How is the street parking in SF? (San Francisco, Richmond: neighborhood, to buy)

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by slackercruster

Never would have thought of that. Maybe that is good advice for any city?

Is that near the Tenderloin District? I never have been there but they had a piece on the news about it.

It's good advice for any city, but it is MANDATORY in San Francisco. Do not leave anything visible, no back pack, no grocery bags, no cables... there are too many homeless crack heads around the city, not just in bad areas. My buddy had his car broken into for having a large bottle of juice.

[slackercruster]

Thanks for all the feedback.

Never new there was so much car theft in SF. I guess people have a hard time getting by and have to get the $ any way they can. I had read SF is one of the highest priced cities to live in other than NY. In Ohio, where I'm coming from they sometimes go on tire slashing runs at night for fun or mailbox bashing with baseball bats, but seldom is there a break in from window smashing.

I travel with a lot of photo gear. ($15,000 to $20,000+) Sometimes I get tired of lugging it around and hide it in the rental car with some clothes thrown over it. I guess I will have to lug it all around in a backpack. I can't leave any of it in my motel room. In Fla I came back to the motel and found that someone had entered the room with a key and cut the little locks off the luggage and gone through them.

[slackercruster]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

It's good advice for any city, but it is MANDATORY in San Francisco. Do not leave anything visible, no back pack, no grocery bags, no cables... there are too many homeless crack heads around the city, not just in bad areas. My buddy had his car broken into for having a large bottle of juice.

Wow...thanks for the advice. I usually leave all sort of crap in my rental cars.

[ServoMiff]

Originally Posted by slackercruster

Wow...thanks for the advice. I usually leave all sort of crap in my rental cars.

Unfortunately, he's dead on too. It's sad when I walk through downtown areas and I see tourists upset because their rental was broken into. You at least had the foresight to come on here and learn before you went.

[rah]

Yeah, you never want to leave anything in your car, though even that doesn't make a difference sometimes. A few years ago my sister had her completely empty, crappy early 1990s car broken into, in Noe Valley (a nice neighborhood)...they stole the ashtray.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by slackercruster

Wow...thanks for the advice. I usually leave all sort of crap in my rental cars.

No problem, there was an article today saying car break-ins have increased 47%. They lowered penalties on non-violent crimes, which is one of the suspected reasons for such a big increase. Gotta love politics right lol. Enjoy your trip, I'm sure you'll have a good time, just use "big city" common sense and you'll be fine.

[California Vagabond]

I strongly agree with others suggesting that you use transit to get around S.F., rather than a personal car.

The home page of the local transit agency, SFMTA, is: https://www.sfmta.com/

The system map: https://www.sfmta.com/maps/muni-system-map

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by California Vagabond

I strongly agree with others suggesting that you use transit to get around S.F., rather than a personal car.

The home page of the local transit agency, SFMTA, is: https://www.sfmta.com/

The system map: https://www.sfmta.com/maps/muni-system-map

Most people in San Francisco drive and it's actually a lot more convenient to drive than take transit besides a few areas in downtown. However, if you're fine with paying for parking, then it's virtually more convenient anywhere in the city to drive. There are a lot of great areas to visit that most tourists don't see because they don't have a car. Transit in San Francisco is extensive, but painfully slow. It can take almost an hour to go from Union Square to Golden Gate Park and then Golden Gate Park is something like 3 miles in length just in itself. All you have to do is just make sure nothing is visible in your car. Have Google Maps or Apple Maps on your phone. You don't even need quarters anymore because most take credit cars or you can even download the app "PayByPhone" which works at any meter.

[3rdGen SFan]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

No problem, there was an article today saying car break-ins have increased 47%. They lowered penalties on non-violent crimes, which is one of the suspected reasons for such a big increase. Gotta love politics right lol. Enjoy your trip, I'm sure you'll have a good time, just use "big city" common sense and you'll be fine.

I read the same thing on SFist: Property Crime Up 22%, Violent Crime Up 13% Over Last Year: SFist

but I wasn't surprised at all. I too often witness thieves looking into the windows of parked vehicles, and I'm on my third set of bicycle tires since October because it's too much work to watch the ground for broken window glass and watch traffic at the same time--my tires get cut up and sometimes flattened despite buying puncture-resistant tires.

Another perspective of the epidemic of thefts can be seen via the CrimeMapping website. Bear in mind the report records on CrimeMapping is only a span of a week. http://www.crimemapping.com

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by 3rdGen SFan

I read the same thing on SFist: Property Crime Up 22%, Violent Crime Up 13% Over Last Year: SFist

but I wasn't surprised at all. I too often witness thieves looking into the windows of parked vehicles, and I'm on my third set of bicycle tires since October because it's too much work to watch the ground for broken window glass and watch traffic at the same time--my tires get cut up and sometimes flattened despite buying puncture-resistant tires.

Another perspective of the epidemic of thefts can be seen via the CrimeMapping website. Bear in mind the report records on CrimeMapping is only a span of a week. http://www.crimemapping.com

It seems the city doesn't think it's that important, so it doesn't surprise me property crime is also up. You'd think a city with such a strong economy and income stream from outrageously high ticket and fine rates would do a better job managing the city.