October 27, 1999

East is east and coast is west, and never...

It's noteworthy the only major east-west access from Pacifica is not regarded as real access by SamTrans or some other folk. You can get detailed door to door directions on the Internet, but the services I've seen will take you a couple of miles out of your way rather than put you on Sharp Park Road.

SamTrans buses run on lower Sharp Park Road only when they are out of service. Perhaps when Michael Scanlon, the incoming head of SamTrans, stops by to talk to a few Pacifica civic groups, he can explain why SamTrans won't run its bus routes on the most southern east-west roadway north of Highway 92.

I was reminded by an old friend recently that Freeway 380 was supposed to connect with the coast many years ago. It would have swept through Crestmoor Canyon, crossed the hills south and west of Sneath Lane and Skyline Blvd., come down from the 1200 foot level at the Shelldance Nursery, and joined Highway One about where the new sewer plant is located. If you're under 30 or 35 or are new in the area, you may have never heard of the idea.

Pacificans voted in favor of the new freeway, but a combination of Adriana Gianturco, Governor Jerry Brown's highway person, and the San Bruno City Council killed the whole idea. San Bruno citizens objected to a highway through Crestmoor Canyon. Well before the end of the seventies, the idea was dead as a Pelican chick on a diet of DDT.

All this demonstrates our lack of east-west access. Sharp Park Road is twisting and underutilized. Manor Drive is a narrow, winding street with 17 percent grades. Hickey Blvd. is not really a main thoroughfare. And that's all there is.

Robert Frost wrote about taking the road less traveled, and while that made "all the difference" for him, for those who depend on bus transport, it's a real pain indeed. For the 25,000 people, give or take a few, who live south of Sharp Park Road in Pacifica, to go south or east on the Peninsula, you first must go north. Even if your goal is Highway 92 and 280 or points south, it's impractical and out of your way to go through Half Moon Bay and then east.

Most bus riders going from Linda Mar to Belmont find they must first go to Colma or Daly City BART stations. This takes hours, and at least one change of bus. SamTrans has a policy of no transfers. If you don't fit their routes, the hell with you. If you want to go from Linda Mar Park&Ride to the San Bruno train station behind Tanforan, no bus takes you the (theoretical) most direct route. It's long, aggravating and infrequent. My estimate: taking the bus from Linda Mar to Tanforan is about equal to commuting to Gilroy or Santa Rosa by car.

No wonder people don't want to ride the buses if they aren't forced to do so. The recent complete overhaul of the system's schedules did nothing to improve the situation. In fact, it's worse in significant areas. Look at all the signs that were posted saying "No Service" at many traditional bus stops.

At the very least, it's about time we got bus service on Sharp Park road.

Some recent Reactor columns may be found at Paul Azevedo's website, http://www.thereactor.net/ Reach him by e-mail at Paul@thereactor.net