Ask SFist: Parking in Nob/Russian Hill

hopefully you have a mini-cooper.
don't even think of moving your car between 4pm Friday and 6am Monday.

good luck!

learn to parallel park.

I had this problem when I lived on Russian Hill. Here's how I solved it:

First, I was fortunate enough to live near a cable car line, which is pretty much the shortest wait in SF, outside of Market Street. I got a fast pass, ($55 per month) and parked in the Embarcadero/Art Institute/Kennedy's vicinity. Plenty of spaces, always particularly on Bay Street. Then 'd I'd take a cable car as close as I could, then hoof it the rest of the way home.

It's helpful to think in terms of time, and not distance. Those CC's are really frequent. If it takes 20 minutes to park on Bay St., take the Cable Car, then walk the rest, then that's about what you're going to spend circling for a spot on your average weeknight.

Worked for me, anyway.

I'm guessing this won't be convenient for you at all but I live off of Polk and typically park my car on or around Lafayette park. It's a been of a pain to have to move it for street cleaning cause its all uphill to get to the car but... with a little patience I can usually find a spot. I also don't drive that often and I imagine if you had to do it everyday, it may be a pain.

www.valetreader.com

if you're rich enough to live on russian hill and have a car, you can afford $300/month to park it.

Since I just recently moved out of the neighborhood and therefore am no longer involved in the Russian Hill parking space competition... here's where we would stash our ride:

1. Lombard between Larkin and Hyde (high turnover because of tourists... but only use this location in the off hours so you don't run the chance of getting stuck in the lombard line)
2. Chestnut between Larkin and Hyde (the residential towers here have their own structured garages and the folks who live there would never park their cars on the street)
3. Hyde between Bay and Chestnut (the steep hill discourages lazy parkers and the reservoir means there are very few units in the area)
4. And finally the super secret half-way spot: as Francisco/Larkin goes around the sharp bend by the reservoir, there is a little street that peels off and at the end of that street there are four head-in parking spots that are half-way up the stairs Between Bay Street and Chestnut Street (what would be the continuation of Larkin)

The only good part about Russian Hill parking is that there is no street sweeping... so you don't have to move your car unless you want to. All of these areas are on the north end of the neighborhood... but I would take the longer walk over circling for a spot any day.

Love all the "just get rid of your car" advice, people. Keep it coming, busybodies.

I second the suggestion of parking the car in the outer sunset and then takin MUNI. Pain in the ass but it beats getting a parking ticket. It's the only safe place in the city with plentiful parking. WATCH OUT FOR STREET CLEANING SIGNS.

Just do a little math: If you get less than $300/mo of parking tickets, you've come out ahead. Just make sure wherever you ditch the car that it's not some place that will get towed and you pay off the tickets regularly so you don't get booted.

-mm

Metered spaces clear out on Bush near St Francis Hospital around 3 or 4 pm every day- that's when the hospital changes shifts. Left side of the street is no parking 7-9 am weekdays, but the right side is fine at all hours.

I have to put in a plug for motorcycles and scooters, which can be parked anywhere, all over town. Where there are no metered bike spaces (which are 10c per hour, more or less unlimited), you can slip into a spot with a car. I garage my motorcycle for $90 a month, but most riders park on the street.

Motorcycles aren't for everyone, but a couple 15-min commutes to SF from the East Bay while all those car drivers sit in traffic for an hour makes it seem pretty friggin sweet. (Motorcycles count as car pools, too.)

I find I don't need a car often enough to join a car share. About once a year I rent from Enterprise for less than $100 for a 3-day weekend.

You could (a) find a cheaper garage or (b) work on your parking heuristics, which may or may not yield results. For (a), it’s difficult to do on RH itself, and bordering neighborhoods aren’t cheaper. Years ago, I rented a space in the garage on Sacto btw Polk & Van Ness for $200, but rates may have gone up. For (b), heuristics will depend on the zone of your sticker. A is the RH - and C, the NH - sticker. There’s overlap, tho: Vallejo takes either A or C, and Pacific may too. This is unmapped by SFMTA. For C stickers, when there are shows at the Masonic etc., parking on RH is actually viable - also when you drove to the Buc and can't drive home ;). Heuristics also involve familiarity with “secret” parking areas, but long-time residents of RH know these already. Otherwise, it’s all about timing. You can work the turnover along the shopping zone of Polk St. and farther down near the Wharf. I've often had luck along Vallejo near Leavenworth and Broadway above the tunnel (but watch the signs). It's been good to try to enjoy both endless searching for parking and success of others in getting spots before me. But, man, the CF of all this! I got my bike out of storage. Happy parking!

word @ above.

Either get rid of the car or pay what it costs. The rest of don't get to have out cake and eat it too...