Visitors driving famed Lombard Street may wind up paying

Driving down the crooked stretch of Lombard Street, a destination for tourists from around the world, is one of the most thrilling free attractions anywhere. But maybe not for long.

Visitors could be required to make a reservation and pay a fee to drive the 500 feet of red brick road renowned for its curvy switchbacks and sweeping views of the city and bay.

Supervisor Mark Farrell wants to impose the first toll on a city street in California. He didn’t specify how much that toll might be. It might seem like a drastic step, but Farrell said the city has run out of solutions for reducing the massive gridlock of cars, sometimes extending for blocks, lined up to drive down what is actually a residential street — a street that gets 2 million visitors a year.

“The bottom line is that the quality of life for residents, not only on the crooked street itself but the vast surrounding neighborhoods, has deteriorated to the point where the city has to step in and make a difference,” said Farrell, whose district includes Lombard Street.

“It is difficult to underestimate the frustration and anger in the neighborhood over the status quo,” he said. “It is simply unlivable.”

Farrell’s proposal to charge drivers is based on a recommendation by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority in a report released Thursday. He estimated it would take two years to implement, at the earliest. Residents of the block would be exempt from the toll.

Vehicles twist their way down Lombard St. on Wednesday Feb. 15, 2017, in San Francisco, Ca. San Francisco Supervisor Mark Farrell wants to charge a toll to drive down the famed roadway. Vehicles twist their way down Lombard St. on Wednesday Feb. 15, 2017, in San Francisco, Ca. San Francisco Supervisor Mark Farrell wants to charge a toll to drive down the famed roadway. Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Visitors driving famed Lombard Street may wind up paying 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

Previous efforts at reducing traffic, like preventing vehicles altogether, were considered a failure because they turned the road into even more of a party zone. And other ideas, like rerouting traffic or creating loading zones on nearby streets, were rejected by residents.

The idea is to mount FasTrak readers and cameras on existing light poles at the top of the curvy stretch at the Hyde Street intersection. Visitors with reservations would prepay or pay a fee through FasTrak or a similar system to drive down the street.

Those without reservations would still be able to drive through but would be charged more. The bill would be sent to the address corresponding to their license plate, similar to the way the toll at the Golden Gate Bridge operates. Farrell declined to give an estimate on how much more those drivers might be charged, but the idea is to make it high enough that most drivers would turn back. Residents of the portion of the street would be exempt from the toll.

Many residents in the neighborhood appear to support the idea — but not all.

Steve Taber, chairman of the Russian Hill Neighbors Traffic & Transportation Committee, said a $100 fee for people driving through without reservations seemed reasonable.

“I would really think twice whether it’s worth a two-minute ride down a crooked street to pay $100,” he said. “It’s a balancing thing. We are certainly welcoming tourists. We are just saying if the tourists are beginning to pretty much destroy the fabric of the place they are visiting, there may be a need to put some reasonable restraints in place.”

But one longtime resident whose house sits on the crooked block disagreed.

“It’s tacky. I don’t approve at all,” said the resident, who didn’t want to give her name because she said her neighbors would get mad at her for opposing the proposal.

“It is pleasant to be able to see how many people come from around the world. They come just to look at the beauty of a wonderful part of the world,” she said. And, she added, the city already “makes a lot of money off this block” because of visitors taking cable cars and going to nearby restaurants.

Andrew Heidel, a Transportation Authority planner, emphasized that the motivation behind the proposal is to reduce the number of cars — not to make money, although that could be an added benefit.

The Transportation Authority will conduct a study this year to determine how many reservations to offer and how many vehicles could pass through in a given period of time and how much to charge.

It will also study whether to have the toll in place year-round or only during certain seasons and hours. One of the potential problems it has already flagged is that making drivers pay a toll could simply add to the thousands of pedestrians clogging the street. A pedestrian toll is not being considered.

In the meantime, Farrell is working with state Sen. Scott Wiener to introduce a bill in the state Legislature that would give San Francisco the authority to put a toll on a publicly maintained street. After that, it would be up to the Transportation Authority — whose board is made up of the city’s supervisors — to approve implementation of the system.

Many motorists driving down the crooked street this week said they enjoyed the experience — but it wasn’t worth paying more than $10, if that.

“When you have visitors, they usually come here. I will not pay $10 for each visit,” said San Francisco resident Raphael Derbier, who was driving two friends from out of town down the street.

“I wouldn’t do it for more than $5,” said Esmeralda Cruz of Long Beach, who had just driven down the street for the first time. “It was OK. But I don’t think it’s cool enough to charge. It’s just a little thing people can do when you visit San Francisco.”

“I am from Wisconsin, so I have passed on all of those little things like that that cost money,” Evan Stanek said. “I would walk up and down and take pictures, but I wouldn’t drive it. And maybe that’s part of the point.”

Stanek said he was “shocked” he was even allowed to drive down the street, given that people lived there.

“A lot of the well-known tourist stuff you can’t do anymore,” he said. “It’s just the memory of those things.”

Emily Green is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: egreen@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @emilytgreen