Lombard Street might see summer closings Street expected to be shut down for 4 weekends in coming months

Lombard Street, billed as the world's most crooked roadway, attracts hundreds of visitors a day in S.F. Lombard Street, billed as the world's most crooked roadway, attracts hundreds of visitors a day in S.F. Photo: Michael Short, The Chronicle Photo: Michael Short, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 33 Caption Close Lombard Street might see summer closings 1 / 33 Back to Gallery

The world-famous crooked street could become San Francisco's most-infamous closed road for four weekends this summer - and possibly more if neighbors get their way.

At its Tuesday meeting, the Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors will consider an experimental summer shutdown of the famously curvaceous block of Lombard Street plus an adjoining block where cars line up and wait. The closed road signs would be posted from noon to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays from June 21 through July 13. The closures would also include July 4, which falls on a Friday.

The scenic street shutdown, if approved, would prohibit vehicles, except those driven by neighbors, from eastbound Lombard Street between Larkin and Leavenworth streets. Parking control officers would be deployed to enforce the closure and direct tourists around the closed attraction. Pedestrians would still be permitted.

"It's being considered to address safety concerns for motorists, residents and pedestrians," said Paul Rose, an MTA spokesman. "There's congestion in the summer months created by long lines of motorists waiting to drive down the street, and it can cause delays to transit and local traffic."

The driving force behind the closure, Rose said, are complaints from residents of Lombard Street and Russian Hill who say the deluge of tourists has grown overwhelming and has turned their peaceful neighborhood with multimillion-dollar views into a gridlocked on-ramp to a do-it-yourself amusement park ride.

"It's an excessive volume of cars, at least on weekends," said David Crimmins, who lives near the crooked street and is working on the issue for the Russian Hill Neighbors group. "It causes an enormous backup from Hyde back to Van Ness. It's basically a traffic jam of cars spewing exhaust in an otherwise enjoyable neighborhood."

Circus atmosphere

On Friday, the line didn't extend quite as far, only reaching Larkin Street. But the scene was circus-like. Cars, pickup trucks, bikes, skateboards, Segways and those little yellow GoCars cruising down the brick road through the hairpin turns. Pedestrians crowded the stairways and some wandered onto the curves of the street. Passengers popped their heads out of sunroofs and leaned out side windows to snap photos or hoot and holler. Others blared music.

At the top and bottom of the block, clots of cars, some double-parked, joined with people taking photos to occasionally block the streets. One visitor grabbed a large rock from a nearby planter and tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to ride it down the cable car tracks on Hyde Street.

While the proposed street closure would affect only vehicles, some tourists said not being able to cruise through the curves and the beautifully landscaped gardens beside them would deprive them of a San Francisco treat.

"I think it would ruin, for some people, visiting San Francisco," said Ryan Heffner, 22, of Davidson, N.C., who had just taken a ride through the curves. "It's part of the experience."

His father, John Heffner, 54, who handled the driving through the tight turns, said it would seem odd for the city to shut down a landmark that attracts tourists.

"It would be like closing down any of the other attractions of the city," he said.

A pair of Australians, headed for the airport after a job shooting video in Wine Country, said they enjoyed the uniqueness of the block-long cruise, weaving back and forth, heading downhill through lush landscaping with a view of the bay and East Bay hills.

"The perspective you get coming down, it's fantastic," said Liam Gilmour, 25, of Melbourne.

His co-worker, Michael Mouritz, 25, also from Melbourne, enjoyed the drive, too, but said he could understand why neighbors might tire of the flow of cars.

'Not so nice'

"For the inhabitants, it's probably not so nice," he said.

But some tourists said driving was not critical to their enjoyment of Lombard Street.

"I think it's better closed," said Blanca Rodriguez, 30, of Madrid, who was part of a Spanish tour group that rolled down in a van then got out at the bottom to take photos.

Emelie Wedenmark, 21, a San Diego State University student from Sweden, agreed. She and two fellow Swedes stopped a block from the top of the hill and walked over to shoot photos. If the street were closed, she said, it wouldn't ruin their visit.

"We would probably walk," she said. "I think people indulge in the city more if they walk."

Then the group headed back to the car to drive down the crooked street.

If the MTA board approves the test closures, it will evaluate the results and decide whether the street should be closed more often, perhaps regularly. And while the agency is not considering a permanent shutdown, Rose said, it could seek state legislation that would allow it to gate the block for use by residents only.

Crimmins said neighbors have many opinions on how to solve the problem. They support the MTA's experiment but hope it will include enough advance notice, warning signs and traffic cops to prevent it from becoming a huge mess - and the end of trying to find a solution.

"We hope the MTA will do it skillfully so that it doesn't back up traffic and get a lot of negative feedback," he said. "If the experiment is botched, it could ruin the whole thing."

Tourists who drove down the world's crookedest street on Friday said they were happy they weren't shut out.

"It would be a shame to see it go," Mouritz said.