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Only in San Francisco...
Apr. 9th, 2008 06:43 pmToday we hosted the Olympic Torch relay. After the fiascos in London and Paris, the City leaders huddled with State, Federal, and Olympic officials to find a way to prevent a repeat of the events in those cities.
The solution? Let's play Hide The Torch!
I'm not kidding. I was listening to the news all day at work, and things got so chaotic that KCBS dropped all of it's regular programming (including the top of the hour network feed) to try to cover an event that ended up being the most chaotic afternoon in San Francisco since October 17th, 1989.
Read the SFGate story.
There were easily 200,000 people along the Embracadero, a major artery that was closed for several hours, who just wanted to see the torch. Over ten thousand crowded into Justin Hermann Plaza for the announced closing ceremony. some had arrived at 0500 and waited around for 14 hours only to be told "psych!" by the city.
As I said, I was glued to KCBS all day, and the sheer insanity of the event is hard to convey. People were racing all over the city based on rumors, fights broke out, and the "pro-China" forces tore signs out of the "Free Tibet" group's hands. I'm amazed a riot didn't break out.
The eventual route (see the interactive map) ended up on a freeway on-ramp heading up Doyle Dr. to the Golden Gate Bridge. At the exact time Marin residents start bailing out of the City to go home, they closed the northbound traffic on the bridge, and stopped southbound traffic in the Presidio. Yeah, that mess is still unsnarling several hours later.
The best part of the day came when the run was starting past Crissy Field towards the Golden Gate Bridge. KCBS contacted the GG Bridge District's spokesperson, who said she had zero contact with anyone about a possible extension of the run onto the bridge, or of any necessary closures. All she knew was that the vista point parking lot was filled with CHP vehicles, and all the officers had left, presumably for the bridge deck.
5 minutes later, the SFPD closed Doyle Dr.
So glad I don't drive or dispatch for SuperShuttle today.
The solution? Let's play Hide The Torch!
I'm not kidding. I was listening to the news all day at work, and things got so chaotic that KCBS dropped all of it's regular programming (including the top of the hour network feed) to try to cover an event that ended up being the most chaotic afternoon in San Francisco since October 17th, 1989.
Read the SFGate story.
There were easily 200,000 people along the Embracadero, a major artery that was closed for several hours, who just wanted to see the torch. Over ten thousand crowded into Justin Hermann Plaza for the announced closing ceremony. some had arrived at 0500 and waited around for 14 hours only to be told "psych!" by the city.
As I said, I was glued to KCBS all day, and the sheer insanity of the event is hard to convey. People were racing all over the city based on rumors, fights broke out, and the "pro-China" forces tore signs out of the "Free Tibet" group's hands. I'm amazed a riot didn't break out.
The eventual route (see the interactive map) ended up on a freeway on-ramp heading up Doyle Dr. to the Golden Gate Bridge. At the exact time Marin residents start bailing out of the City to go home, they closed the northbound traffic on the bridge, and stopped southbound traffic in the Presidio. Yeah, that mess is still unsnarling several hours later.
The best part of the day came when the run was starting past Crissy Field towards the Golden Gate Bridge. KCBS contacted the GG Bridge District's spokesperson, who said she had zero contact with anyone about a possible extension of the run onto the bridge, or of any necessary closures. All she knew was that the vista point parking lot was filled with CHP vehicles, and all the officers had left, presumably for the bridge deck.
5 minutes later, the SFPD closed Doyle Dr.
So glad I don't drive or dispatch for SuperShuttle today.
