SFMTA is at it again! Yup that's right, there will be another N Judah shutdown and construction in the neighborhood this weekend. I spoke with Jay Lu and Jeannette Sanchez (SFMTA Community Relations Division  about the tentative completion date of this long project. Answer: "The project...will reach substantial completion around Thanksgiving. Minor miscellaneous work will continue for two or three months after that."

Be sure to share your photos and frustrations with us on Twitter. Click below if you’d like to let SFMTA know how you feel by using the #sfmtacarl! 

Weekend Construction in Cole Valley

November 2nd (Friday) at 7pm to November 5th (Monday) at 5am

What to expect during construction this weekend:

• Track repair between Carl Street and west of the Sunset Tunnel 
• Grinding and paying Carl Street at Cole, Shrader, Willard, and Stanyan Street intersections, one intersection at a time
• Work on the overhead wire poles at various locations along Carl Street
• Noise and dust will be controlled in adherence with City Codes
• Electronic messaging boards will be used in affected areas to alert motorists and cyclists of detours
• Local businesses will remain open during construction

Note: Street work will generate noise, including jackhammering (during daytime hours only) 


Street closures and parking restrictions:

• Street will be closed on an as-needed basis at Cole, Shrader and Stanyan street intersections during street repaying
• Street parking will be temporarily unavailable near those intersections and around the areas where overhead wire pole repair work takes place

Note: If you live on the affected streets, please consider parking your car at an off-street garage or a parking lot such as UCSF Parking Garage and Kezar Stadium on Stanyan Street.  The project will reimburse you for parking charges. Please submit your parking receipts for reimbursement to: SFMTA Carl Street Rail Replacement Project, One South Van Ness Avenue, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103 Attn: Ha Nguyen.


Muni Service:

• N Judah will be shut down during the weekend
• N bus will travel on Frederick Street

The schedule is subject to change due to weather and other unforeseen conditions.

The next shutdown on N line is scheduled for the weekend of November 16th.

Cole Valley residents (and SF Bay Area residents), get ready because tomorrow night is Halloween! Many know that this will mean loads of candy and tons of little kids running around with sugar highs. But here in Cole Valley, we go all out! If you are new or not familiar with this Cole Valley tradition, you definitely have to check this out! Belvedere Street, from Parnassus and 17th Street will be closed off to cars (yup police barricades). There will be haunted garages, dry ice cauldrons, and lots of adults (and kids) in costumes! It will be big and loud - definitely a party (check out some pics from last year)!  Okay, some of the house decorations might be a bit scarier for the wee ones so parents take note. While you're there, be sure to walk around the neighboring streets and get some candy there (most of CV are houses and not large apartment buildings). Our neighborhood knows how to do halloween - pumpkins, parties, costumes, and decorations! This is definitely a trick-or-treat spot where your kids will score big!

Festivities (i.e. hoards of people) begin at dusk! 

If you are not WALKING, please note that PARKING will be awful, and when we mean awful, we mean AWFUL!!!

Thanks to our fellow bloggers at Uppercasing, we have gotten the low down on next steps to reinvision the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.

In 2011, the Haight Ashbury Merchant's Association (HAMA), the Haight Ashbury Improvement Association (HAIA), the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council (HANC), and our lovely Cole Valley Improvement Association (CVIA) came together to discuss a new plan for the neighborhood. They wanted to create a more functional and enjoyable neighborhood for both people who live and work in the area, without "gentrifying or altering the character of the neighborhood." You may have seen some parklets and tons more bike racks along Haight, especially near Martin Macks and Haight Street Market. Now, fast forward last night when the neighborhood associations came together to work with Supervisor Olague to further discuss the plans to move forward on the long term project to improve the public spaces along Haight from Central to Stanyan Street. 

Uppercasng spoke with a rep of HAMA that the rep stressed that, "they don't want to turn the Haight into a pedestrian mall or tourist trap. What they want to do is to make it so that 'the street reflects the vibrant community that lives and works in the neighborhood.'" 

Below is a list of some of the improvements the plan will include:

• improved street lights
• decorations for the holidays (think lights on trees, banners, flags, etc)
• public art installations (think the side of buildings, and the 'listen to this wall' concept)
• planned street closures (think Sunday Streets, fairs, neighborhood events)

Tentatively, the goal for completion for this  plan is envisioned for the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love, aka 2017. 

If you want to get involved and come to one of the community meetings, the next meeting will be on Wednesday, October 24th from 6-7:30pm at Urban School. The HAMA "urge you to 'share your ideas for how the neighborhood's streets and sidewalks function and how to make them more enjoyable, safe, and convenient for residents, workers, and visitors.'"



Blog adapted from Uppercasing's article, "More Details on the Haight Ashbury Improvement Plans."

Tully's abruptly closed on Cole Street in mid September, along with closing down all but one location in San Francisco. Haven't heard anything from Tully's why the sudden closing of most of their coffee shops but it might have something to do with SF somewhat unfriendly approach to franchises (what about Peet's and La Boulange (now owned by Starbucks?). More store fronts in our little neighborhood have been going under, from EOS this spring to Occasions, Hama-Ko, and now Tully's. Who will be next??!! 

We will miss the many evenings where the ColeValleySF team sat at those bench seats near the window and worked on blog post ideas and social media plans. We will miss those delicious coffee cake slices and their caffe mochas. 

What do you think will go into Tully's store front or rather what would you want in our neighborhood! We've heard neighbors ask for a bookstore, smoothie place, or thai restaurant. We want to hear your thoughts - share them with us on at @colevalleysf!