Hip hip hooray! The Muni wires will stay!

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In a swift defeat of what could very well be the dumbest idea to hit San Francisco ever (and there sure is stiff competition in that realm), the Super Bowl planning committee has withdrawn their own plan to remove Muni’s overhead trolley wires around Justin Herman Plaza.

The SF Examiner has the story:

A representative of the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee apparently said in a phone call to Supervisor Jane Kim’s office that after some analysis the committee decided it would not move through with plans to remove Muni wires.

There was no mention during the phone call of the public backlash to the plan, according to Kim’s office.

Great news, although, as Market Street Railway points out, the F-Market route will essentially be cut in half, with bus substitutes running west up Market Street and streetcars remaining along the Embarcadero. Several bus routes will be rerouted as well.

About the wires, though, Kim had this to say:

“I’m gratified that the Super Bowl 50 committee took another look at the idea of removing overhead Muni wires for the Super Bowl festival, and decided not to pursue that idea. The impact on commute times and work productivity for the folks that make San Francisco work would have been burdensome, not to mention the possible consequences for bicyclist and pedestrian safety. Those were my greatest concerns, so I’m happy that this was resolved.”

You can read the whole story over at the Examiner’s site.

Done and done. No need for the petition. But please don’t stop sharing your rad photos of Muni wires!

Photo by Lynn Friedman

Upset about the Super Bowl/Muni wires thing? Sign this petition!

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Last week, we told you about how the Stupid Super Bowl wants to take down our beloved Muni trolley wires on Market Street so they can have their stupid football party, or whatever. Since then, Erik Ogan has created a Change.org petition that you can totally sign in an attempt to stop this stupid idea from becoming reality. Go on, sign the petition.

This has been a service of the Muni Diaries Sensibility Project.

Photo by @nyxnax

MuniMobile ticketing app now available to all riders

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You’ve seen the ads on the bus. Now you can download Muni’s mobile ticket app on your pocket computers today (hat tip to Akit for his post here). The MuniMobile app is available for iPhone and Android, so you can give it a whirl.

I just downloaded the app onto my iPhone. You can only buy single tickets, a cable car ticket, or a 1,3,7-day pass. There doesn’t seem to be a way to buy a monthly pass on the mobile app, or to transfer the November monthly pass that I already bought (duh) from my Clipper Card onto the new mobile app. And you won’t be able to do inter-agency transfers to BART or Caltrain on the mobile app. So for now, I can’t really use this app until … never. But your word is better than mine: Have you used the MuniMobile ticketing app. If so, how did it work for you?

A few bits of advice from the MuniMobile people on how to use the app (hint: Don’t change your phone! Your tickets don’t automagically transfer to a new phone).

  • Don’t uninstall the MuniMobile mobile tickets app, upgrade to a new device, or reset your phone without transferring your tickets to your online account first. Your tickets are stored on your phone (which makes it possible to use them without an Internet connection), so uninstalling the app can permanently erase your tickets! To learn more about how to transfer your tickets, please visit the MuniMobile mobile ticketing website.
  • Activate your ticket by tapping the “Use” button when you see your train approaching. Your ticket must be activated before boarding a train.
  • Watch your phone battery level. Just like with paper tickets, you are responsible for making sure you have a valid fare at all times.
  • Changing your email address? Your downloaded ticket(s) are linked to the email address you used when you bought them. If you sign in to the app with a different email address, those tickets will not be available.

Hey Super Bowl 50 committee, Muni wires are actually beautiful

muni_wires_nonny1982

The Super Bowl 50 Committee plans to ask SFMTA to take down the overhead wires on Market Street during the sportsball fiesta, but honestly, we think the overhead wires are kind of nice in a photo op.

Next year’s Super Bowl will be held in Santa Clara, but the eight-day fan village will be in Justin Herman Plaza, where the mayor told KCBS that there won’t be room for the homeless or anyone. The Examiner reports that Supervisor Jane Kim confirmed the Super Bowl 50 Committee‘s desire to pull down Muni wires.

No decisions have been made about the potential request, but the Examiner says that pulling down the overhead wires could cost a “seven-figure number” requiring “lots of overtime” to remove correctly. The F, 6, 21, and 31 lines run on overhead wires in the area.

I actually think Muni overhead wires make for really beautiful photos, as evidenced by several of the photographers we’ve featured on Instagram. Maybe the Super Bowl 50 Committee can take a look at a few of these beauties?

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Photo by @nyxnax

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Photo by @geoffreyupton

muni_wires_itzjustinsane
Photo by @itsjustinsane

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Photo by @djsoul6

Top photo by @nonny1982

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