Noah Baustin

Park carefully, San Francisco. Citations are coming.

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Park carefully, San Francisco. Citations are coming.

Residents have chafed in recent weeks after their vehicles were ticketed while sitting in the <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/03/27/san-francisco-tickets-driveways-sidewalks/">same spots they’ve used for years</a>. Now, those types of citations are poised to multiply.

He’s parked in his driveway for a decade. The city just fined him $108 for doing it.

Residents have chafed in recent weeks after their vehicles were ticketed while sitting in the <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/03/27/san-francisco-tickets-driveways-sidewalks/">same spots they’ve used for years</a>. Now, those types of citations are poised to multiply.

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Director Jeffrey Tumlin announced Tuesday that parking control officers will soon begin conducting intensive enforcement operations across the city.

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Director Jeffrey Tumlin announced Tuesday that parking control officers will soon begin conducting intensive enforcement operations across the city.

“In many San Francisco neighborhoods, given the scarcity of parking control officers that we have faced for several years, there are people who think that the rules don’t exist,” Tumlin said during Tuesday’s SFMTA Board of Directors meeting. “We want to get the word out that we are finally able to start enforcing the rules.”

“In many San Francisco neighborhoods, given the scarcity of parking control officers that we have faced for several years, there are people who think that the rules don’t exist,” Tumlin said during Tuesday’s SFMTA Board of Directors meeting. “We want to get the word out that we are finally able to start enforcing the rules.”

The new intensive enforcement plan will fall outside of parking control officers’ regular duties. During the intensive enforcement operations, parking control will descend on one supervisorial district a week at a time, issuing a flurry of tickets in that neighborhood.&nbsp;

The new intensive enforcement plan will fall outside of parking control officers’ regular duties. During the intensive enforcement operations, parking control will descend on one supervisorial district a week at a time, issuing a flurry of tickets in that neighborhood.&nbsp;

The initiative is possible because the city’s parking control team is fully staffed for the first time since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, according to Tumlin.

The initiative is possible because the city’s parking control team is fully staffed for the first time since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, according to Tumlin.

SF Parking Enforcement Officers travel to issue citations to cars parked in the way of a street sweeper in the Richmond district, San Francisco on Thursday, April 11, 2024. There is a controversy around the blocked-sidewalk parking and the small garages in the city.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img height="2500" width="1541" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/inlined03_20240416-intensiveparkingenforcement.jpg?w=1541" alt="A line of parking control vehicles with flashing lights on a road." class="wp-image-268139"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">SMTA&#8217;s Agency Director Jeffrey Tumlin announced intensive parking enforcement operations will soon be taking place across the city.</figcaption></figure>

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/inlined03_20240416-intensiveparkingenforcement.jpg?w=1541" alt="A line of parking control vehicles with flashing lights on a road." class="wp-image-268139"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">SMTA's Agency Director Jeffrey Tumlin announced intensive parking enforcement operations will soon be taking place across the city.</figcaption></figure>

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/inlined03_20240416-intensiveparkingenforcement.jpg?w=1541" alt="A line of parking control vehicles with flashing lights on a road." class="wp-image-268139"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">SMTA&#8217;s Agency Director Jeffrey Tumlin announced intensive parking enforcement operations will soon be taking place across the city.</figcaption></figure>

The weeklong intensive push will happen in each district about once every three months, according to SFMTA spokesperson Michael Roccaforte.

The weeklong intensive push will happen in each district about once every three months, according to SFMTA spokesperson Michael Roccaforte.

Intensive deployments will prioritize safety-related violations, such as <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/04/13/parking-in-driveway-blocking-sidewalk-garage/">parking on sidewalks</a> or in bike lanes, blocking crosswalks and parking too close to an intersection, said Roccaforte.

Why drivers risk tickets instead of parking in their garages

Intensive deployments will prioritize safety-related violations, such as <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/04/13/parking-in-driveway-blocking-sidewalk-garage/">parking on sidewalks</a> or in bike lanes, blocking crosswalks and parking too close to an intersection, said Roccaforte.

“People who park on the sidewalk, in bike lanes or in a crosswalk put pedestrians and bicyclists at risk by forcing them into traffic or obstructing people using wheelchairs or other mobility devices,” a spokesperson for Mayor London Breed told The Standard.&nbsp;

“People who park on the sidewalk, in bike lanes or in a crosswalk put pedestrians and bicyclists at risk by forcing them into traffic or obstructing people using wheelchairs or other mobility devices,” a spokesperson for Mayor London Breed told The Standard.&nbsp;

San Francisco street safety has taken center stage since a family of four was <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/03/20/west-portal-crash-baby-dies/">killed in March after</a> an SUV crashed into a bus shelter. In response, Breed called for a <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/03/28/san-francisco-street-safety-mayor-vision-zero/">complete overhaul of city streets</a> and renewed San Francisco’s commitment to Vision Zero, an initiative that aims to eliminate traffic fatalities.&nbsp;

Infant boy dies from injuries after West Portal crash

With 11 traffic deaths already in 2024, mayor calls for &#8216;complete overhaul&#8217; of city streets

San Francisco street safety has taken center stage since a family of four was <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/03/20/west-portal-crash-baby-dies/">killed in March after</a> an SUV crashed into a bus shelter. In response, Breed called for a <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/03/28/san-francisco-street-safety-mayor-vision-zero/">complete overhaul of city streets</a> and renewed San Francisco’s commitment to Vision Zero, an initiative that aims to eliminate traffic fatalities.&nbsp;

Twelve people have died in traffic incidents in San Francisco in 2024, according to preliminary <a href="https://app.powerbigov.us/view?r=eyJrIjoiMGNmMDdmNmQtMTA1Ni00NTFmLWI5YmQtNzZiNDU0YWE4NmJmIiwidCI6IjIyZDVjMmNmLWNlM2UtNDQzZC05YTdmLWRmY2MwMjMxZjczZiJ9">SFMTA data</a>.

Twelve people have died in traffic incidents in San Francisco in 2024, according to preliminary <a href="https://app.powerbigov.us/view?r=eyJrIjoiMGNmMDdmNmQtMTA1Ni00NTFmLWI5YmQtNzZiNDU0YWE4NmJmIiwidCI6IjIyZDVjMmNmLWNlM2UtNDQzZC05YTdmLWRmY2MwMjMxZjczZiJ9">SFMTA data</a>.

Trevor Adams, a parking control officer for the SFMTA, prints a parking ticket to a car parked at an expired meter on Chestnut Street in the Marina District in San Francisco on March 21, 2017.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img height="1666" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/inlined01_20240416-intensiveparkingenforcement.jpg?w=2500" alt="Parking officer in a blue uniform writes a ticket by a car, with a handheld device and paper." class="wp-image-268137"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Trevor Adams, a parking control officer for the SFMTA, issues a parking ticket on March 21, 2017.</figcaption></figure>

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/inlined01_20240416-intensiveparkingenforcement.jpg?w=2500" alt="Parking officer in a blue uniform writes a ticket by a car, with a handheld device and paper." class="wp-image-268137"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Trevor Adams, a parking control officer for the SFMTA, issues a parking ticket on March 21, 2017.</figcaption></figure>

Despite a decade of work under Vision Zero’s banner, the program has failed to stem deaths on city streets. However, Breed has recently thrown her weight behind the initiative, identifying her top priorities as designating <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/04/02/right-on-red-banned-san-francisco/">more intersections as “no right on red”</a>, expanding the practice of daylighting intersections by removing parking spots close to crosswalks and ramping up enforcement.

