One man’s Muni dream 03.20.11

Photo by WarzauWynn
Andy has a dream. Muni Diaries is his suggestion box. Help him out here.
“What’s your dream, Andy?”, you ask.
“Why, thanks for asking!”, I’d say..
…and then I’d break into a jazzy, uptempo dance that incorporated the space. I’d twirl around a pole or two and offer a chin up or two. You know? Just to let you all know that I’m for real!
Of course, I wouldn’t be the only entertainment offered. I’d have back-up danc…well. Not back-up dancers..I’d have co-dancers. We’d offer our fellow riders a great 2.5 minute performance that would surely put a smile on their face and a jump in their step once they arrive at their stop…
And no. This would not be a one time performance. It’d be daily, if I had my way…
Then my music shuffles from said jazzy, uptempo song that happens to be playing to something else and my focus shifts…
Muni Sense of Humor 03.19.11
Tom at Ocean Beach Bulletin sends us their Pic of the Day from Friday. C’mon, this has to be intentional. Right?
Creative Waterproofing on Muni 03.18.11
Via @avolberding, who says, “Tourists battle inclement weather with shower caps on #Muni. Also totally got caught taking their photo.” Nice!
Weekend Photos: A Bit of the Everyday on Muni 03.18.11

Photo by Mark Denton
We added to the Muni Time Capsule vault this week. Check out photos from when the J-Church (and other now-Metro lines) ran aboveground on Market Street.
In Muni news this week:
- BART Budget Looking Good, Surplus Expected for Current Fiscal Year (SF Appeal)
- Man Jumped and Beaten by Gang After Exiting Muni Bus (SF Appeal)
- Powell Street BART Station to “Modernize,” Dump Asbestos (SF Appeal)
- Corroding Muni tunnels have never been seismically tested (SF Examiner)
- Can Nat Ford Keep His Job as SFMTA Executive Director? (Streetsblog SF)
Don’t forget to Like us on Facebook so you can get your daily Muni musing along with your friends’ updates. And follow Muni Diaries on Twitter for that gritty underbelly of life on Muni. Enjoy these photos and your weekend!

Photo by Bautik Joshi

Photo by Brian Brooks

Photo by Steve Rhodes

Photo by SF à gogo
Is Muni Slow Today? 03.18.11

Photo by –Mark–
Do hipsters live in the Mission?
Is money awesome?
Click to find out. The site host promises “full-blown awesome” in a week, but I think I can guess what the answer is…
Happy St. Patrick’s Day 03.17.11
davitydave sez:
These charming drunk med students were discussing implants and surgeries on their ride downtown. Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Here’s hoping you don’t need their skill set tonight.
You were warned!
Best Muni Tweets of the Week 03.17.11

Photo by @rgreenberg: “This cat’s stylin a Stacy Adams suit on #muni 31 balboa”
The @munidiaries Twitter feed is a constant stream of amusing moments on the bus. This week the tweeple of San Francisco saw some wild animals and an accordion man!
Meanwhile, on @munidiaries:
Outbound J: Guy carrying caged wild squirrel that was eating his garden, en route to release it somewhere with lots of trees. (@mrfb)
Dude is playing songs from Amelie in Civic Cntr#Muni station. Thank you #accordian man, you just made my rainy day. (@HereInSanFran)
Overheard on the Muni: “Do you know who Rihanna is?” “Nope.” (@brenden)
I literally screamed “YES!!!!” out loud in the Muni after I saw people selling Girl Scout cookies by 19th and Holloway (@unfastened)
OH on the Muni: an 8 year old girl asking her older sister “what’s Minesweeper?” #wearefossils (@turnerator)
Follow us on Twitter, tweet your ride to @munidiaries, and let us know what’s up!
No one pinch Muni Diaries 03.17.11
Win $150 in the Endanger Bus Photo Contest 03.16.11
You might have seen some beautifully wrapped buses roaming around town in the last few months. These buses are the core of the EndangerBus project by artist Todd Gilens.
Instead of thinking about buses an advertising space, Gilens wondered if buses can be a vehicle for other kinds of communication. He raised money to wrap four buses in photographs of the Brown Pelicans, Coho Salmon, Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse and Mission Blue Butterfly.
You have only a few weeks left to catch a glimpse of these buses, which create a striking contrast with the San Francisco landscape around them. Gilens, along with Muni Diaries and Bay Nature Magazine, is holding a photography contest in honor of this project. Here are the details:
Endangered Species buses Photo Contest
Find the Endangered Species buses (see bus tracker below) and catch them with your camera in motion or at rest.
Enter up to four images by emailing them to endangerbuscontest@baynature.org (minimum 1500 pixels in length or width)The contest will be judged by Cheryl Haines, director of Haines Gallery and executive director of the FOR-SITE Foundation, which she established in 2003 to support art about place.
Prizes
First place receives $150 and publication in Bay Nature Magazine.
Second place receives two tickets to the San Francisco Zoo and two $10 Clipper Cards.
Five other entrants will be picked at random to receive $10 clipper cards.
ENTRY DEADLINE: 11 p.m. April 10, 2011 Extended to May 20! Send us your photos!
To find the Endanger buses, check out the real time bus tracker that Gilens created with GreenInfo Network on the EndangerBus.org website:
MrEricSir: Muni Needs Signal Priority 03.16.11

Photo by skronk!
MrEricSir has a suggestion for making Muni more efficient:
Anyone who regularly travels on Muni Metro through [the intersection at Church and Duboce], or the similar intersection at Ulloa and West Portal, can testify that these intersections are a major source of Muni Metro delays. (The West Portal intersection is actually worse, since Muni Metro has a signal but other traffic does not.)
If we really want to be a “transit-first” city, doesn’t it make sense to have traffic signals that give preference to transit? Especially in the case of Muni Metro, which is supposed to be “rapid” but when mixed with traffic is anything but.
Of course, that would mean that all of San Francisco would have to agree with the idea that public transportation sits atop a hierarchy, above cars, bikes, pedestrians, baby strollers, unicyclists, roller bladers, Segways, etc., etc., ad infinitum. Still, we like Eric’s idea. You can read the rest of what he’s got to say about it here.
What do you think?

























