SFist: Outside Lands: Let's Review

Belgand

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 04:45:54 -0800

Muni is almost always stuck in car traffic. This is one of the greatest failings of Muni. I've at least once been stuck for about 15 minutes or so because someone double parked and held up an entire trainload on the N. As I always say, subway people. We are amazingly behind the times on this. Not the pathetic Market subway... it only really goes to other places on Market. Not the damn Central subway. It would be OK if we had a real system, but otherwise it's just a tourist ferrying system that's going to cost far too much for something that useless. Design and build a real subway system that will actually be able to get me across town in the 15 minutes or so that BART is able to, not the hour that Muni takes.

zippy_monster

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:51:10 -0800

travin: it's not a great conspiracy. NextBus simply does not show buses that are not on their prescribed route. You can see this pretty clearly from the admin interface (which is publicly accessible), but knowing which buses are way off-route and likely headed home isn't all that useful.

brokenlogin

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:32:44 -0800

I will not relax! And get the fuck off my lawn!

EllyMental

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:48:24 -0800

Alls I know is that there were tons of beautful people (girls) there.... and music. It doesn't take much to make some people happy.

gimpbully

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:44:15 -0800

I don't think it would have been possible to please some people. I was hunkering down for hipster fueled chaos and got a delightful weekend. Sure, busses were packed... the horror.. Yes, the noise was loud at times (that's the cost of the festival, the area got a large influx of bodies and consumers, so it all evens out). This could have been so much worse, people. Just relax.

Marina Smiler

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:19:07 -0800

Great weekend. Of course there were some snafus, it was a first time event. Friday night was a mess, but Sat & Sun were not bad at all. I really hope that it's back next year. Would be nice if there was more coordination btwn Muni/the City/Another Planet as far as transportation is concerned.

Elizabeth

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:08:39 -0800

katerose26- you obviously don't play sports out there. You have no idea what you are talking about.

sf_bikebike

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:45:57 -0800

good times, good times!

brokenlogin

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:36:25 -0800

True, the kids were not too hard on the neighborhood, unlike Bay to Breakers, which..wow, what an ugly drunken crust that left. Yuck. I don't mind the use of my 'hood or my local park, I like to see the Polo field used, in fact; it's so grand yet so neglected.. Nonetheless, I'm also right here for the comparably sized Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, which I also won't be attending, and its footprint is far smaller. It CAN be done.

travin

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:25:06 -0800

Akit As I mentioned on the other muni thread there were plenty of 71's out but they weren't showing up on the nextbus map for some reason. Not sure if anyone else experienced this, but many times throughout the weekend I couldn't get through to 311 at all "the number you dialed cannot be reached at this time." which is different than a cell network failure due to congestion. The only issue I experienced was the three-day, all-night racket of the diesel generators and mass of floodlights at 41st and Lincoln. I think it was the entrance/staging area since all the tour buses and crew trucks came in that way.

Greg

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:03:20 -0800

The worst flub was relying only on the N Judah to take people there - and not have the extra 71s and 5s that were promised. That plus the fact you had a Giants game on Saturday just ensures there are problems. http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdewar/2789041098/ I live next to the park and noise was not really an issue. With a little extra care in perhaps getting more buses out and not putting all the eggs on the N Judah, it probably would have been mostly fine. Saturday day was not so bad.

jefftiki

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:03:01 -0800

So did anyone notice that the phone towers were completely overloaded and that it was IMPOSSIBLE to even make a call or text a friend on Friday night? I almost didn't get to meet up with my friend who came alone, but at the last moment before Radiohead went on stage, my text went through and we met up. What will SF do if there's a real disaster (not saying outside lands wasn't one.)?

Sivart13

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 11:53:46 -0800

I only went to Saturday and thought it was nice. Luckily most of what I wanted to see was concentrated in Lindley Meadow so I didn't have to make the miles-long Polo Fields-Speedway walk. People left a lot of trash on the ground after Tom Petty but you can't stop people being people. Definitely a good advertisement for riding a bike. The city's infrastructure for getting people in and out of GGP on the best of days is pretty shitty, you can't seriously expect putting a little extra money or a couple more trains on it to change everything.

zig

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:58:54 -0800

I rode a "shuttle" home and the driver didn't know where he was going and the sign on the bus was not adequate and it was not “express” it was a nice attempt though Some ideas for next time would be shuttles planned to go to different locations (e.g the Daly City shuttle, the 24th St and Mission Shuttle), better signs, and no fares as 95% of those getting on had no passes. Coupled with the poor signage it took some time for each group to ask the driver where he was going, how much it was etc etc Make the promoter pay for this

katerose26

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:58:54 -0800

Perique: THANK YOU. Elizabeth: "It will NEVER recover from this." ?? Puhleeze. If we were able to recover from the '89 earthquake, then I feel it's safe to assume the Polo Field can bounce back from the effects of one weekend of fun. I'm sure the park will be using some of the HALF A MILLION DOLLARS they were paid by the event's organizers to make any necessary repairs. Calm down.

citi_zen

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:51:30 -0800

I called both Supervisor McGoldricks office & the event promotoers office Friday mid-day to get the "community hotline" number they talked about in interviews.... both had to call me back, both did, but I was pretty surprised that neither had this info available (and the event's website had no info about it either). If someone gets all the ok's for an event this size, they really do need to have the information available. (hey - we got a lot of Eric Mar's campaign lit over the weekend on our doorstep - and flying down the street - maybe he could have shared this info, maybe I'd even think to vote for him in November!)