City bans right turn on red at 200 downtown intersections. Activists want more

Despite a decade of work under Vision Zero’s banner, the program has failed to stem deaths on city streets. However, Breed has recently thrown her weight behind the initiative, identifying her top priorities as designating <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/04/02/right-on-red-banned-san-francisco/">more intersections as “no right on red”</a>, expanding the practice of daylighting intersections by removing parking spots close to crosswalks and ramping up enforcement.

SFMTA has faced criticism for moving too slowly on street safety infrastructure projects since Vision Zero launched back in 2014. In March, Supervisor Connie Chan announced her intention to introduce an emergency declaration prioritizing the completion of Vision Zero infrastructure projects on the city’s most dangerous streets.

SFMTA has faced criticism for moving too slowly on street safety infrastructure projects since Vision Zero launched back in 2014. In March, Supervisor Connie Chan announced her intention to introduce an emergency declaration prioritizing the completion of Vision Zero infrastructure projects on the city’s most dangerous streets.

“This request today reflects the emergency on our streets right now, which has been exacerbated by the SFMTA’s lack of management, strategy and urgency to prioritize these projects in a timely fashion,” Chan said.

“This request today reflects the emergency on our streets right now, which has been exacerbated by the SFMTA’s lack of management, strategy and urgency to prioritize these projects in a timely fashion,” Chan said.

Parking crackdown: Transit boss warns of coming enforcement blitz

David Sjostedt

A sinkhole in Downtown San Francisco forced an intersection to close and suspended cable car service on Tuesday evening.

A sinkhole in Downtown San Francisco forced an intersection to close and suspended cable car service on Tuesday evening.

The cable car service is running normally as of Wednesday morning. The San Francisco Fire Department alerted residents around 7:30 p.m. that a sinkhole had developed near California and Montgomery streets, urging people to avoid the area. A SFFD spokesperson told The Standard the hole was located in the middle of the intersection next to the cable car tracks, measuring about three feet deep and four feet wide. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said it temporarily suspended California Street&#8217;s cable car service due to the incident. The agency said on X that it was unsure whether the street&#8217;s bus line would operate on Wednesday.

The cable car service is running normally as of Wednesday morning. The San Francisco Fire Department alerted residents around 7:30 p.m. that a sinkhole had developed near California and Montgomery streets, urging people to avoid the area. A SFFD spokesperson told The Standard the hole was located in the middle of the intersection next to the cable car tracks, measuring about three feet deep and four feet wide. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said it temporarily suspended California Street's cable car service due to the incident. The agency said on X that it was unsure whether the street's bus line would operate on Wednesday.

The cable car service is running normally as of Wednesday morning. The San Francisco Fire Department alerted residents around 7:30 p.m. that a sinkhole had developed near California and Montgomery streets, urging people to avoid the area. A SFFD spokesperson told The Standard the hole was located in the middle of the intersection next to the cable car tracks, measuring about three feet deep and four feet wide. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said it temporarily suspended California Street&#8217;s cable car service due to the incident. The agency said on X that it was unsure whether the street&#8217;s bus line would operate on Wednesday.

A sinkhole on California Street was roughly three feet deep, according to a spokesperson from the San Francisco Fire Department.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img height="1875" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/img_3520.jpg?w=2500" alt="A worker uses a broom to brush water on a cable car track next to a sinkhole" class="wp-image-240152"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A sinkhole on California Street measures roughly 3 feet deep, according to the San Francisco Fire Department.</figcaption></figure>

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/img_3520.jpg?w=2500" alt="A worker uses a broom to brush water on a cable car track next to a sinkhole" class="wp-image-240152"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A sinkhole on California Street measures roughly 3 feet deep, according to the San Francisco Fire Department.</figcaption></figure>

READ MORE: <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/01/16/27-year-old-san-francisco-woman-identified-as-victim-in-half-moon-bay-plane-crash/">San Francisco Woman, 27, Identified as Half Moon Bay Plane Crash Victim</a>

San Francisco woman, 27, identified as Half Moon Bay plane crash victim

READ MORE: <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/01/16/27-year-old-san-francisco-woman-identified-as-victim-in-half-moon-bay-plane-crash/">San Francisco Woman, 27, Identified as Half Moon Bay Plane Crash Victim</a>

The fire department said the Department of Public Works had stopped the hole from growing by 9 p.m. Tuesday. The cause is still being investigated.

The fire department said the Department of Public Works had stopped the hole from growing by 9 p.m. Tuesday. The cause is still being investigated.

The Public Works did not immediately respond to The Standard&#8217;s request for comment. The SFFD spokesperson said Public Works at the scene were confident the intersection would be open by Wednesday morning.

The Public Works did not immediately respond to The Standard's request for comment. The SFFD spokesperson said Public Works at the scene were confident the intersection would be open by Wednesday morning.

The Public Works did not immediately respond to The Standard&#8217;s request for comment. The SFFD spokesperson said Public Works at the scene were confident the intersection would be open by Wednesday morning.

This is a developing story.

Sinkhole shuts down cable car in downtown San Francisco

Adam Rogers

In the oldest parts of San Francisco, the streets are narrow, the grid is idiosyncratic, and everything is hills. There’s a reason the city’s most famous cars get dragged along by cables. Topography, infrastructure, and self-image have long conspired to keep the automobile from being the people’s choice for getting around.&nbsp;

In the oldest parts of San Francisco, the streets are narrow, the grid is idiosyncratic, and everything is hills. There’s a reason the city’s most famous cars get dragged along by cables. Topography, infrastructure, and self-image have long conspired to keep the automobile from being the people’s choice for getting around.&nbsp;

But despite that legacy, San Francisco may be on the verge of becoming something else entirely: a car city.

But despite that legacy, San Francisco may be on the verge of becoming something else entirely: a car city.

The data is mounting: Car use is back up from pandemic dips to 2019 levels, transit use is at a historic low, and the parts of the city most conducive to private automobiles (the west, southeast, and north sides) are thriving, while once-busy, denser areas like downtown are stagnating. Efforts to redesign streets to force cars to share with bikes, people, and buses seem stalled. The mayor wants to reopen Market Street to Waymo and might do the same soon for Uber and Lyft.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The data is mounting: Car use is back up from pandemic dips to 2019 levels, transit use is at a historic low, and the parts of the city most conducive to private automobiles (the west, southeast, and north sides) are thriving, while once-busy, denser areas like downtown are stagnating. Efforts to redesign streets to force cars to share with bikes, people, and buses seem stalled. The mayor wants to reopen Market Street to Waymo and might do the same soon for Uber and Lyft.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Forget the supposed <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/10/02/great-highway-controversy-race-class/">war on cars</a>: In San Francisco, the cars are winning.&nbsp;

The war over the Great Highway is tearing the Sunset apart

Forget the supposed <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/10/02/great-highway-controversy-race-class/">war on cars</a>: In San Francisco, the cars are winning.&nbsp;

And once car dependence starts, it tends to keep going. Pretty soon, motorists become a voting bloc; witness the contentious effort to recall Supervisor Joel Engardio over his role in converting a section of the Great Highway to a park. Drivers begin demanding that the city prioritize cars, and a city designed for cars makes cars more appealing. More drivers beget more driver-friendly policies, which encourage more driving. It’s a self-reinforcing cycle — a vroom loop, if you will.&nbsp;

And once car dependence starts, it tends to keep going. Pretty soon, motorists become a voting bloc; witness the contentious effort to recall Supervisor Joel Engardio over his role in converting a section of the Great Highway to a park. Drivers begin demanding that the city prioritize cars, and a city designed for cars makes cars more appealing. More drivers beget more driver-friendly policies, which encourage more driving. It’s a self-reinforcing cycle — a vroom loop, if you will.&nbsp;

And the more that starts spinning, the more San Francisco becomes the thing it claims to oppose.

