The June 6, 2001 San Francisco Chronicle (known online as SFGate) reported (
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"Roadblock to S.F.'s crooked street
Crooked street is hitting a roadblock
S.F. officials hope to turn away visitors
(06-06) 04:00 PDT San Francisco -- One of San Francisco's prime tourist sites, the "Crookedest Street in the World," may be a bit harder for visitors to find during the height of the summer season.
A key roadway leading up to the zigzag 1000 block of Lombard Street will be blocked.
The idea is to force drivers to look for another route, or, officials hope, to give up and drive elsewhere altogether on their plans and drive to another destination.
The Parking and Traffic Commission made the decision yesterday in response to residents who have complained for years that their neighborhood around the Russian Hill landmark is overrun with traffic.
But officials refused to close the famous street to traffic altogether, as some neighbors had demanded.
During the busiest time of the tourist season -- holidays and weekends during the summer months -- an estimated 350 cars an hour travel down the one- block stretch of Lombard Street between Hyde and Leavenworth streets. At times,
cars queue up for a half-hour or more for their brief joyride. The backup clogs streets for blocks around.
The street is not only popular with tourists. For many local teenagers with a brand-new driver's license, maneuvering down the brick road without mom or dad in the car is a rite of passage.
Traffic planners pushed through a number of measures yesterday they hope will ease congestion. Among them: post more parking control officers in the area to direct traffic and keep the intersections clear; and prohibit parking near the busy intersections to make it easier for cars to maneuver around.
The city also will close the one block, eastbound portion of Lombard Street between Polk Street and Van Ness Avenue on the Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day and Columbus Day weekends, from noon to 9 p.m., to divert traffic away from the area.
Tom Folks, a senior planner with the Department of Parking and Traffic, said many of tourists heading to the Crookedest Street take that route. Closing the street to traffic, he said, may encourage them to go somewhere else to snap photos and take in city sights.
However, Bond Yee, the city's chief traffic engineer, conceded "there is also a chance they'll start using the side streets." Then no doubt, it will be back to the drawing board.
For some aggravated Russian Hill residents, the city didn't go far enough.
"The problems will not disappear," said Lucrectia Rauh, who lives a block from the Crookedest Street. "The only solution is the permanent closure of (the 1000 block of) Lombard Street."
Rauh, who serves on the Crooked Street Task Force, which has been studying the traffic problems, said visitors could enjoy the flower-lined block just as much on foot. She said last year's temporary closure of the street for repairs proved that.
Closing the street to traffic to everyone but residents is now illegal and would require a change in state law.
Elton Puffer, another task force member who lives on the well-traveled stretch of Lombard, opposes such a drastic measure.
"The majority of us who live on the street do not want it closed," he said, raising concerns about how cabs and delivery trucks would serve the residents and about the overall fairness of the idea. Instead, he said, the city's new traffic flow plan should be given a chance.
Meanwhile, Parking and Traffic Commissioner Peter Mezey said the city should explore prohibiting cars on the Crookedest Street and other streets that draw tourists.
"It does affect the quality of life," he said.
Commissioner Cesar Ascarrunz said that catering to a handful of neighbors upset with the traffic jams is the wrong approach and could drive away tourists, damaging the city's chief industry.
"We have to cater to the common good of the whole city," he said.
E-mail Rachel Gordon at rgordon@sfchronicle.com."