January 23, 2008
That Trader Joe's on Masonic is Just Too Darn Popular
The vanguard of a parade of 20 idling vehicles stretching up Masonic Avenue. What's the most you've seen? Larger photo of all the Hondas and Toyotas here
The Laurel Heights Trader Joe's on Masonic Avenue has "the worst parking situation known to man" according to some Yelp-ers. But it was worse before. We'll discuss that, and what you can do about the present situation (whether you're a driver, rider, or shopper), and where you can park Far from the Madding Crowd (if you're hardy enough), after the jump.
Let's go back to the long, long ago via Google Maps. Take a gander at the bird's eye view here. What you'll see in the southbound lane of Masonic is a row a parked cars, then a row of idling TJ's shoppers (directed by Master Chief, visible in the photo), and then a lane for actual traffic for drivers heading to The Richmond. But that arrangement didn't work out so hot.
So, San Francisco stepped in and eliminated street parking from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM. This created a lane just for TJ's shoppers. The problem is that the line gets really long and ends up spilling into the middle lane of Masonic anyway.
Things aren't all that bad for non-shoppers, as drivers can simply get in the left lane way back on Euclid and just cruise on by. Cyclists need to be wary when they come down the crest of the hill, but they can keep up with motorized traffic so it's not too scary (unlike the other parts of this avenue, the sections that the Fix Masonic people are worried about). Of course, everybody needs to be on the lookout for all the Frogger-like jaywalkers carrying their groceries across six lanes of parked and moving cars. (Somebody is going to get hit one of these days.)
But what about you devoted fans in your cars? Is this how you want to live your life, sitting in stop and go traffic for fifteen minutes every time you want to stock up on Two (or Three or Three point Five) Buck Chuck? There are alternatives, people. Take a look at the Google Map and see if you can figure it out. Rooftop parking is probably off-limits to you, but Ralph Waldo Emerson Street typically has free street parking (but you didn't hear that from us).
And hey, they're hiring. First figure out what the terms novitiate(!) and RMT mean, and then head on over to the "In-Store Career Fair." Maybe you'll get hired and become the person who solves this traffic/parking issue.
See you at TJ's!
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Cyclists learn to stay the hell away from that block
You sure that line isn't for the Lucky Penny diner?
the trader joe's in north point on bay street is always easy to get in and out of.
seems like a nice little secret spot.
Shut the hell up, suckafree! :)
There's parking on the roof?!?!
There is no Trader Joe's on North Point. Pay no attention to Suckafree!!!!
Probably see more cyclists going the other way on masonic. Some people just power up and over the hill like it's nothing at all. Lesser souls would find using Presdio a better alternative.
The Joe's at the Wharf is viewed by many as a secret location.
There IS parking on the roof, but it's not for the general shopping public.
Can you imagine what Emerson would look like if shoppers could park on the roof? Lots and lots of cars that the residents wouldn't stand for, probably.
"Novitiate" is one of the levels of management. I don't remember the rankings, but another is "Merchant."
The other obvious ones are Admiral, Captain, First, and Second Mate.
the good thing about that wait to park is that it creates an artificial damn to keep the numbers of shoppers to a minimum, so its way less crowded inside. compare to the SOMA trader joes...
Trader Joe's is a smurfhole.
Bad wine, bad cheese, produce from Chernobyl... I don't know why people make such a big deal over that crap.
That one is a really bad location. It used to be a paint store, but just the simple lack of parking is what ruins it.
I go to the one in Westlake. Parking can be a little of a hassle, but not as bad as driving around the block six times to find a space on Irving on a Saturday.
damn Ron, who poured two buck chuck in your cheerios?
At Trader Joe's, I believe the brand name is "Toasted O's".
"Trader Joe's is a smurfhole." Hee!
The rooftop parking is reserved for employees and for City CarShare members. That alone is an excellent reason to carshare.
The long-term solution to this would probably be to build more TJs in San Francisco, since so many people want to shop at one. I wonder if anyone's considered putting one in the vacant lot at Haight/Stanyan?
TJ's looked into that Upper Haight location but lost interest when they found out it could take up to four years to get up and running.
At least the rats and mice in the area have a home for now.
SF, the "city that knows how"
http://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco
They should use the vacant Albertsons space on 32nd and Clement.
Huge place, and lots of parking, including the roof.
Does anyone else see the irony in this situation? Seeing as TJ's is the 'eco-friendly' grocery store of choice, and so many people are driving to the point of traffic jams and idiling outside in a line to get a parking spot?
Do any of the shoppers know that there is a 38, 38L, and 43 stop near by? Why drive? Do you really need that many groceries? A backpack and a hand bag can hold enough food to feed a small family for weeks!
The car line really isn't that bad. Just queue up and as the post states and wait about 15 minutes. Otherwise, hit the SoMA or Marina TJ's. If you have a car, drive the extra 2 miles!
Take the bus. We're a transit first city you know. MUNI makes it easy to shop!
BTW, is the store full of nannies and Executive Assistant types from the Marina and Presidio Heights?
