route underground. This will provide a major upgrade to the route improving the safety and reliability of the Muni 5 Fulton. Muni anticipates the work will take one year to complete.

The work will start from 32nd Avenue and advance block-by-block to 8th Avenue (23 blocks total). The project will furnish and install the underground traction power ductbank that will house the conduit and the feeder cables underneath Fulton.

In order to install the ductbank, crews will dig a three to five-foot-wide trench on in the eastbound center lane. Crews will take approximately one week to complete ductbank installation on for each block.

For the majority of its trolley routes and some light rail vehicle lines, Muni has had the electric feeders, which provide electricity to the overhead contact wires, installed underground to increase the longevity of the feeders and make them easier to maintain.

The Fulton project also entails replacing deteriorating overhead poles and constructing 19 curb ramps at seven intersections.

There will be no interruption to 5 Fulton service during the project, but drivers and bikers should expect partial lane closures around the construction. Street parking may be temporarily restricted in and around the construction areas as well (“No Parking” signs will be posted).

For those that live along those blocks of Fulton Street, expect some noise daily during weekdays from 7am to 5pm when construction is taking place.

Sarah B.

A ghost bike is chained up at the corner of 6th Avenue and Clement, in memoriam of the cyclist that was killed there last Thursday night during a collision with a MUNI bus. The victim was 22 year old Derek Allen who, according to initial reports, may have crossed into the street in front of the bus. The bus driver, Tommie Barnett, swerved but was unable to avoid hitting Allen.

A similar ghost bike was left at the scene of another cyclist fatality at Turk and Masonic in August.

Meant to act as street memorial to the fallen cyclist, some offerings have already been left in remembrance including flowers, shells, nuts, a candle and rocks. Typically the city will let the bike remain for several days before cutting the chain and removing it.

On Friday evening, Richmond District Supervisor Eric Mar issued this statement about the accident:

Statement from Supervisor Eric Mar regarding bicyclist Derek Allen | October 8, 2010
This morning I visited the site of the MUNI accident on 6th Ave at Clement Street, where 22 year old bicyclist Derek Allen was killed yesterday evening at 5pm. I am concerned because I ride my bike there all the time. While our City has made progress in making streets safer and expanded bike lanes in San Francisco, we need a better streets planning process for parts of the Richmond District which must include residents, pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers and merchants. To create a more livable community, we must find ways to safely share the roads- drivers, pedestrians and cyclists- all of us together. There have been a number of tragic traffic accidents including the killing of a bicyclist in August on Masonic and Turk and I hope that drivers can be reminded of how vulnerable pedestrians and cyclists are on the road. I am anxiously awaiting the City’s investigation, but my staff and I have been meeting with Richmond residents, Police, Muni staff, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, and safety advocates to develop solutions.

Sarah B.

As the Examiner reports, the SFMTA will restore many of the service cuts they made back in May in an effort to save $28.8 million annually.

The service cuts didn’t go over well, with riders citing longer waits and massively overcrowded buses. As a result, the SFMTA managed to pull together enough funds to restore service on some of the busier lines during peak times.

Service improvements to lines in the Richmond District include adding more buses to the 1-California and 5-Fulton lines to reduce weekday crowding, and increasing frequency at night along the 31-Balboa line.

The Examiner reports that the SFMTA is “set on bringing back 61 percent of its cut service Saturday, but the agency is working with Mayor Gavin Newsom and members of the Board of Supervisors to develop a plan to eventually restore all recent reductions.”

Read more at sfexaminer.com

Sarah B.

Travel back in time to 1967 when plans were in the works for an extensive underground subway that would connect the Richmond with the new BART system once it opened. The image below is a concept showing it running underneath Park Presidio Boulevard at Geary.

Thanks to Eric Fisher for sharing this on his Flickr account and providing this information about the image:

The maps and pictures here are from a report on Coordinated Transit for the San Francisco Bay Area that was concerned with proposing changes to various transit systems to make connections with BART once it opened. Although the full report wasn’t published until 1967, an earlier draft of the plan was the subject of Proposition B of November 8, 1966 which was voted down. The core of the plan seems to have survived at least into the 1972 Rapid Transit Plan (map).

Reminds me of something I would see at Future World at Epcot Center.

Sarah B.