If you're tried to traverse the Embarcadero on days when ships are in port at the James R. Herman Cruise Terminal at Pier 27—whether walking, cycling or driving—you might have noticed it's not always smooth sailing.

The Port of San Francisco opened the new terminal in September 2014, which by most accounts has been a great success. But one sticking point has been the traffic, particularly whens ships are in port on weekends. It can take half an hour to get from the Ferry Building to Fisherman's Wharf on a bad day, and bike lanes get blocked and foot traffic piles up.

Crown Princess, April 20. Photo: Geri Kopeppel/Hoodline

But relief is coming, Port officials say, thanks to a multi-pronged approach. Dan Hodapp, senior planner for the Port, gave us the rundown.

First off, he said, when the cruise terminal was designed, it included a large staging area on the site off of the Embarcadero. "The intent is for none of the vehicles to be stacking on the Embarcadero, but to have their waiting space on the pier,” he said. Secondly, they kept pedestrian safety "first and foremost" in mind. Pedestrians have right-of-way on the busy Embarcadero promenade and are stopped only when flagged by a police officer managing traffic.

In the past six months, though, the Port has noticed things it didn't expect and has had time to assess them, so now it's working to remedy them.

A big issue is illegal curbside off-loading. Instead of pulling into the staging area, cars, cabs and pedicabs are dropping people off near the Cruise Terminal Plaza, the two-and-a-half acre grassy area in front of the building. “They either don’t know or they’re frustrated with the traffic and they choose to off-load there,” Hodapp said. “I think it's been a significant contributor to the problem.” 

That forces bikes out of the bike lane and into the right lane of Embarcadero traffic, Hodapp said. They're adding signs to make it clearer that vehicles and pedicabs need to pull into the staging area and removing signs that are less relevant, he added.

Another concern is managing pedestrian and traffic flow. The Port is "trying to educate the officers working at the driveway at Pier 27 so they understand how to manage the pedestrian and traffic flow," Hodapp said. "That has helped."

Thirdly, they're going to let vehicle traffic exit only in one lane into the right lane on the Embarcadero. In the past, they had two exit lanes and drivers could pull into both the left and right lanes, which held up traffic.

Also, Hodapp said they're working with SFMTA to change signal timing from pre-cruise terminal days where there was a driveway entrance at Lombard Street. "We think this is going to give greater clear time to the cruise terminal and prevent intersection blocking," he said.

Finally, they're looking at changing the locations of the electronic message signs to warn motorists earlier and give them options of alternate routes.

Traffic on the Embarcadero on a weekend. Photo: Geri Koeppel

Not related to the traffic, but in other big cruise terminal news, construction has begun on public restrooms in the back of the Beltline building by Piers 27 and 29. Lots of locals use the Cruise Terminal Plaza park and other public open space for dog walking, jogging, sunbathing and other activities, so bathrooms should come in handy. The Port hopes to open it by mid-summer, Hodapp said.

And in general, he added, the Port hopes to keep tuning up the terminal as time goes on. "Opening up such a major facility on the waterfront, we anticipate it will take a period of time to get it all running as smoothly as possible," he said.

For a list of upcoming events at the cruise terminal, including ship calls and private events, visit Metro Shore Services' calendar for Pier 27.