A lunchtime community meeting on Super Bowl 50 activities in the city gave a long list of the latest details, with one major message: Expect to be inconvenienced, even if you don't plan to visit Super Bowl City or the NFL Experience.
That's because road closures are going to clog streets more than ever, and public transit will be overloaded, with roughly a million visitors expected during the festivities Jan. 30th–Feb. 7th. Some bus lines will be routed as well.
A perimeter fence will be erected around Sue Bierman Park, Justin Herman Plaza and the foot of Market Street, with five security entrances that include body scanners and bag checks running during event hours (generally, 11am until 9pm weekdays and 10pm Friday-Saturday that week).
All of the bus reroutes and some of the street closures will begin Saturday, Jan. 23rd, and streets will return to normal on Feb. 12th at the latest. One of the major closures—the Embarcadero southbound from Washington Street to Don Chee Way—will hopefully be one of the last to close, according to SFMTA. Traffic will be rerouted onto Washington Street. The busiest days are expected to be opening day, Jan. 30th, and from Wednesday, Feb. 3rd–Saturday, Feb. 6th.
The foot of Market will be closed for Super Bowl City. (Photo: Geri Koeppel/Hoodline)
To add to the congestion, the Lunar New Year celebration starts Jan. 30th with a mini-procession and ribbon-cutting along with the Flower Market Fair that weekend in Chinatown, although the full Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade was pushed back to Feb. 20th. Spillover is expected throughout the city and possibly the region, not just downtown.
"We do expect that buses and trains will be quite full," said Candace Sue, director of communications for SFMTA. "As you know, we’re expecting a million people and, I think closer to game day, and depending on the schedule of events, like when Alicia Keys is downtown, we do expect that subways and buses will be quite full. And so we beg your patience on that, and we'l be doing the best we can to make sure things are operational and flowing during this period."
Sue and David Perry, community outreach for the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee, spoke to a standing-room-only, overflow crowd Thursday in the Bayside Conference Room at Pier 1. A back partition had to be opened to accommodate roughly 125 people, who politely peppered the spokespeople with questions after their brief presentations.
David Perry speaks to an overflow crowd at Pier 1's Bayside Room. (Photo: Geri Koeppel/Hoodline)
They issued the caveat that as with all large events, things are fluid and could change, and urged everyone to stay informed by visiting sfmta.com/sb50 and sfbaysuperbowl.com. But for now, here are a few of the major points you should know:
Getting around BART/Muni Embarcadero
Sue said everyone should allow extra time for commuting during Super Bowl 50 closures, particularly if they pass through the BART/Muni entrance on Spear and Market streets by the Federal Reserve. That entrance may be closed during Super Bowl City hours, Perry said, but four other entrances are outside of the security perimeter, so commuters can come and go through those. Muni will run extra capacity on certain lines, Sue said, and BART has told us it'll run its longest trains during the event.
Muni reroutes, additional capacity and closures
Current work in the subway stations should be done by Jan. 22nd, Sue said, and Muni will run extra capacity on particular lines: "The 30 line, the 1-California, the F-line and also the 8, to make sure that those who are preparing for Chinese New Year celebrations can get to where they're going during this period of time as well." They'll run service like they do on San Francisco Giants game days in the evening as well, she added.
The historic E-line streetcar weekend service is the only line that will not run, but the F-line to the Castro will be replaced by buses. The F-line will run from Fisherman's Wharf to the Ferry Building, as usual. Other bus lines will be rerouted and/or stop blocks from their normal terminus, as a map on SFMTA's website shows.
Map: SFMTA blog
Walking in and near foot of Market/Justin Herman Plaza
Anyone who wants to enter the footprint of Super Bowl City during its open hours, 9am until 10 or 11pm Jan. 30th–Feb. 7th, will be subject to security measures, Perry said. That includes those who have to go to work inside the perimeter. (The SF Art Market at Justin Herman Plaza and some other vendors near the Hyatt Regency will be relocated, but the spokespeople didn't have specifics yet on that.) If you commute via ferry and usually walk through Justin Herman Plaza and along Market Street, you'll need to allow extra time to walk around the security perimeter.
This will become part of Super Bowl City from Jan. 30th-Feb. 7th. (Photo: Geri Koeppel/Hoodline)
Driving/cycling/walking/parking around downtown
Deliveries within the security perimeter are being scheduled outside of event times as much as possible, Perry said. As for other drivers, "This will be a time to experiment with alternative forms of transportation," Sue said. "We are highly recommending that people do not try to drive in the city, and particularly downtown, during this period of time because of the reroutes that will be in place."
Someone later asked about SF Paratransit and school buses that pick up at the nearby Gateway Apartments and Townhomes, and Sue said Paratransit will have access, and SFMTA is working with the schools to ensure access. Those with disabilities who need access within the security perimeter will be able to go to the front of the line.
Also, bicycles will be prohibited on the southbound Embarcadero closure as well; cyclists will be directed to the east side of the Embarcadero (bikes are permitted on the promenade in both directions). There will be way-finding signs for cyclists and drivers. However, vehicles and bikes will not be permitted on Howard between Third and Fourth streets near Moscone Center. (Critical Mass is scheduled during Super Bowl City, and Perry said they're working very closely with the SF Bicycle Coalition on that. Update: The Bicycle Coalition's Chris Cassidy wrote in with a correction: "The SF Bicycle Coalition has no affiliation with Critical Mass. We cannot and have not suggested to anyone that we can negotiate anything on their behalf.")
All vehicles parking at 4 Embarcadero, the Landmark at One Market or the Federal Reserve will be subject to a bomb search, Perry said, but they've already talked to building management about that.
Other concerns: security, homeless, protests, potties
One person asked who would be responsible for security in the nearby Gateway neighborhood. Perry said there will be a "robust security presence" nearby that will be quite visible. (Gateway management also noted in a neighborhood watch meeting on Jan. 12th that it will hire off-duty SFPD officers as well.)
Another attendee asked what to do if the homeless are displaced into nearby neighborhoods. If a person is breaking the law or impacting your quality of life, Perry said, "You call the city; the same thing you do now." He added, "Next to security, more attention has been paid to this than any other issue to make sure you get a response."
Photo: Geri Koeppel/Hoodline
Another person raised the concern that a right-to-life protest is planned for Jan. 23rd, and asked if there was a likelihood that they would not close the Embarcadero to allow that. "Southbound Embarcadero will be closed," Perry said. "We are aware of a number of protests that are being planned. Permits are being issued with those closures and those restrictions in mind."
Yet another person suggested placing additional port-a-potties along the Embarcadero—not just in the footprint of Super Bowl City—to ease the pain of businesses that get hit with a flood of people needing to use the restroom. "Suggestion noted, and I will take it back to the port-a-potty team," Perry said.