And the more that starts spinning, the more San Francisco becomes the thing it claims to oppose.

A pedestrian crosses South Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco, on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. Members from Walk San Francisco put memorial signs at the sites of traffic fatalities. According to the foundation, 317 individuals have died over the last 10 years from traffic related incidents in San Francisco.

<figure class="wp-block-image alignfull size-large"><img height="1668" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/20241108-crashmemorialsign_0943.jpg?w=2500" alt="A busy urban intersection features cars, a mail truck, and a pedestrian crossing under a clear blue sky with visible power lines and buildings." class="wp-image-331075"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Forty-two people were killed in auto collisions in San Francisco in 2024; 21 have died so far this year.</figcaption></figure>

<figure class="wp-block-image alignfull size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/20241108-crashmemorialsign_0943.jpg?w=2500" alt="A busy urban intersection features cars, a mail truck, and a pedestrian crossing under a clear blue sky with visible power lines and buildings." class="wp-image-331075"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Forty-two people were killed in auto collisions in San Francisco in 2024; 21 have died so far this year.</figcaption></figure>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-car-use-is-up-transit-is-down">Car use is up, transit is down</h2>

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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-car-use-is-up-transit-is-down">Car use is up, transit is down</h2>

In many ways, cars contradict San Francisco’s self-image. We are the capital of ornery progressivism and bike-riding outdoorishness. We love trains so much that we run restored trolleys from other cities on our tracks. That’s hardcore. Meanwhile, we are opposed to everything cars stand for: They emit carbon and fuel climate change; add to noise and light pollution; create public nuisances from sideshows to double-parked DoorDash drivers; and, most critically, they kill a lot of people.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In many ways, cars contradict San Francisco’s self-image. We are the capital of ornery progressivism and bike-riding outdoorishness. We love trains so much that we run restored trolleys from other cities on our tracks. That’s hardcore. Meanwhile, we are opposed to everything cars stand for: They emit carbon and fuel climate change; add to noise and light pollution; create public nuisances from sideshows to double-parked DoorDash drivers; and, most critically, they kill a lot of people.&nbsp;&nbsp;

But the city’s affinity for public transit, bikes, and walking has hit some speed bumps. Urbanites choose how they get around based on an intricate calculus: What’s easy? What’s fast? What’s comfortable? What’s affordable? If every other way to get around is less convenient and reliable, and forces people to confront the raw edges of urban life, then the car starts to look like a solution.

But the city’s affinity for public transit, bikes, and walking has hit some speed bumps. Urbanites choose how they get around based on an intricate calculus: What’s easy? What’s fast? What’s comfortable? What’s affordable? If every other way to get around is less convenient and reliable, and forces people to confront the raw edges of urban life, then the car starts to look like a solution.

Great Highway closure made Sunset traffic worse, data shows

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That’s where we’re at. Our public transit system was built to move people to and from downtown, but because downtown is commercial, it’s vulnerable to economic cycles. It was full of technology workers, but Covid nudged those jobs to remote ones. It was full of big stores beckoning regional shoppers and tourists, and then those shoppers got scared away by crime and misery and captured by Amazon.&nbsp;

That’s where we’re at. Our public transit system was built to move people to and from downtown, but because downtown is commercial, it’s vulnerable to economic cycles. It was full of technology workers, but Covid nudged those jobs to remote ones. It was full of big stores beckoning regional shoppers and tourists, and then those shoppers got scared away by crime and misery and captured by Amazon.&nbsp;

Per capita, San Franciscans still use public transit more than residents of any other U.S. city except New York. But after Covid, transit use <a href="https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/transit-ridership-hasnt-recovered-pandemic-what-can-us-learn-french-transit-systems">declined more here than anywhere</a> else. In May 2019, BART turnstiles counted an average of 412,165 people every weekday. In May 2025, that number had plummeted to 170,293. Caltrain is carrying fewer than half as many people as it did in 2019.&nbsp;

Per capita, San Franciscans still use public transit more than residents of any other U.S. city except New York. But after Covid, transit use <a href="https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/transit-ridership-hasnt-recovered-pandemic-what-can-us-learn-french-transit-systems">declined more here than anywhere</a> else. In May 2019, BART turnstiles counted an average of 412,165 people every weekday. In May 2025, that number had plummeted to 170,293. Caltrain is carrying fewer than half as many people as it did in 2019.&nbsp;

The story with city buses is less clear but still shows declines. Muni ridership <a href="https://www.sfmta.com/media/15901/download?inline#:~:text=This%20chart%20depicts%20Average%20Weekday,2017%20had%20716%2C000.">peaked</a> right around the dot-com bubble at the turn of this century — topping off at 754,000 average weekday riders. It stayed in the high 600,000 range until the pandemic. <a href="https://www.sfmta.com/blog/muni-matters-ridership-rise#:~:text=Muni%20platforms%20continue%20to%20see%20increased%20traffic.,of%2013.5%20million%20trips%20compared%20to%202023.">In 2024,</a> four years after Covid, weekly average Muni ridership, though rising, was at 486,000.

The story with city buses is less clear but still shows declines. Muni ridership <a href="https://www.sfmta.com/media/15901/download?inline#:~:text=This%20chart%20depicts%20Average%20Weekday,2017%20had%20716%2C000.">peaked</a> right around the dot-com bubble at the turn of this century — topping off at 754,000 average weekday riders. It stayed in the high 600,000 range until the pandemic. <a href="https://www.sfmta.com/blog/muni-matters-ridership-rise#:~:text=Muni%20platforms%20continue%20to%20see%20increased%20traffic.,of%2013.5%20million%20trips%20compared%20to%202023.">In 2024,</a> four years after Covid, weekly average Muni ridership, though rising, was at 486,000.

A car passes the 37-Corbett Muni (San Francisco Municipal Railway) bus on Masonic Avenue, in San Francisco, on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Transportation (SFMTA) leadership indicated that barring additional funding, the agency will need to cut up to 20 Muni (San Francisco Municipal Railway) bus system lines starting as early as this summer.