Maybe we should re-think the anti-chain store mentality in consideration of the unintended environmental consequences of having 20 cars sitting and spewing CO2 into the air waiting for parking at the handful of Trader Joe's? Probably not ... I would be in favor of swapping out some Whole Foods (whole paycheck, I think we call it?) with Trader joe's to reflect the more difficult economic times we're approaching.
it's Joe's O's actually....
also, there will be a TJ's opening in the old Tower Records space at the Stonestown Galleria in 2008 so hopefully all those moms nannies will go there instead.
@APandaRollin: No grocery store that packages its tomatoes in plastic containers AND plastic wrap should be considered "eco-friendly."
the ONLY way I'd go to that store anymore is on the (ugh) 43...just because driving there is such a colossal pain in the ass, and that parking lot is full of people who don't know how to park a car in a tight parking spot.
that said, you can still get some decent bargains there, esp. if you don't have the time to go to Costco and are planning a party.
i normally take the bus to TJs, but the biggest problem is getting home via the 43. it comes so irregularly that by the time it appears, you've got 15 TJs shoppers and an already full-to-the-brim bus.
You'd have to be crazy to open anything at all in the Haight. It's just not worth it to battle the anti chain store yahoos (e.g. Shoe Biz which has like 10 locations now).
But ... rooftop parking?! That is too cool.
This is the closest TJ's to where I live but I rarely go there unless it's early on Sunday morning. Too much hassle with the parking...although to be honest, the SoMA location isn't that much better. But at least you can drive in circles around the garage until a spot opens up...:-P
Even when the traffic is backed up all the way down the block, it's still usually only a 5 minute wait to get into the lot, which is not so bad. And because there's an attendant, it's truly first-come, first-served. The really awful one is the TJ's in the shopping plaza at 9th and Bryant where you can easily drive (or idle if traffic gets stuck) around for 20 minutes before lucking out on a spot.
Damn, it its Joe O's!
pwn3d!
Why Muni isn't a great solution for this TJ's:
1. The Masonic/Geary intersection is really unpleasant for pedestrians. Traffic comes from bazillions of directions.
2. The 43 and 38 are pretty unreliable.
3. It's the middle of the routes, so busses are always packed -- carrying big grocery bags would be awful.
4. If you're shopping for a family, you can't possibly carry all that food yourself.
Again: I can't recommend City CarShare highly enough for using this TJ's. It's only $10/month and about $6ish per shopping trip; they pay for the gas, and you get to skip the line and park on the roof.
If I'm going to TJ's, it's definitely Westlake. From the Sunset it's not that bad (but not that good). Certainly better than fighting the traffic at Masonic.
TJ's should open up a store in the Sunset. You'd have plenty of parking and the 70,000 residents here would flock to TJ's as an alternative to the only choice we have: Safeway.
You are all crazy. That line never takes more than a couple minutes, and since it's first come, first served, there's never any fighting for a spot. Plus, if you get the right parking lot attendant, sometimes he gets so excited about directing traffic that he dances.
Wouldn't have posted the photo if the waiting time were always 2 mins. or less.
But you drivers should time the wait and prove us wrong.
TJ's at Stonestown at the old Tower Records? Oh my god, parking will get worse.
TJs wanted to open one at Market and Sanchez but it got pulled.
Was supposed to go in where DeLux paint store is now. I think the one opening in the Haight [?] is that initially planned for store.
The traffic at T.J.'s is so insane it just makes me nuts. I'm moving to the burbs...
Can't get a whole week's worth of food for the family into your backpack? Ahh, reason 345,99,999,483,345,224,987 for being child-free.
And I agree with a previous poster. No store that swaddles its produce in so much friggin' plastic can possibly be considered earth friendly.
I guess TJ's is the Gavin Newsom of grocery stores. Purports to be green, but is coal-colored on the inside.
Eh, the 38's served me well enough for getting to/from the Geary TJ's. It's getting to Geary that's a pain. Bring back the 28 and 29. ::sigh::
Quite frankly, I think the stores themselves are busy enough before 7:30-8 that I'll avoid them before then. By 8pm, the 38 ain't that crowded... or I could spend the 10 minutes to drive to Westlake...
akit,
can i make a friendly suggestion? use the standard avatar from sfist instead of your actual mug. i'm sure you are a wonderful person but i just can't get past that dmvesque photo of you whenever you post anything.
;)
Suckafree,
We want to see your personalized avatar.
Come on...Courisity got the cat.
Speaking of the cat:
Brock, shouldn't the default Avatar be changed from the Panda to Taitania the tiger in her beloved loving memory?
That's nothing. Try getting gas at the Arco on Fell & Diviz...
mariconsoy, your wish is my command!
Air kissess to Suckafree.
MMMMMMMMMMMWahhhhhha x2
if you think this is bad - the word on the street is that the shitty Cala Foods on 24th St in Noe Valley is going to become a Whole Foods. Right now, everyone in Noe is celebrating in anticipation (that Cala/DeLanos really really SUX) but 24th St will become an SUV parking lot.
murph: There's been a lot of talk about that site since Kroger has been unwinding themselves from it, who knows what it's gonna be. I think a lot of it is putting out feelers to the 'hood, but with the Real Food blight going into its umpteenth month Bevan Dufty might find it difficult to resist any grocery retailer who feels like punking him.
Regardless, 90% of my shopping in the neighborhood is at the produce stores and Drewe's butcher, so Bell is only for boxed food or shopping after 9pm.