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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
San Francisco Bay is virtually enclosed by two peninsulas, one pointing northwards and the other pointing southwards, which nearly join each other. The northern peninsula is called the Marin Peninsula.
The Golden Gate Bridge joins the tips of the two peninsulas.
The southern peninsula (which points northwards) has the city of San Francisco at its northern tip.
Streets in San Francisco are numbered from their point of beginning. As an example, Elgin Park, a small street of two blocks, beginning at McCoppin and ending at Duboce, is numbered from 1-80. Valencia, just a block to the south, is numbered completely differently. In addition, many streets are not contiguous; the second iteration (or third, or fourth) begin at 1, despite having the same street name. (I pity the postal workers.)
I have travelled in the US extensively -- this is unique. San Francisco, for someone unfamiliar with the "grid", which is nearly non-existent, is incredibly confusing. That said, Market Street is the main thoroughfare through from east to west. (Market Street, however, has significant bus lane restrictions, and dangerous train stops that a driver could accidentally hit if unaware of them.)
The turns from Market are to the northeast and the southwest. I have had the pleasure of travelling in San Francisco almost forty times, and for the first few years I was utterly afraid to drive there. West of Castro Street, Market Street turns into a winding, faster thoroughfare into the hills, and would be frightening to someone unfamiliar with the area.Rather than trying to drive and park in the city, it may be preferable to use public transport such as BART, CalTrain or MUNI, buses, the cable cars and passenger ferries.
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Most recently modified 28-Nov-02