The gargantuan new Sutter Health CPMC hospital is finally getting its glass sheath exterior, and the building is looking much better than I would have ever expected.
It is certainly looking sharper than the 1960s era Jack Tar Hotel that once took up the entire block between Geary and Post, Van Ness and Franklin.
On the other side of Van Ness Avenue the better part of the block towards Polk Street has also been razed for construction of an associated medical complex...
...and the foundations are currently being poured into a huge hole in the ground.
Concurrently, the SFMTA is starting the first phase of their Van Ness Corridor Transit Improvement Project by eliminating and consolidating about half the bus stops on the busy street in an effort to speed up travel time on the heavily trafficked corridor.
The agency has stationed workers at bus stops along Van Ness, including the gent above, to hand out maps to passengers showing the changes that take effect on Saturday, June 4th.
Though there are plenty of complaints written about the eliminated stops at the SFMTA blog, they make me happy since I have been dependent on the slow, stop-and-start, lunatic-laden Muni buses on Van Ness Avenue for decades. It can only get better.
The bus stop consolidation can only be a good thing. Sometimes I'm busing down Van Ness with the intent to transfer to another line... And often miss my connection by just a few minutes due to the Van Ness stops and starts.
ReplyDeleteAnything that replaces the Jack Tar Hotel is an improvement.
ReplyDeleteI feel better about SF after a visit. It is still the premier city of the West.