Less than a week after the news broke that the Super Bowl 50 Committee is seeking to pull down the Muni wires on or near Market Street, the public outcry over the plan has spurred a public hearing on the issue, and the Committee is struggling calm us all down with assurances that they'll throw enough money at us to eliminate any problems.
Here's what we do know for sure: The Super Bowl "fan village" (which is, as SF Weekly notes, around 45 miles from the Super Bowl itself) at the foot of Market Street will require a closure of the area for about eight days, from January 30 to Game Day on February 7, 2016. That means the F-Market will only run between Fisherman's Wharf and the Ferry Building (sorry, everyone who rides it from the Embarcadero to the Castro!), and "about a dozen" Muni bus lines will have their service disrupted, as well.
As you already know, that disruption might be worse than just a reroute around the village. Supervisor Jane Kim, in whose district the wires would apparently be removed, confirmed last week that “The [Super Bowl] committee has been very open about it...They’ve definitely been asking to take down the overhead wires on Market Street.”
But the Committee's openness only goes so far, as Kim told the Ex Monday night that “I don’t have a lot of info about the Super Bowl’s proposal,” with sources saying that "most of the discussion was between the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee and The Mayor’s Office," instead.
Whatever the proposal is, it's been speculated that a wire removal would likely disrupt bus lines and streetcar traffic for weeks before and after the event, making a surface-street commute down Market a real pain in the ass.
While so far no specific proposal has been presented to the people who live here, SFist noted last week that whatever the Committee's plan, it "should come as no surprise — after all, in looking back at the Fan Village renderings, all Muni wires are conspicuously absent."
Since the news broke last week, over 100 people have written to the SFMTA Citizen Advisory Council asking that they put the kibosh on the plan. But though the Council will be discussing it during their December 3 meeting, anyone who took the time to write to them was told "Please be aware that the Council is advisory in nature and is not involved in the planning for this event." In other words, "we actually can't do anything about it, but if you feel like talking, come and talk," I guess?
In addition, 267 (at publication time) people have signed a change.org petition opposing the wire removal.
It's likely that a number of angry residents also contacted Kim, though she tells the Ex that "no one" from the Committee came to her office to discuss the wire removal proposal until after the furor began. That's why, she says, she'll call for a hearing on the wire removal during this afternoon's full Board of Supervisors’ regular meeting. This hearing is not to be confused with Supervisor Malia Cohen's December 7 hearing on the city's overall Super Bowl plan, as Kim's will focus specifically on the transit issues this Super Bowl bullshit will cause.
"The hearing will be an opportunity for Kim to get answers," the Ex reports, "but also 'It will give people an opportunity for input.'"
Even in light of the public derision of the plan, the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee seems undaunted, saying by written statement that “If there is a need for temporary removal of overhead wires in this area, the Host Committee will cover that cost."
It's unclear how the Committee plans on compensating all the citizens that would be delayed and inconvenienced by that plan, but perhaps we'll find that out at the hearing.
Previously: A Dozen Muni Lines Will Be Disrupted By Super Bowl Fan Village
Super Bowl 50 Committee Asks San Francisco To Take Down Muni Wires
During The Super Bowl Mayor Lee Says City's Homeless Will Have To Leave
