N Judah riders were stuck in place for nearly 40 minutes, and for once, it's wasn't Muni's fault. Instead, a pickup truck parked along its route extended into the light-rail line's path, snarling service until someone came out to tow the vehicle.
If you're a driver, riddle me this: when you see a solid white line while parking, do you attempt to A) avoid it or B) straddle it? If you said "B," then you should become pals with whomever owns the truck depicted above. That's who, at around 2 p.m. last Thursday, parked a fairly normal-sized pick-up truck on Carl Street near Hillway Avenue.
Perhaps the driver of the truck was unfamiliar with what the white line represented, and didn't think anything of parking with one tire on the line's (very) wrong side. But that misjudgment was enough enough to stop the N Judah in its tracks for at least 40 minutes.
ATTN: Westbound #NJudah blocked near Carl & Hillway by an automobile.
— SFMTA (@sfmta_muni) May 7, 2015
By 2:40, a towing company had arrived and removed the offending truck.
Just a few more minutes to freedom, N Judah passengers! #muni pic.twitter.com/PyigUr8s9p
— Walter Thompson (@YourProtagonist) May 7, 2015
And shortly thereafter, the N was back in business.
UPDATE: delay at Carl & Hillway has cleared. OB #NJudah resuming svc. Expect residual IB/OB delays. Shuttles to remain in place.
— SFMTA (@sfmta_muni) May 7, 2015
In response to the SFMTA's last tweet, graphic designer Amanda Smith exasperatedly tweeted "is it possible to keep the N running properly for an entire day?!"
@sfmta_muni challenge: is it possible to keep the N running properly for an entire day?!
— Amanda (@amandasmithsf) May 7, 2015
Thought the SFMTA didn't respond to Amanda, I'm happy to! The answer is, "No! Not if folks block its path! It is not possible. Sorry!"
Related: Former SF Mayor Says Muni Is A Lost Cause
[h/t Streetsblog SF]