Lombard Crooked Street has 8 sharp curves.
Who was going to tell Carl Henry in 1922 that the sinuous slope he would create in 1922 for the cars to circulate would today be a reason for discord?
The 27 degree slope of Lombard Crooked Street have become a tangle of traffic jams and tourists with all the insult that this entails for the residents of the neighborhood of Russian Hill from San Francisco . For its 180 meters long they travel in summer up to 6,000 people and ones 2.1 million tourists a year according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Since its creation one of the biggest attractions for tourists is to lower it by car , although there are many who do it walking too. Despite its length, the section that usually has problems is where Hyde and Leavenworth streets meet, where cars usually circulate at 8km per hour.
That is why, especially on weekends, the small winding section, which everyone calls Crooked Street, it has turned into hell for the neighbors. Even so, there is a great debate about whether this new rule would harm or help the situation of the neighborhood.
Cars travel at 8km per hour.
The solution, which would be launched this year, has become a reality through a Bill that would set a rate 5 dollars to vehicles that circulate during the week , and of $10 over the weekend and holidays . Those yes, having to register in advance.
“A reservation and pricing program is a potentially useful tool for managing the demand for automobiles from visitors to the street. It would reduce traffic congestion and fund program administration, traffic management, and enforcement. The use of a reservation system to manage and maintain a practical and sustainable number of visitors has been implemented in several California parks. , included in the Muir Woods National Monument and in the Grapes Canyon County Park of Santa Clara County," the bill underlines.
One of the most famous streets in San Francisco.
Said law proposal is based on a study carried out in the neighborhood this same year where some possible solutions to the problem are already reflected. Where the idea of pedestrianizing does not pass, put a toll for pedestrians or close the street to the public indefinitely.
At the moment, it only remains to wait for the community to make it effective. Looks like it will be a matter of days!