Results tagged “underground”

We received an alert from the handy AlertSF.org (where were you, Emergency_In_SF?!) that there was another underground fire that occurred several hours ago in the Civic Center area, on Polk Street between Grove and McAllister, which has been closed to traffic. PG&E might need to cut power while authorities investigate. The air reportedly smelled like burned plastic, but there was no visible smoke. A hot dog vendor at Civic Center Plaza reported seeing smoke coming from a manhole, but he didn't hear an explosion.

Bobster1985 posted this AWESOME video from 1968 about the construction of BART. We had no idea that the conditions underground were so challenging -- apparently the air pressure was so different that the workers needed to hang out in a pressurized chamber before moving between the surface and tunnel. Neato.

Apparently 511 just installed new arrival-time screens at a kiosk somewhere around Embarcadero, but we're skeptical. (Surprise!) Muni has scrolling LEDs in all the subway stations, but most of the time they're just reminding you about Proof of Purchase. And BART has the same problem: info screens so cluttered with reminders about tickets and pickpockets that they almost never show arrival estimates, or even the current time.