<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img height="1668" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Muni07052023_42.jpg?w=2500" alt="A city bus parked by the curb with a blurred car passing by in front, and classic houses in the background." class="wp-image-216663"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Despite longstanding goals of becoming a &#8220;transit-first&#8221; city, San Francisco has failed to expand its transit system.</figcaption></figure>

<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Muni07052023_42.jpg?w=2500" alt="A city bus parked by the curb with a blurred car passing by in front, and classic houses in the background." class="wp-image-216663"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Despite longstanding goals of becoming a "transit-first" city, San Francisco has failed to expand its transit system.</figcaption></figure>

<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Muni07052023_42.jpg?w=2500" alt="A city bus parked by the curb with a blurred car passing by in front, and classic houses in the background." class="wp-image-216663"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Despite longstanding goals of becoming a &#8220;transit-first&#8221; city, San Francisco has failed to expand its transit system.</figcaption></figure>

Other cities&#8217; downtowns and transit systems recovered far better. “But San Francisco struggles, comparatively,” says Yonah Freemark, a researcher at the Housing and Communities Division at the Urban Institute. “It has not really expanded its transit system and has not been able to attract employers downtown, and it is a wealthier region with less of a working-class need to use transit.”

Other cities' downtowns and transit systems recovered far better. “But San Francisco struggles, comparatively,” says Yonah Freemark, a researcher at the Housing and Communities Division at the Urban Institute. “It has not really expanded its transit system and has not been able to attract employers downtown, and it is a wealthier region with less of a working-class need to use transit.”

Other cities&#8217; downtowns and transit systems recovered far better. “But San Francisco struggles, comparatively,” says Yonah Freemark, a researcher at the Housing and Communities Division at the Urban Institute. “It has not really expanded its transit system and has not been able to attract employers downtown, and it is a wealthier region with less of a working-class need to use transit.”

Car use, meanwhile, is back. For all the efforts the city has made to get people out of automobiles — erecting bike lanes and slow streets, launching bike share programs, and closing off entire boulevards to traffic — car ownership has held steady for decades, at around 70%. San Francisco drivers put a total of <a href="https://congestion.sfcta.org/">9.4 million miles</a> on their cars every day, just a touch shy of the same stat 25 years ago.&nbsp;

Car use, meanwhile, is back. For all the efforts the city has made to get people out of automobiles — erecting bike lanes and slow streets, launching bike share programs, and closing off entire boulevards to traffic — car ownership has held steady for decades, at around 70%. San Francisco drivers put a total of <a href="https://congestion.sfcta.org/">9.4 million miles</a> on their cars every day, just a touch shy of the same stat 25 years ago.&nbsp;

According to a <a href="https://www.sfmta.com/press-releases/press-release-san-francisco-celebrates-bike-and-roll-school-week-new-data-shows-growth-student-transit-and-bike-trips-passing-pre-pandemic-levels">survey by the SF Unified School District</a>, 49% of all school trips are by car. In May, newly installed speed cameras captured nearly <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/san-francisco-s-new-speed-cameras-caught-nearly-20421378.php">100,000 people speeding</a> at busy intersections around the city. And car commuters are still commuting: Bay Bridge tolls regularly <a href="https://www.bayareaeconomy.org/bay-area-bridge-crossings-monthly-tracker/">exceed pre-pandemic levels</a>, and the other bridges are close.&nbsp;

According to a <a href="https://www.sfmta.com/press-releases/press-release-san-francisco-celebrates-bike-and-roll-school-week-new-data-shows-growth-student-transit-and-bike-trips-passing-pre-pandemic-levels">survey by the SF Unified School District</a>, 49% of all school trips are by car. In May, newly installed speed cameras captured nearly <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/san-francisco-s-new-speed-cameras-caught-nearly-20421378.php">100,000 people speeding</a> at busy intersections around the city. And car commuters are still commuting: Bay Bridge tolls regularly <a href="https://www.bayareaeconomy.org/bay-area-bridge-crossings-monthly-tracker/">exceed pre-pandemic levels</a>, and the other bridges are close.&nbsp;

That’s before you consider the many cars operating as ride shares or private taxis. Whether Uber, Lyft, and Waymo are replacing transit rides with car rides isn’t clear, but it seems likely. The <a href="https://www.sfcta.org/tncs-2020">best analysis</a> is from 2020, pre-Covid and before Waymo came to town, so it’s not especially helpful. These services probably worsen congestion and pollution, though some evidence suggests they <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11116-024-10566-6">complement transit</a> use in certain corridors. Either way, they add more cars to the mix. Even robot cars, though exciting and futuristic and probably safer than human-driven ones, are just cars.&nbsp;

That’s before you consider the many cars operating as ride shares or private taxis. Whether Uber, Lyft, and Waymo are replacing transit rides with car rides isn’t clear, but it seems likely. The <a href="https://www.sfcta.org/tncs-2020">best analysis</a> is from 2020, pre-Covid and before Waymo came to town, so it’s not especially helpful. These services probably worsen congestion and pollution, though some evidence suggests they <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11116-024-10566-6">complement transit</a> use in certain corridors. Either way, they add more cars to the mix. Even robot cars, though exciting and futuristic and probably safer than human-driven ones, are just cars.&nbsp;

“If you plan for people and places, you get people and places. If you plan for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic,” says Marcel Moran, a faculty fellow at the NYU Center for Urban Science and Progress. “If you’re in the avenues, the Richmond or the Sunset, the vast majority of the public right-of-way has been reserved for car movement and car storage.”

“If you plan for people and places, you get people and places. If you plan for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic,” says Marcel Moran, a faculty fellow at the NYU Center for Urban Science and Progress. “If you’re in the avenues, the Richmond or the Sunset, the vast majority of the public right-of-way has been reserved for car movement and car storage.”

This divergence shows up most clearly in the city’s commercial landscape. The most vibrant recreational and shopping nodes are served best by car and transit, rather than transit alone. When it comes to shopping, citywide <a href="https://sfstax.hdlgov.com/geodata/">sales tax revenue</a> has fallen 28% since 2020. <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/sf-sales-tax-neighborhood-19394489.php">Downtown took the hardest hits</a>: The Financial District is down 38%, South of Market is down 42.6%, and Mid-Market dropped more than 80%. San Francisco Centre, the former Westfield Mall downtown, has lost nearly all of its tenants, and its owner gave the keys back to the bank.&nbsp;

This divergence shows up most clearly in the city’s commercial landscape. The most vibrant recreational and shopping nodes are served best by car and transit, rather than transit alone. When it comes to shopping, citywide <a href="https://sfstax.hdlgov.com/geodata/">sales tax revenue</a> has fallen 28% since 2020. <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/sf-sales-tax-neighborhood-19394489.php">Downtown took the hardest hits</a>: The Financial District is down 38%, South of Market is down 42.6%, and Mid-Market dropped more than 80%. San Francisco Centre, the former Westfield Mall downtown, has lost nearly all of its tenants, and its owner gave the keys back to the bank.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, in Japantown — where parking is relatively easy and transit lines are plentiful — every storefront is full, and the walkways are shoulder-to-shoulder. Japantown is actually bringing in more sales tax revenue than it did in 2019; it also sits atop the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/japantown-stonestown-galleria-mall-20331459.php">biggest and most profitable</a> SFMTA-owned parking lot in the city.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, in Japantown — where parking is relatively easy and transit lines are plentiful — every storefront is full, and the walkways are shoulder-to-shoulder. Japantown is actually bringing in more sales tax revenue than it did in 2019; it also sits atop the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/japantown-stonestown-galleria-mall-20331459.php">biggest and most profitable</a> SFMTA-owned parking lot in the city.&nbsp;

Similarly, Stonestown Galleria on the west side is the city’s hottest <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2023/10/06/san-francisco-stonestown-japanese-retail-shopping/">shopping</a>, <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/07/03/stonestown-restaurants-best/">dining,</a> and <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/12/14/round-1-arcade-stonestown-galleria/">entertainment </a>destination, supported by Asian restaurant chains and a vast late-night gaming and entertainment center. It’s also a commercial harbor surrounded by a sea of free parking — and, like Japantown, it’s outperforming its 2019 sales tax numbers.

