Andrew Nash
Vienna Transport Strategies

San Francisco by Andrew Nash

San Francisco is the most beautiful city in the world. It's surrounded on three sides by water, which makes its climate cool throughout the year. Mark Twain used to say that the coldest winter he ever spent was summer in San Francisco. So, even if you visit in the summer, bring a sweater and don't expect to swim in the ocean.

San Francisco is an extremely livable city. It's relatively densely developed with many different neighborhoods, each with its own flavor, character (and characters!). The best way to see it is on foot, take public transport somewhere and then just walk around.

It's also easy to escape the urban jungle. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area starts on San Francisco's north and west coast, then runs north in Marin and Sonoma counties and south into San Mateo County. Great bicycling!

I moved to the city while a UC Berkeley student in 1984 and lived there until moving to Europe. Here are some of my thoughts regarding San Francisco transport planning and my recommendations for people traveling to San Francisco (including several walking tours I developed for urban planners).

San Francisco Transport Planning

I worked as a transportation planner in the San Francisco Bay Area for just over 20 years as a consultant and for the public sector in Silicon Valley, for the Caltrain regional rail system and as Executive Director of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. Additionally, I spent many years as a citizen activist working to improve San Francisco and the Bay Area. This section presents information on some of my projects and some thoughts about San Francisco transport planning.

• Getting Around in San Francisco
• San Francisco Regional Rail Vision (2005) - A vision for SF Bay Area regional rail service presented as a speech 25-years in the future.
• Freeway Removal in San Francisco (2005) - Information on the removal of freeways in San Francisco after 1989 earthquake.
• Regional Government for the Bay Area (2003) - Paper discussing reasons for improving regional government in the San Francisco Bay Area.
• DRAFT SF Countywide Transportation Plan - Executive Summary (2000) - Download the executive summary of the transportation plan that included underground toll roadways, a vastly improved network of Muni surface transport, and other features that proved too controversial for San Francisco elected officials to even discuss rationally.
• Selected San Francisco Planning Websites

San Francisco Recommendations and Walking Tours

San Francisco's magnificent natural setting and history have combined to create a very special urban place - big enough to be a real city, but surrounded by easily accessible natural areas and parks.

A Word to the Wise: don't drive a car in San Francisco! There's lots of traffic congestion and not enough places to park. The city's transit system is good and the city is ideal for walking and biking.

San Francisco's public transit operator is the San Francisco Municipal Railway, affectionately known as "Muni". Muni offers great coverage of the entire city, although buses can be crowded and late. Muni offers a series of visitor-oriented passes.

Here are my recommendations, city tours and day trips.

• Admittedly Biased San Francisco Recommendations
• Getting Around in San Francisco
• Downtown San Francisco and the Northern Waterfront
• North Beach - Chinatown - Union Square
• Civic Center to Castro
• Mission - Haight - Golden Gate Park
• Ocean Beach - Land's End - Presidio - Golden Gate Bridge - Fort Mason
• Day Trips from San Francisco

Several organizations also offer tours:

• San Francisco City Guides offers free walking tours throughout San Francisco all year long. The site also contains links to other organizations and points of interest.
• San Francisco Architectural Heritage provides information on historic architecture in San Francisco including tours of historic buildings.
• San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) also offers tours on a regular basis.
• San Francisco Beautiful is also active in San Francisco planning. Their website provides links to reports and documents of interest to planners.
• Greenbelt Alliance has organized several tours of transit-oriented development in the San Francisco Bay Area.
• The Virtual Museum of San Francisco website has articles on the history of many San Francisco landmarks and districts.