Transit officials said to expect street closures and rerouted buses in Downtown San Francisco on Saturday because of an anti-abortion march and counterprotests. Drivers should also expect traffic disruptions across the city.
Participants of the annual Walk for Life are expected to gather at Civic Center Plaza starting at 10 a.m. before marching down Market Street toward the Embarcadero around 1:30 p.m. As a result, Muni will reroute buses that serve or cross Market Street from as early as 9 a.m. to around 4:30 p.m., the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said.
The reroutes will affect the following bus lines: F Market & Wharves, 1 California, 2 Sutter, 5 Fulton, 6 Haight/Parnassus, 7 Haight/Noriega, 8 Bayshore, 9 San Bruno, 12 Folsom/Pacific, 14 Mission, 14R Mission Rapid, 15 Bayview Hunters Point Express, 19 Polk, 21 Hayes, 27 Bryant, 30 Stockton, 31 Balboa, 38 Geary, 38R Geary Rapid, and 45 Union/Stockton.
The following streets will also be closed to traffic from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.:
- Market Street between Ninth and Steuart streets
- McAllister Street between Polk and Larkin streets
- Polk Street between McAllister and Grove streets
- Larkin Street between McAllister and Hayes streets
- Grove Street between Polk and Market streets
The SFMTA said this year's street closures and Muni reroutes were expanded due to expected counterprotests.
Every January, on or around the anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, anti-abortion protesters from across Northern California march down Market to the Embarcadero for the Walk for Life. A scuffle broke out at last year's demonstration after a small group of men walked into a counterprotest and unfurled a white supremacist banner.
More information about the reroutes and transfer options is available on the SFMTA website.