Stonestown Galleria has quietly become San Francisco&#8217;s second Japantown

We ate at all 27 restaurants at Stonestown — these are the mall&#8217;s best and worst

Stonestown just opened SF&#8217;s largest arcade — and it&#8217;s already packed

Similarly, Stonestown Galleria on the west side is the city’s hottest <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2023/10/06/san-francisco-stonestown-japanese-retail-shopping/">shopping</a>, <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/07/03/stonestown-restaurants-best/">dining,</a> and <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/12/14/round-1-arcade-stonestown-galleria/">entertainment </a>destination, supported by Asian restaurant chains and a vast late-night gaming and entertainment center. It’s also a commercial harbor surrounded by a sea of free parking — and, like Japantown, it’s outperforming its 2019 sales tax numbers.

Yes, these neighborhoods benefit from nearby transit — but in a city drifting toward car reliance, ease of driving appears to be a decisive edge.&nbsp;

Yes, these neighborhoods benefit from nearby transit — but in a city drifting toward car reliance, ease of driving appears to be a decisive edge.&nbsp;

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 19: In an aerial view, traffic moves on the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge on May 19, 2025 in San Francisco, California. Republican lawmakers in Washington DC are poised to vote on waivers that allow California to set its own emission standards. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

<figure class="wp-block-image alignfull size-large"><img height="1785" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/gettyimages-2215956159.jpg?w=2500" alt="The image shows a busy suspension bridge with multiple lanes of traffic spanning across a body of water, connecting to a distant, hilly landscape." class="wp-image-423308"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Bay Bridge traffic regularly exceeds pre-pandemic levels.</figcaption></figure>

<figure class="wp-block-image alignfull size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/gettyimages-2215956159.jpg?w=2500" alt="The image shows a busy suspension bridge with multiple lanes of traffic spanning across a body of water, connecting to a distant, hilly landscape." class="wp-image-423308"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Bay Bridge traffic regularly exceeds pre-pandemic levels.</figcaption></figure>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-past-crashes-into-the-present-nbsp">The past crashes into the present&nbsp;</h2>

San Francisco’s far-flung neighborhoods seem car-dependent now — but they were designed for streetcars.

San Francisco’s far-flung neighborhoods seem car-dependent now — but they were designed for streetcars.

In the 1890s, the <a href="https://www.cablecarmuseum.org/co-map.html">cable car system</a> spanned the city, from the Mission to Fisherman’s Wharf and from the Ferry Building to Golden Gate Park. Fifty years later, a <a href="https://sfstreetcars.co/">spiderweb of light rail lines</a> covered the East Bay, crossing the then-new Bay Bridge (the lower deck was reserved for trains) to reach the old Transbay Terminal, where it met a dense meshwork of trolley lines that extended all the way to, I kid you not, San Mateo.&nbsp;

In the 1890s, the <a href="https://www.cablecarmuseum.org/co-map.html">cable car system</a> spanned the city, from the Mission to Fisherman’s Wharf and from the Ferry Building to Golden Gate Park. Fifty years later, a <a href="https://sfstreetcars.co/">spiderweb of light rail lines</a> covered the East Bay, crossing the then-new Bay Bridge (the lower deck was reserved for trains) to reach the old Transbay Terminal, where it met a dense meshwork of trolley lines that extended all the way to, I kid you not, San Mateo.&nbsp;

But in the postwar American city, the main characters don’t glide along rails; they weigh two tons and speed along wide, banked avenues at 40 miles an hour. Sure, San Francisco said no to more freeway construction and even tore down some of the ones that did get built. But though righteous, the “<a href="https://direct.mit.edu/rest/article/doi/10.1162/rest_a_01244/113170/Freeway-Revolts-The-Quality-of-Life-Effects-of">freeway revolts</a>” weren’t born of some unified vision of European walkability, or even in defense of the poorer, non-white neighborhoods where freeways tended to be built. It was a typically San Franciscan resistance to change — the same reason there isn’t a BART line to the beach or dense, infill-type housing citywide.&nbsp;

But in the postwar American city, the main characters don’t glide along rails; they weigh two tons and speed along wide, banked avenues at 40 miles an hour. Sure, San Francisco said no to more freeway construction and even tore down some of the ones that did get built. But though righteous, the “<a href="https://direct.mit.edu/rest/article/doi/10.1162/rest_a_01244/113170/Freeway-Revolts-The-Quality-of-Life-Effects-of">freeway revolts</a>” weren’t born of some unified vision of European walkability, or even in defense of the poorer, non-white neighborhoods where freeways tended to be built. It was a typically San Franciscan resistance to change — the same reason there isn’t a BART line to the beach or dense, infill-type housing citywide.&nbsp;

San Franciscans are fundamentally conservative about anything that remodels their mental map of the city. That goes double when the changes to the map impact cars — and specifically, where we’re supposed to park them. The darkest fears of NIMBYs don’t revolve around falling home values or rising urban density — they’re over losing parking.

San Franciscans are fundamentally conservative about anything that remodels their mental map of the city. That goes double when the changes to the map impact cars — and specifically, where we’re supposed to park them. The darkest fears of NIMBYs don’t revolve around falling home values or rising urban density — they’re over losing parking.

“Parking policy is the most boring thing to read about,” says Jason M. Henderson, a geographer at San Francisco State who studies mobility. “But it’s also the most emotional issue, when it comes to somebody’s parking space. Or what they think of as their parking space.”

“Parking policy is the most boring thing to read about,” says Jason M. Henderson, a geographer at San Francisco State who studies mobility. “But it’s also the most emotional issue, when it comes to somebody’s parking space. Or what they think of as their parking space.”

Another powerful motivator for motorists: Cars shield them from the parts of the city they’d rather not see, and the people they’d rather not cross paths with. By comparison to transit, cars feel like a technological cocoon that lets riders avoid dealing with anyone on the street having a mental health or substance abuse crisis. They’re not just private but safe.

Another powerful motivator for motorists: Cars shield them from the parts of the city they’d rather not see, and the people they’d rather not cross paths with. By comparison to transit, cars feel like a technological cocoon that lets riders avoid dealing with anyone on the street having a mental health or substance abuse crisis. They’re not just private but safe.

San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott, center, places flowers while honoring victims of Saturdayʼs fatal collision at a Muni bus stop at Ulloa Street and Lenox Way during a vigil hosted by Walk SF and Bay Area Families for Safe Streets in West Portal in San Francisco on March 18, 2024. A 78-year-old woman was arrested on multiple suspected charges after three members of the same family died, after the vehicle she was driving crashed into them.

