Let's talk about driving

One of the biggest laughs I’ve gotten during this period of adjustment to life in San Francisco has come through driving around town in a car. Despite a public transportation system that just rocks, there are times when driving a car is just the best choice. 

Parking - well now that’s just another issue altogether unless you have one of those smartcars that can practically be parked curbside in either a perpendicular or parallel style. While I’ve never seen one park nose to the curb, it isn’t a bad idea. Really. Probably get a ticket though. You get one if you’re too far out from the curb, on that curb, don’t have your car wheels turned (You wouldn’t want to roll downhill now would you?) or caught in a spot you’re not entitled to be in. 

You figure it out. And the signs are different on the other side of the street too. Smartcars. That’s the answer. Surely they were designed by a San Franciscan.

Following the signs for traffic patterns isn’t entirely easily interpreted either. Not too many roads here intersect at 90 degree angles with another street. And there are often many street converging at the intersection. And far too often one street simply changes to another. 

One trip to find a particular address was a real doozy when we discovered 9th Street rounds a bend and turns into 12th. What happened to 10th and 11th? We’ll never know. Wonder how mail service is on those streets?

Then there are the marked lanes on the street that don’t necessarily jive with the marked lanes on the other side of the intersection. Most residents know this and drive accordingly in a somewhat jigsaw fashion. Buses and tourists on the other hand don’t. You see the deliema. Add the motorcycles and Vestpas to the mix who drive wherever and however they want and often up the middle and you have a situation that requires your full attention -- at all times. No car texting allowed here. No siree.

Imagine my surprise earlier this week when I rounded a corner and found myself nose to nose with a Cadillac in the middle of an intersection. The driver was beside himself yelling at me. I could see his face turning Pantone’s Color of the Year - Tangerine. Odd thing was he was on the wrong side of the road! Maybe he was a colorblind Englishman or just unable to see the yellow stripe to the right of his car. Either way I was glad to have had that double shot of espresso in my latte that morning. Really. 

But perhaps one of the best and most entertaining things about driving in San Francisco are the hills. That’s what we call them here. You would probably call them something else more descriptive in nature. Uphill or downhill, both have their challenges -- and views. If you are scared off, just drive a block or so to the right or left and the topography is completely different. I especially like the ones that have you driving over the edge, unable to see where you are headed other than down. Yeah those are fun.