The four-day Dreamforce 2016 conference kicked off yesterday, bringing its usual hordes of lanyard-wearing conventioneers and SoMa traffic with it. And just like with any big event, KRON 4 reports that the SFPD is out in force. This time, in addition to whatever security work officers are engaged in, they are targeting and ticketing drivers in red transit-only lanes reserved for buses and taxis.
That unscrupulous drivers use the transit-only lanes is not particularly new, nor is the practice solely the purview of out-of-town visitors. However, in his capacity as our city's scold king, Stanley Roberts zeros in on the area near the Dreamforce conference. He delights in finding numerous drivers using the city's red-lanes, and Uber drivers picking up and dropping off passengers in the restricted areas.
"You know how the lane works though, right?" Roberts asks a pulled-over Uber driver. "OK," he follows up with glee, "explain it to me."
Roberts doesn't limit his camera to the misdeeds of those behind the wheel, and enjoys catching a few pedestrians in the act of trying to navigate a series of complicated street-closure barricades.
Also, hilariously, his segment opens with a skateboarder confronting Roberts about filming him in public, after which the skateboarder recognizes him and says, "Oh, you're that fuckin guy. You're a kook."
But seriously, if you're not a taxi or a bus, stay out of the transit-only lanes. It's one small way you can help make the streets a bit safer and less congested — this week and every other week of the year.
Related: Bring On The Tourists: Hardly Strictly, Fleet Week, And Dreamforce To Kick Off October