<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img height="1667" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/westportalvigil_123.jpg?w=2500" alt="A police chief lays flowers on the ground in front of a crowd." class="wp-image-274301"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Former SFPD Chief Bill Scott places flowers at a memorial for the victims of a fatal collision at a Muni bus stop in 2024.</figcaption></figure>

<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/westportalvigil_123.jpg?w=2500" alt="A police chief lays flowers on the ground in front of a crowd." class="wp-image-274301"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Former SFPD Chief Bill Scott places flowers at a memorial for the victims of a fatal collision at a Muni bus stop in 2024.</figcaption></figure>

But this is an illusion, of course. Cars aren’t safe. Forty-two people were killed in auto collisions in San Francisco in 2024; another <a href="https://transpomaps.org/projects/san-francisco/traffic-fatalities">21 have died so far this year</a>. In fact, cars have become <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/mm7408a2.htm">more dangerous</a> to everyone outside them. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212012221000241?via%3Dihub">From 2000 to 2020</a>, people killed inside cars went down 20%, while pedestrian deaths rose 30%, in part because the average American vehicle has become larger and heavier. At the same time, the marketing shifted: Cars were once sold as freedom; now they’re sold <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2015.02.001">as fortresses</a>.

But this is an illusion, of course. Cars aren’t safe. Forty-two people were killed in auto collisions in San Francisco in 2024; another <a href="https://transpomaps.org/projects/san-francisco/traffic-fatalities">21 have died so far this year</a>. In fact, cars have become <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/mm7408a2.htm">more dangerous</a> to everyone outside them. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212012221000241?via%3Dihub">From 2000 to 2020</a>, people killed inside cars went down 20%, while pedestrian deaths rose 30%, in part because the average American vehicle has become larger and heavier. At the same time, the marketing shifted: Cars were once sold as freedom; now they’re sold <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2015.02.001">as fortresses</a>.

That Ford truck may seem ruggedly individualistic, but it’s also wimpy. It magnifies how its driver perceives the real and imagined dangers of the Big City. A small study in 2013 hinted that people in cars thought neighborhoods were <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2013.09.005">poorer and scarier</a> than they did if they were walking in those same places.&nbsp;

That Ford truck may seem ruggedly individualistic, but it’s also wimpy. It magnifies how its driver perceives the real and imagined dangers of the Big City. A small study in 2013 hinted that people in cars thought neighborhoods were <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2013.09.005">poorer and scarier</a> than they did if they were walking in those same places.&nbsp;

So, driving makes you feel safer, but it also makes you think the city you’re driving through is more dangerous. Which, of course, makes you want to keep driving.&nbsp;

So, driving makes you feel safer, but it also makes you think the city you’re driving through is more dangerous. Which, of course, makes you want to keep driving.&nbsp;

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-breaking-the-vroom-loop">Breaking the vroom loop</h2>

In spite of all the forces pushing San Franciscans into cars, the vroom loop isn’t inevitable. BART ridership rose 6.5% in the first three months of 2025; Muni was up about 4%. Ferry ridership is up by double-digit percentages. <a href="https://thefrisc.com/an-electric-caltrain-has-jolted-sf-ridership-can-downtown-fun-keep-them-coming/">Electrification of Caltrain</a> has resulted in a 60% jump in ridership, better service, and a look and feel that’s practically European.

In spite of all the forces pushing San Franciscans into cars, the vroom loop isn’t inevitable. BART ridership rose 6.5% in the first three months of 2025; Muni was up about 4%. Ferry ridership is up by double-digit percentages. <a href="https://thefrisc.com/an-electric-caltrain-has-jolted-sf-ridership-can-downtown-fun-keep-them-coming/">Electrification of Caltrain</a> has resulted in a 60% jump in ridership, better service, and a look and feel that’s practically European.

The city closed the Great Highway and JFK Drive to car traffic. Market Street’s closure to private cars didn’t come with the other improvements needed to make it a great public space, but it’s still (mostly) in effect. Since the 1990s, San Francisco has built more than <a href="https://www.kqed.org/news/11941576/the-night-that-changed-san-francisco-cycling-forever#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20San%20Franciscans%20made,as%20many%20people%20on%20bikes.">460 miles</a> of bike lanes. Many Covid-era “safe streets” remain in place.&nbsp;

The city closed the Great Highway and JFK Drive to car traffic. Market Street’s closure to private cars didn’t come with the other improvements needed to make it a great public space, but it’s still (mostly) in effect. Since the 1990s, San Francisco has built more than <a href="https://www.kqed.org/news/11941576/the-night-that-changed-san-francisco-cycling-forever#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20San%20Franciscans%20made,as%20many%20people%20on%20bikes.">460 miles</a> of bike lanes. Many Covid-era “safe streets” remain in place.&nbsp;

Sure, the Municipal Transportation Agency <a href="https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/walk/residential-traffic-calming-program">canceled the Residential Traffic Calming Program</a> that let people request speed bumps and center medians to slow cars, but it did it because the program was too popular. People loved it to death. New York City has closed most of the outside-dining parklets that opened over the past few years; SF has not.&nbsp;

Sure, the Municipal Transportation Agency <a href="https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/walk/residential-traffic-calming-program">canceled the Residential Traffic Calming Program</a> that let people request speed bumps and center medians to slow cars, but it did it because the program was too popular. People loved it to death. New York City has closed most of the outside-dining parklets that opened over the past few years; SF has not.&nbsp;

Cars drive along Great Highway as walkers and bikers traverse the closed Upper Great Highway, left, in San Francisco on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. Sunset residents in the outer avenues and along Sunset Blvd/19th Ave report seeing more weekday traffic and more speeding, alleging drivers unable to take the GH spillover into the neighborhood.

<figure class="wp-block-image alignfull size-large"><img height="1519" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/8728968100_greathighwaytraffic_002.jpg?w=2500" alt="A busy road with heavy traffic and parked cars is adjacent to a separate pedestrian path and bike lane. People are walking and cycling under clear skies." class="wp-image-384594"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The closing of the Great Highway was decried by opponents as a salvo in the city&#8217;s war against cars.</figcaption></figure>

<figure class="wp-block-image alignfull size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/8728968100_greathighwaytraffic_002.jpg?w=2500" alt="A busy road with heavy traffic and parked cars is adjacent to a separate pedestrian path and bike lane. People are walking and cycling under clear skies." class="wp-image-384594"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The closing of the Great Highway was decried by opponents as a salvo in the city's war against cars.</figcaption></figure>

<figure class="wp-block-image alignfull size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/8728968100_greathighwaytraffic_002.jpg?w=2500" alt="A busy road with heavy traffic and parked cars is adjacent to a separate pedestrian path and bike lane. People are walking and cycling under clear skies." class="wp-image-384594"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The closing of the Great Highway was decried by opponents as a salvo in the city&#8217;s war against cars.</figcaption></figure>

“SFMTA would never call it this, but a really thriving outdoor dining program is a parking removal program,” Moran says. “And the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution to remove parking spaces in front of bus stops.”

“SFMTA would never call it this, but a really thriving outdoor dining program is a parking removal program,” Moran says. “And the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution to remove parking spaces in front of bus stops.”

