DPT/PCO Antics

July 9, 2014-Wednesday-2:38 p.m.-As I previous mentioned that we are inundated with acronyms, such as DPT-Department of Parking & Traffic, which employed the PCO-Parking Control Officer; in 1999 combining with MUNI-San Francisco Municipal Railway to becomes the currently SFMTA-San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

This afternoon stroll through Chinatown, I noticed a PCO with a corporal insignia below the department shoulder patch, signify either a senior officer or supervisor; along the 1100 block of Stockton Street passing three African American males loading furniture onto a black Chevrolet pick-up truck and the PCO was joking with one of the guy loading. I walked passed the two vehicles and noticed a white DPT SUV-sport utility vehicle parked behind them with another PCO seated in the passenger side. I sense something not right, therefore I walked back toward Pacific Avenue and try to locate the whereabouts of that senior PCO.

Just my luck the PCO came out of the corner store-Wah Hing Market, 1200 Stockton Street with a tote bag containing vegetables and etc. on his right arm…He's shopping!

Point #1-I doubt this is not his first time using a City vehicle to shop at Chinatown.

Point #2-The black Chevrolet pick-up truck and a white Yukon SUV belonging to the group loading furniture are parked in a "TOW AWAY-NO STOPPING ANY TIME" zone, the lane is for traffic going straight along Stockton Street, while that MUNI bus being forced onto the lane for left turn only into Pacific Street.

Point #3-These guys loading furniture or maybe moving from the Central Ping Yuen Housing Project at 711 Pacific Avenue are not City or Housing Department workers, both vehicles are not official vehicles and they even had orange cones for the front and the rear!

Point #4-The DPT SUV is parked in the "TOW AWAY" zone too!

Point #5-The senior PCO, also the driver of the SUV made a U-turn…on a double yellow lines.

Finally Point-Just look at his license plate…EXEMPT!

Chinatown Oddities #3

July 6, 2014-Sunday-8:20 a.m.-I had an old high-school buddy, whom came down from Seattle to visit his parents during the Fourth July weekend, called me last night and wanted to join me on my morning stroll through the old neighborhood. He claims the last time he was back in the City was over eight years ago and he noticed one big difference in the neighborhood…the streets and sidewalks are littered with so much trash. On our walk along Powell Street heading toward Chinatown, we passed many of the City's street corner trash receptacles overflowing with trash on and around the container. I told him that the company-Recology, which pick-up the trash at these City's trash receptacles do not work on weekends. The second changes in the neighborhood are many of the old single families dwellings have now becomes multi-roommates dwellings, and a new trend of illegal in-laws dwellings sprung up in the area too. People would always generate some kind of garbage and if no in-house garbage container are available…pass it onto the City's corner receptacles or better yet just toss them out on the streets.

Just my luck or maybe its karma, at the corner of Vallejo and Stockton Street:

Someone decided to remolded their bathroom and decided to just toss the old toilet in the street corner.

Whomever did this was nice enough to use two large black garbage bags…one for the water tank and another for the toilet bowl.  The Central Police Station is located nearby too.

My high-school buddy was speechless until we got to the next corner of Broadway and Stockton:

Someone dump a mattress on one of the busiest corner in Chinatown. My buddy looked at me and I told him at least today we did not come across any big screen TV!

Chinatown Double-Parking Fiasco #2

June 7, 2014-Saturday-8:38 a.m.-I have a motto…"Strange thing have a tendency to occur whenever I am present."On this morning stroll through Chinatown, as I was heading home along Stockton Street...

A semi-tractor trailer double parked northbound in the 1300 block of Stockton Street, between Broadway and Vallejo Street, as the workers just rolled out the unloading ramp. The truck company-"McLane Distribution Services"and making deliveries to the nearby "Walgreens" at 1344 Stockton Street. This company have the distinction of double parking along the 600 block of Vallejo Street, causing a big traffic mess between westbound Columbus Avenue and eastbound Stockton Street cars. 

A major factor why the driver of truck decided today to double park along Stockton Street could be the SFPD Central Station located at 766 Vallejo Street, they might been previously informed not to block the 600 block of Vallejo Street---nope! The truth could most likely be that the driver drove eastbound on Broadway and make the illegal left turn onto Stockton Street and decided since nobody cares, why not make it two for two and just double park right in front of the place! My job is to make the delivery and heck with you all!

This stretch of Stockton Street  have long been a traffic nightmare for MUNI buses. The SFMTA-San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency; the usage of acronyms have skyrocketed because of increase usage of text messaging! This City's agency came up with a plan to reduce travel times and enhance reliability of the MUNI buses. It was called TEP-Transit Effectiveness Project; to identify the trouble areas. Then the TTRPs-Travel Time Reduction Proposals; to specifically address the problems. In layman terms…all BS, lined someone pockets and fleece the taxpayers!

San Franciscians knows how bad SFMTA acted during the Monday June 2nd MUNI drivers sickout! The agency claimed had no clue the drivers would stage a protest of having to pay into their own pension, but the sickout started Friday May 30th, when almost 25% of drivers called in sick! SFMTA management must thought 25% drivers sickout is just a normal Friday occurrence. The public been so used to late or missing buses that it was just a normal Friday commute. The following Monday 75% of drivers called in sick and Tuesday 50% of the drivers called in sick. The SFMTA and the Mayor came out that drivers only be paid if he/she came back with a doctor note. I had to chuckle on that great move, since if I was a driver that been told in order to be paid for one or two days of sick call; I tell my doctor of having stress related issue with driving a bus, which required at least 7 to 10 days rest! 

Now back to the so called bus lines 30 Stockton and 45 Union TTRPs as related to this section of Stockton Street:

"Widening travel lanes on Stockton Street between Broadway and Columbus Avenue. Within this two block segment of Chinatown, the travel lanes on Stockton Street are too narrow to allow large vehicles such as buses or delivery trucks to pass one another in opposite directions without one of the vehicles coming to a complete stop. For example, when a 30 Stockton bus is headed northbound within this segment, it generally has to drive over the double yellow line due to the narrow lane widths. If a large vehicle such as a bus or delivery truck is headed in the opposite direction, one vehicle must stop to let the other pass by. This condition has made Stockton Street between Broadway and Columbus Avenue the slowest segment of the route. By widening the travel lanes through parking removal on the east side of the street, delays to transit would potentially be reduced."

The TTRPs claims that the street are too narrow and buses must drive over the double yellow line.

The truck is double parked over the double yellow line.

The TTRPs calls for the removal of parking spaces on the east side of the street.

The truck parked on the right side belongs to "Sun Kau Shing Company" 1352-56 Stockton Street. The truck is parked from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., never feed the meter unless a new DPT officer in the area nor move at all. Only time it moved is when Stanley Roberts on KRON "People Behaving Badly" had two segments of Chinatown long term parking for store storage trucks many years ago. Once the TV uproar died down it was back to parking as usual, since the local DPT officer is either blind or getting freebies. If the City's does remove the parking spaces on the east side, the truck just park on the west side.

The cost of a double-parking citation is only $110, for a business it would just be the cost of doing business in the City. The real question is whom going to tag a double-parked vehicle? One block from a police station and no one police officer in sight? A DPT officer…forget it…too busy trying to get fruits and vegetables at vendors prices. The problem would always comes down to "Selective Enforcement."

A MUNI bus navigating through the maze of Stockton Street, while enforcement agencies patrolling the area blindly and SFMTA spouting proposal that take forever to be implement. Just another typical day in the City!