Chinatown Oddities

October 22, 2013-Something never changes on my daily walks...something would happen! 

Lately the Stockton Street corridor along Chinatown been having traffic congestion due to my favorite pet peeve of the City's lax of traffic enforcement on vendor's trucks double-parking; adding the last two weeks of underground pipes replacement on the 700 block of Jackson Street and the start of the demolition of the old Hogan & Vest Building on the corner of Washington & Stockton for the future Central Subway station.

The Central Subway station project hired SFPD officers to control traffic around the area of the demolition. The Jackson Street pipe project done by private contractor utilized workers in orange vest and orange cones to direct traffic in that intersection---causing one big confusing mess---low bid cut corners!

The SFPD officers are on extra paid/off-duty assignments and their main duty is the construction area, but eliminating two lanes into one would causes traffic backup down the road. Therefore what traffic problems prior to their intersection is not their concern. The situation gets worst when drivers are having a hard times navigating the left turn onto Jackson Street and drivers along Stockton Street having to zig-zag among double-parked vendor's trucks.

The new society norm is "Self-Preservation" or in common term---"I and only I comes first!" The merchants along Stockton Street have boxes lined on the sidewalk & street, produces stands protruding beyond the legal limit, and company trucks parked all day. The vendor's have trucks double-parking, parking in crosswalk, driving those motorized forklift on the sidewalks or on the streets, making U-turn in the middle of the block and the famous "We are exempt" making illegal left-turn off of Broadway onto Stockton Street. Today what a vendor's truck driver did top all previous stupidities.

8:35 A.M.-The Central Subway demolition project posted road signs along Stockton Street to warn motorists of the upcoming dangers several blocks prior to Washington Street. The 1100 block of Stockton Street near the Jackson Street corner:

The 1100 block of Stockton Street near the Pacific Street corner:

Finally the middle of the 1200 block of Stockton Street:

Sorry for the fuzzy picture, I was amaze by what happened...instead of moving the warning sign to the front or the back of the truck. The vendor moved the sign...

                                         RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SIDEWALK!