So if you squint, you can see good news. Even the mall renaissance has nuances. Stonestown and Japantown likely owe some of their success to transit. Stonestown has light rail and a university — San Francisco State — in its backyard. The buses that go to Japantown are packed and are among the most ridden bus routes in the U.S. Since the pandemic, teenagers have ridden SF buses for free, and they use them to go to the mall. You know — like teenagers!

So if you squint, you can see good news. Even the mall renaissance has nuances. Stonestown and Japantown likely owe some of their success to transit. Stonestown has light rail and a university — San Francisco State — in its backyard. The buses that go to Japantown are packed and are among the most ridden bus routes in the U.S. Since the pandemic, teenagers have ridden SF buses for free, and they use them to go to the mall. You know — like teenagers!

There are other plus signs: The forces in favor of building more homes around the city are ascendant, and thanks to a bunch of recent changes to the law, those new buildings won’t have huge amounts of parking. Denser residential neighborhoods keep housing costs down, which leads to a need (and demand) for a variety of transportation options. When cars are less convenient and more expensive, people take buses. The transit system makes more money and improves. Traffic congestion eases. The vroom loop becomes a zoom loop.&nbsp;

There are other plus signs: The forces in favor of building more homes around the city are ascendant, and thanks to a bunch of recent changes to the law, those new buildings won’t have huge amounts of parking. Denser residential neighborhoods keep housing costs down, which leads to a need (and demand) for a variety of transportation options. When cars are less convenient and more expensive, people take buses. The transit system makes more money and improves. Traffic congestion eases. The vroom loop becomes a zoom loop.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/07/17/nx-s1-5471269/paris-replaces-cars-with-bikes-closes-motorways-and-plants-thousands-of-trees">Paris did it</a>. San Francisco can, too.

<a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/07/17/nx-s1-5471269/paris-replaces-cars-with-bikes-closes-motorways-and-plants-thousands-of-trees">Paris did it</a>. San Francisco can, too.

“The 10,000-foot view is positive signs for people-centric, non-car, walking, biking, and transit,” Moran says. “But it’s against the backdrop of a city whose infrastructure in the public right-of-way privileges the automobile.”&nbsp;

“The 10,000-foot view is positive signs for people-centric, non-car, walking, biking, and transit,” Moran says. “But it’s against the backdrop of a city whose infrastructure in the public right-of-way privileges the automobile.”&nbsp;

This all hints at a coming détente. Daniel Lurie won the mayor’s race in 2024 by forging a coalition between the dense, non-car central city and the west side, where <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/car-ownership-by-neighborhood-20050210.php">car ownership is highest</a> and most of the driving happens. Maybe that’s the future. Lurie didn’t campaign on transit and safe streets, but he has deputies who know how to build them. Even the most ardent transit nerd wants a city that has cars; even the most car-brained stalwart of Ingleside Heights wants to be able to ride BART into the Mission.&nbsp;

This all hints at a coming détente. Daniel Lurie won the mayor’s race in 2024 by forging a coalition between the dense, non-car central city and the west side, where <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/car-ownership-by-neighborhood-20050210.php">car ownership is highest</a> and most of the driving happens. Maybe that’s the future. Lurie didn’t campaign on transit and safe streets, but he has deputies who know how to build them. Even the most ardent transit nerd wants a city that has cars; even the most car-brained stalwart of Ingleside Heights wants to be able to ride BART into the Mission.&nbsp;

San Francisco doesn’t have to become a car city. But if it drifts any further, the vroom loop will become a traffic roundabout with no exit.

San Francisco doesn’t have to become a car city. But if it drifts any further, the vroom loop will become a traffic roundabout with no exit.

San Francisco is a car city now. Sorry

Christina Campodonico

Even by the standards of eccentric, earthquake shack-filled Bernal Heights, the house on top of the hill is an eye-catcher. What was once a typical, techie-minimalist flat-top home built in the 1980s has been transformed into a whimsical tulip fever dream, festooned with flower motifs both inside and out. And it’s already a social media star.&nbsp;

Even by the standards of eccentric, earthquake shack-filled Bernal Heights, the house on top of the hill is an eye-catcher. What was once a typical, techie-minimalist flat-top home built in the 1980s has been transformed into a whimsical tulip fever dream, festooned with flower motifs both inside and out. And it’s already a social media star.&nbsp;

Dubbed the Floral House, the newly renovated three-story home is the brainchild of emerging San Francisco DIY designer and influencer <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17852569995027544/?hl=en">Tay “BeepBoop” Nakamoto</a>, who created the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17852569995027544/?hl=en">viral design project</a> on behalf of two passionate clients.&nbsp;

Dubbed the Floral House, the newly renovated three-story home is the brainchild of emerging San Francisco DIY designer and influencer <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17852569995027544/?hl=en">Tay “BeepBoop” Nakamoto</a>, who created the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17852569995027544/?hl=en">viral design project</a> on behalf of two passionate clients.&nbsp;

As chronicled in real time to Nakamoto’s <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@taybeepboop?lang=en">1.9 million TikTok followers</a>, the 2,300-square-foot, three-bed, three-bath home underwent a massive overhaul in just five months. It’s grabbed attention both in the neighborhood and online for its two-story custom tulip mural, a covered “catio” for the home’s two feline residents and a tricked-out movie screening room for its human ones.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

As chronicled in real time to Nakamoto’s <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@taybeepboop?lang=en">1.9 million TikTok followers</a>, the 2,300-square-foot, three-bed, three-bath home underwent a massive overhaul in just five months. It’s grabbed attention both in the neighborhood and online for its two-story custom tulip mural, a covered “catio” for the home’s two feline residents and a tricked-out movie screening room for its human ones.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

San Francisco's Floral House features a two-story purple tulip mural. 

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/final-outside-2.jpg?w=1512" alt="A two-story flattop purple house features a tulip mural on its backside. " class="wp-image-250489"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">San Francisco&#8217;s Floral House features a two-story purple tulip mural. </figcaption></figure>

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/final-outside-2.jpg?w=1512" alt="A two-story flattop purple house features a tulip mural on its backside. " class="wp-image-250489"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">San Francisco's Floral House features a two-story purple tulip mural. </figcaption></figure>

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/final-outside-2.jpg?w=1512" alt="A two-story flattop purple house features a tulip mural on its backside. " class="wp-image-250489"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">San Francisco&#8217;s Floral House features a two-story purple tulip mural. </figcaption></figure>

“It kind of snowballed and grew and grew, and that’s why the project quadrupled in scope,” said Nakamoto of the home, which she decorated for a former elementary school teacher and her fiance, an impact investor, and their three pets. “I took it on because the client was so amazing and fun and fantastic, and she would just allow me to do anything.”&nbsp;

“It kind of snowballed and grew and grew, and that’s why the project quadrupled in scope,” said Nakamoto of the home, which she decorated for a former elementary school teacher and her fiance, an impact investor, and their three pets. “I took it on because the client was so amazing and fun and fantastic, and she would just allow me to do anything.”&nbsp;

By “anything,” Nakamoto means a custom squiggly handrail that may or may not be up to code, a custard-colored rug that looks like a puddle waterfalling down the staircase, very swirly wallpaper and a bespoke bookcase with moveable shelves.&nbsp;

