Super Bowl 50 Committee Asks San Francisco To Take Down Muni Wires

[KamaAina]

Not The Onion!!

The bundle of joy that is Super Bowl 50 has found yet another way to mess with your commute. Not content to take over Justin Herman Plaza and a chunk of the Embarcadero in the name of a Fan Village — sweeping any and all homeless under the rug in the process — the Super Bowl 50 Committee has plans to remove the unsightly overhead Muni wires along Market Street. That this could potentially disrupt bus lines and streetcar traffic for weeks before and after the event appears to be of little concern.

While the Super Bowl itself is set to take place at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, the Fan Village will be right here in San Francisco. With street closures from January 30 to Game Day on February 7, 2016, that section of the city will effectively be shut down for eight days....

In conversation with The Examiner, Supervisor Jane Kim confirmed the Super Bowl 50 Committee's desire to pull down Muni wires.

“The (Super Bowl) committee has been very open about it," explained Kim. "They’ve said that’s what they want. They’ve definitely been asking to take down the overhead wires on Market Street.”

And what, might I ask, are they planning to do about those ghastly cable cars??

[tularetom]

1. The Superb Owl is going to be 50 fucking miles away from there

And it's only going to be there for four weeks, but the disruption will last for years.

Somebody needs to tell these people to go shit in their hat.

[KamaAina]

2. Nonsense. It's only 45 miles.

But srsly, even next-door San Jose does not have enough hotel rooms for an event of this magnitude, so many people will be staying in SF. And besides, as was once said about Oakland, "no one ever ran away from home to go to San Jose".

[tularetom]

5. I think one time visitors should experience the true Market Street ambience

-Avoiding eye contact with the louder and more threatening folks you encounter there.

-Stepping over people sleeping in doorways just off Union Square.

-Dodging piles of dog poo (not nearly the problem it was back in the days of the MacWorld Expo at Moscone Center in the 80's and 90's).

[KamaAina]

6. Are you sure it was dog poo?

Just sayin'.

[tularetom]

7. No, it may have been coyote or raccoon or mountain lion poo

(I know where you're going but I'd rather not think of that alternative).

[LuckyLib]

3. ^^This!^^ What gall to think they can demand anything for

football. But then, $$$$$ talks. People who live there can shut up.

[petronius]

4. I wish cities/regions wouldn't put up with this nonsense, but I imagine a few

well-connected decision-makers will make out like bandits. Wish they'd just tell them to come to the stadium, play their game, and GTFO.

We were in Chicago last April, and a big chunk of that park by the water was blocked off to set up a 'village' for the NFL Draft (just the draft!). Can't imagine the annoyances you Bay Area-ites are going to deal with...

[NBachers]

8. C'mon, gang! Let's all band together and do it for Brother Jed York! He really deserves our thanks.

[KamaAina]

9. I say we make him do it

and forget to power them off first.

[NBachers]

10. It could only improve the team.

[KamaAina]

11. They caved in.

http://www.sfexaminer.com/super-bowl-committee-backs-off-plans-to-remove-muni-wires/

Muni wires will not come down for the Super Bowl.

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

There was no mention of the public backlash to this plan....

The decision came after “sitting down and talking with Muni,” Ballard said. “We had never taken a final decision to take down the wires, but we want to be good partners with Muni.”