Akit

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:36:12 -0800

Here's what's up with the 71 bus (screenshot on Saturday night): http://www.flickr.com/photos/agentakit/2790945299/ To add to this, city officials could not give accurate information about park road closures. In about a 25 minute period, I viewed these websites and called these offices and got these answers: Event website: no information. SFMTA website: Some info about buses, but nothing else. 511 website: Only expect delays and take the bus. 311 (1st round): Automatically transferred to 511. 511: No information at all. 311 (2nd round): Lady puts me on hold for ten minutes and says there are no road closures. Supervisor McGoldrick's office: Aide says no road closures. Give me a break, I know at least three road closures and those 150,000 people know that too. The city government needs to get their facts straight. If the police, fire, and paramedics don't know either, will you survive if you had a heart attack?

Joel

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:34:46 -0800

Shame on the city for not protecting such a valuable and desperately needed resource for city residents. The pitches there were pretty blah even before this. Hopefully they'll re-sod with the money the Park made, but I doubt it. Anyway, as another Park neighbor, I thought the whole thing went much better than I expected. The fans coming and going all weekend were really respectful where I live (I think I saw just one or two beer bottles left behind in the streets...the worst was Saturday morning I saw a dozen or so discarded show flyers as I ran a mile-long stretch of Lincoln--could've been worse) and the music wasn't loud enough to be distracting but loud enough I could open my living room window and hear Radiohead pretty crytal-clear Friday night. It seemed like there were a lot more N trains than normal, which was great, but of course I avoided them like the plague when the shows were starting or ending.

Ginger

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:34:03 -0800

my report: no crowds, easy parking, great weather. was I at the festival? nope. santa cruz was a great escape away from this clusterf*ck madness. I've been to Coachella enough times to know you never really enjoy yourself and come home covered in dirt, exhausted for the next week while you pick grass out of your hair.

IZ1

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:24:43 -0800

Live right by the park, and this is what I report: 1) Lots of people walking in the day 2) 100+ waiting for 71 bus at night, with no bus in sight 3) Music was not loud at all in neighborhood 4) Felt nice to see the park being used; we need more events like this as GGP is underutilized

kapshure

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:10:28 -0800

@perique true dat!!

benmullin333

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:09:14 -0800

I thought it was awesome! I wonder if they broke even?

Elizabeth

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:08:11 -0800

The city does not have enough sports fields as it is and it is a tragedy that the Polo Field was allowed to be used for this event. Fields graded for sports should be protected from being rented by non-sports event promoters. The Polo Field has been closed for "rest" and repair since July. It will NEVER recover from this. There are plenty of meadows that are not graded for sports that could be used for concerts and other non-sporting events. Shame on the city for not protecting such a valuable and desperately needed resource for city residents.

travin

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:06:22 -0800

perique, well put.

periqueblend

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:01:15 -0800

You know what? We share the City. Sometimes it's catered for what I like - and what I want, and sometimes it's someone else's carnival. Complaining that three days or three weeks of the year, the City is focused on someone else's enjoyment, means that you really shouldn't live in a city.

torque

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:57:08 -0800

I only went Sunday, but by then they seemed to have figured things mostly out. Great vibe inside the show; people were well-behaved while watching and walking and such--that is, nobody was failing to know how buzzed they were. I didn't have much hassle getting in or out. Granted, I got lucky and found a parking spot ON Fulton, but still--the in-out was reasonably managed, it felt like, by Sunday night.

izzyizzy

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:53:52 -0800

there's a lot of bitching going on but i for one was pretty happy to see some great music in my backyard. in terms of the scale of this thing, i think they did a decent job. and as for muni, learn your lesson and ride your bike or walk. this city is not that big, you'll be fine.

bornandraised

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:50:10 -0800

ok im probably behind the curve but what does payola-ed mean?

brokenlogin

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:42:39 -0800

We live right by the polo field, and didn't think the noise was that much an issue, but man what a cluster on the part of the City..events downtown get a massive support response, so why did they think it would not be necessary out in the park and suburbs? We sorta still need to park the car and ride the train and find a way to get over the hill despite all the drunk boys and crying girls milling around the place, looking desperate and lost, trying to hail cabs that will never come.. Think I'll stroll over and look at the aftermath. I heard they payola-ed someone for the right to cut down some trees for the setup; that ought to be interesting.

Typojojo

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:24:04 -0800

I pulled up to the Bridge Toll Plaza on Friday night at 11:30pm in the 70 Golden Gate Transit bus headed to Marin. There were roughly 50 refugees from the concert there (you can tell by their blankets and dazed expressions). The bus driver said he only had room for seven people (though there was PLENTY of standing room) and as he closes the door on these miserable, drizzled-on music fans, he calls out, "Next bus in an hour!!" Balls.