By “anything,” Nakamoto means a custom squiggly handrail that may or may not be up to code, a custard-colored rug that looks like a puddle waterfalling down the staircase, very swirly wallpaper and a bespoke bookcase with moveable shelves.&nbsp;

For any designer, the ambitious renovation would be a massive, multicolored feather in their cap, but for Nakamoto, it’s perhaps even bigger than that. The home symbolizes a big step in a yearslong journey of struggling with mental illness, transitioning from a career in tech to a new one in design and searching for something to feed her creative soul.&nbsp;&nbsp;

For any designer, the ambitious renovation would be a massive, multicolored feather in their cap, but for Nakamoto, it’s perhaps even bigger than that. The home symbolizes a big step in a yearslong journey of struggling with mental illness, transitioning from a career in tech to a new one in design and searching for something to feed her creative soul.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img height="1668" width="2500" data-id="250423" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gallery01_20241402_floralhouseinfluencer.jpg?w=2500" alt="Tay &quot;BeepBoop&quot; Nakamoto touches a rainbow tile bathroom wall she had installed at her clients' Instagram-famous house, the Floral House." class="wp-image-250423"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tay &#8220;BeepBoop&#8221; Nakamoto stands in the Floral House&#8217;s rainbow-tiled shower.</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img height="1668" width="2500" data-id="250424" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gallery02_20241402_floralhouseinfluencer.jpg?w=2500" alt="A peach-colored dining room features a standup piano and squiggly wallpaper designed by Instagram influencer Tay &quot;BeepBoop&quot; Nakamoto." class="wp-image-250424"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Floral House&#8217;s peach-colored dining room includes an upright piano and modern dining table set. </figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img height="1668" width="2500" data-id="250425" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gallery03_20241402_floralhouseinfluencer.jpg?w=2500" alt="TikTok influencer Tay &quot;BeepBoop&quot; Nakamoto points to an elaborate tulip chandelier in a guest bedroom in the Instagram sensation, the Floral House. " class="wp-image-250425"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Nakamoto explains how she sourced a custom tulip chandelier for San Francisco&#8217;s Instagram hit, the Floral House.</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img height="1668" width="2500" data-id="250426" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gallery04_20241402_floralhouseinfluencer.jpg?w=2500" alt="San Francisco's Floral House features a blue scalloped custom bookcase, a green velvet couch, yellow velvet armchairs and a tiled pink fireplace wall." class="wp-image-250426"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The living room Nakamoto designed at the Floral House features a scalloped blue bookcase, velvet furniture and a pink tiled fireplace wall.</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img height="1668" width="2500" data-id="250428" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gallery06_20241402_floralhouseinfluencer.jpg?w=2500" alt="Tay &quot;BeepBoop&quot; Nakamoto touches a cat playhouse on the custom &quot;catio&quot; she designed for San Francisco's Floral House." class="wp-image-250428"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Nakamoto adjusts cat toys on the &#8220;catio,&#8221; a patio space she designed for her clients&#8217; cats.</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img height="1668" width="2500" data-id="250427" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gallery05_20241402_floralhouseinfluencer.jpg?w=2500" alt="Tay &quot;BeepBoop&quot; Nakamoto stands in front of a seven-foot tall custom tulip sculpture for San Francisco's Floral House. " class="wp-image-250427"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Nakamoto stands next to a 7-foot-tall custom tulip sculpture on the balcony of the Floral House.</figcaption></figure>
</figure>

Tay "BeepBoop" Nakamoto stands in her shower with custom shower tiles at San Francisco's Instagram hit, the Floral House, on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. Nakamoto, who oversees the Instagram hit the Floral House, was laid off from a tech job and became a successful interior designer.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img height="1668" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gallery01_20241402_floralhouseinfluencer.jpg?w=2500" alt="Tay &quot;BeepBoop&quot; Nakamoto touches a rainbow tile bathroom wall she had installed at her clients' Instagram-famous house, the Floral House." class="wp-image-250423"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tay &#8220;BeepBoop&#8221; Nakamoto stands in the Floral House&#8217;s rainbow-tiled shower.</figcaption></figure>

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gallery01_20241402_floralhouseinfluencer.jpg?w=2500" alt="Tay &quot;BeepBoop&quot; Nakamoto touches a rainbow tile bathroom wall she had installed at her clients' Instagram-famous house, the Floral House." class="wp-image-250423"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tay "BeepBoop" Nakamoto stands in the Floral House's rainbow-tiled shower.</figcaption></figure>

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gallery01_20241402_floralhouseinfluencer.jpg?w=2500" alt="Tay &quot;BeepBoop&quot; Nakamoto touches a rainbow tile bathroom wall she had installed at her clients' Instagram-famous house, the Floral House." class="wp-image-250423"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tay &#8220;BeepBoop&#8221; Nakamoto stands in the Floral House&#8217;s rainbow-tiled shower.</figcaption></figure>

core/gallery

<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-1 is-cropped"><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gallery01_20241402_floralhouseinfluencer.jpg?w=2500" alt="Tay &quot;BeepBoop&quot; Nakamoto touches a rainbow tile bathroom wall she had installed at her clients' Instagram-famous house, the Floral House." class="wp-image-250423"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tay &#8220;BeepBoop&#8221; Nakamoto stands in the Floral House&#8217;s rainbow-tiled shower.</figcaption></figure><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gallery02_20241402_floralhouseinfluencer.jpg?w=2500" alt="A peach-colored dining room features a standup piano and squiggly wallpaper designed by Instagram influencer Tay &quot;BeepBoop&quot; Nakamoto." class="wp-image-250424"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Floral House&#8217;s peach-colored dining room includes an upright piano and modern dining table set. </figcaption></figure><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gallery03_20241402_floralhouseinfluencer.jpg?w=2500" alt="TikTok influencer Tay &quot;BeepBoop&quot; Nakamoto points to an elaborate tulip chandelier in a guest bedroom in the Instagram sensation, the Floral House. " class="wp-image-250425"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Nakamoto explains how she sourced a custom tulip chandelier for San Francisco&#8217;s Instagram hit, the Floral House.</figcaption></figure><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gallery04_20241402_floralhouseinfluencer.jpg?w=2500" alt="San Francisco's Floral House features a blue scalloped custom bookcase, a green velvet couch, yellow velvet armchairs and a tiled pink fireplace wall." class="wp-image-250426"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The living room Nakamoto designed at the Floral House features a scalloped blue bookcase, velvet furniture and a pink tiled fireplace wall.</figcaption></figure><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gallery06_20241402_floralhouseinfluencer.jpg?w=2500" alt="Tay &quot;BeepBoop&quot; Nakamoto touches a cat playhouse on the custom &quot;catio&quot; she designed for San Francisco's Floral House." class="wp-image-250428"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Nakamoto adjusts cat toys on the &#8220;catio,&#8221; a patio space she designed for her clients&#8217; cats.</figcaption></figure><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gallery05_20241402_floralhouseinfluencer.jpg?w=2500" alt="Tay &quot;BeepBoop&quot; Nakamoto stands in front of a seven-foot tall custom tulip sculpture for San Francisco's Floral House. " class="wp-image-250427"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Nakamoto stands next to a 7-foot-tall custom tulip sculpture on the balcony of the Floral House.</figcaption></figure></figure>

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