How is the street parking in SF? (San Francisco, Richmond: crime, house)

[slackercruster]

I will be staying maybe 45 minutes away and wanted to drive in the city to look around. Is street parking doable at the various tourist sites?


Thanks

[beb0p]

Originally Posted by slackercruster

I will be staying maybe 45 minutes away and wanted to drive in the city to look around. Is street parking doable at the various tourist sites?


Thanks

Depends on the site.

But count on using mostly paid parking.
.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by slackercruster

I will be staying maybe 45 minutes away and wanted to drive in the city to look around. Is street parking doable at the various tourist sites?


Thanks

Depending on which tourist sites you're referring to:
Union Square (extremely difficult, probably not worth it - park in a lot, park somewhere else and walk/take public transit, or don't drive at all);
Fisherman's Wharf (very difficult if you want to be literally right next to the wharf, but you can find parking inland around the northern parts of North Beach (south of Bay St.));
The Embarcadero (difficult, but you can find parking off the Embarcadero - e.g. my favorite street to park on when I want to go the Exploratorium is Sansome);
Golden Gate Park (on a weekend it'll be very tough to find parking, but you can find parking in the areas next to the park in the Sunset or the Richmond - weekdays should be easy);
Golden Gate Bridge - there really isn't any "street" parking around that - you'll be parking in the lots near the bridge, and on a typical weekend day will be quite crowded (although it'll be far less buy on a weekday).

Keep in mind all of these areas (except for GG Park) will be metered parking, so you should factor that in. Depending on time of day (and what day it is), parking will be easier/more difficult. Also, most far out neighborhoods have plentiful street parking by SF standards (such as the outer Richmond, if you're looking to go to Lands End or the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park).

For the most part, it's probably easier to pay for parking in a lot for a day, and just take buss/street car lines to various sites - you'll have a lot less aggravation and will get to relax and take in the sites as you travel around (vs. being stressed trying to find the right streets to park on).

Another good option is to take BART in and just keep the car elsewhere. Public transit isn't at NY levels, but it's very functional and gets you to all of the major stuff in the city very easily.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by slackercruster

I will be staying maybe 45 minutes away and wanted to drive in the city to look around. Is street parking doable at the various tourist sites?


Thanks

Depends where in the city, some areas are easy, some areas are moderate, some areas are difficult and some are nearly impossible. Difficult areas often have parking garages for a fee. Alternatives to going to difficult areas would be to park at a BART station and ride BART. However, most of San Francisco is moderate to easy for street parking as long as you are okay with walking 10 minutes.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Be very wary of parking anywhere you see little bits of broken car window glass. It is exactly what you think it is.

[green papaya]

Ocean Beach & Cliff House lots of free unmetered public street parking but it fills up quickly on a nice sunny day, plus the free parking lots around the park, Lands End Trail.

Baker Beach has a free parking lot but it fills up quickly , also a small public parking lot next to China Beach

Free Four Hour parking near the end of Van Ness ave and the Municipal Pier Aquatic Park, SF

but it's usually full by 10 am

If your planning on parking more than a couple hours, it's best to park at a garage or flat rate parking lot, also to avoid getting tickets.

[slackercruster]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Be very wary of parking anywhere you see little bits of broken car window glass. It is exactly what you think it is.

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.

[clongirl]

It's always been a problem, but apparently it's even worse now. Jump in S.F. car break-ins prompts frustration, finger-pointing - SFGate

Parking is mostly difficult in/around neighborhoods that aren't out near Ocean Beach or the Avenues (numbered streets). If you're not very familiar with San Francisco driving, I wouldn't really attempt it your first time and take public transportation. First, just getting into the City can be a pain over the traffic. A lot of the busy areas can be hairy with double parked cars, buses pulling out in front of you, streetcars/cable cars, steep hills, one way signs, a lot of no lefts/no rights, other confused folk that stop for no apparent reason, etc.

If you do choose to drive, most busy areas have large parking lots. The City owned ones tend to be cheaper from my experience. San Francisco Parking Finder | BestParking

[tikkasf]

"From the beginning of January through the end of June there have been 11,917 reported vehicle burglaries in the city, according to the San Francisco Police Department’s most recent crime data."

Who knows how many go unreported

[ServoMiff]

with traffic in the bay area, coming in with a car just isn't the most practical these days. You may be able to locate parking, but it's usually preferred to leave the car outside of the city and use public transport. Car breakins in the city are at an insanely high rate right now, and we're having all kinds of crime boosts in my neighborhood too, long known as one of the safer areas of the city.

Where are you staying? If you're 45 minutes away, you should be within the range of all options of public transport without having to use your car at all, saving you the hassle of traffic and the worry of a possible break-in.