Local questions in San Francisco

At its center, the height of the Golden Gate Bridge from the water to the underside of the bridge deck averages 220 feet (or 67 meters) at high tide, increasing to 225 feet (or 68.5 meters) at low tide. The bridge towers stand 746 feet (or 227 meters) above the water and 500 feet (152 meters) above the road deck.

Cars are allowed on Lombard Street in San Francisco although the iconic ‘crooked’ section is one-way only, downhill between Hyde and Leavenworth streets. To drive down the famous zigzag section you will need to approach from the west on Lombard Street, or alternatively head north on Hyde Street and turn right at Lombard Street to access the top of the hill. Note that vehicles traveling south on Hyde Street are not allowed to turn left onto Lombard Street. Bear in mind that it is a popular tourist attraction and in summer months, particularly at weekends, there can be long lines of cars backed up on Lombard Street waiting their turn to drive down. Mornings are generally the least busy time.

ABC Broadcast Center is located on Front and Vallejo Streets in North Beach, San Francisco, where the studios of KGO-TV, ABC’s owned and operated local television station, branded as ABC 7, is based. San Francisco channel KRON 4 also leases working and studio space in the same building, but as a competing TV station, their facilities are completely separate from those of KGO TV. KGO-TV’s former sister radio station, KGO-AM, vacated its space in the building in 2011, moving into the broadcast facilities of its new owner Cumulus Media on Battery Street, San Francisco.

San Francisco experiences foggy weather, particularly in the summer months, as the hot air in California’s Central Valley rises upwards, creating a low pressure region that causes the cooler moist air sitting over the surface of the Pacific Ocean to be sucked inland. The air over the Pacific Ocean is laden with moisture which condenses into water droplets as it moves over cooler areas of sea along the northern California coastline, essentially forming very low cloud or fog. The fog, known as advection fog, tends to peak in July and August when the inland valley temperature is at its highest, and movement of sea currents along the California coast cause cold water from the depths of the ocean to rise to the surface leading to further cooling of the air layer above the sea. San Francisco is particularly prone to fog because of its location by the ocean at the entrance to the Golden Gate Strait. This opening in the coastline provides an ideal route for the cool air flowing in off the ocean which drags the sea fog in with it.

Embarcadero Station is the busiest BART stop when measured by the average number of passengers exiting the station on weekdays. During February 2020, BART reported that an average of 47,941 people exited the station daily on weekdays, followed closely by 45,090 at nearby Montgomery Street Station. Embarcadero Station is a combined BART and Muni Metro rapid transit underground station on Market Street between Drumm Street and Beale Street near The Embarcadero in San Francisco’s Financial District.

The Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco has bars near the lobby entrance and on the second floor. To avoid the lines, you may pre-order drinks and snacks at the bar before a show and they will be ready for pick-up with your name during the intermission. Other than bottled water, drinks may be only taken into the auditorium if you pay extra for one of the theater’s reusable lidded cups.

Dogs are permitted at Baker Beach in San Francisco, and are allowed off-leash in some areas provided they are under voice control at all times. Off-leash dogs are allowed on the beach north of Lobos Creek but only if they will respond immediately to commands to return to a leash when called. Dogs must be on a leash at all times south of Lobos Creek, on beach access trails, picnic areas, parking lots, the Coastal Trail and the Sand Ladder.

The depth of water under the Golden Gate Bridge is approximately 377 feet (or 115 meters) at its deepest point. The US Geological Survey, with other research partners, have mapped central San Francisco Bay and its entrance under the Golden Gate Bridge using multibeam echosounders. In 2006, they published a topographical image with indicative depths of the sea floor around Alcatraz and Angel Islands, and the Golden Gate Strait underneath the bridge. The imaging shows the area below the Golden Gate Bridge as being the deepest part of San Francisco Bay.

Baker Beach in San Francisco has a clothing-optional area at the very north end of the beach. It is a public beach that attracts mostly clothed visitors, but nude beachgoers frequent the northernmost part nearest the Golden Gate Bridge, so be warned if visiting with children.

The original 7 hills of San Francisco, in order of descending height are: Mount Davidson Twin Peaks Mount Sutro (or Lone Mountain on some lists) Nob Hill Russian Hill Telegraph Hill Rincon Hill San Francisco has many more than seven hills but the list is thought to have been created as an attempt to emulate Rome, the original City of Seven Hills.

All vehicles crossing the Golden Gate Bridge in the direction of San Francisco are required to pay a toll charge. Toll payments cannot be made on the bridge, so rental car drivers have the option of paying the toll through their rental company, but this is likely to be more expensive and subject to convenience fees. Alternatively, one-time toll payments can be made before, or up to 2 days after, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. Note your rental car’s license plate number and pay by one of the following methods: Online using a credit card at bayareafastrak.org. By phone using a credit card on the toll free number 1-877-BAY-TOLL (or 1-877-229-8655). In person using cash at a Cash Payment Location. Go to bayareafastrak.org/cashlocations for a complete listing. In person using credit card or cash, check or money order at the Bay Area FasTrak Customer Service Center at 375 Beale Street (between Folsom and Harrison Streets in San Francisco. Hours are Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, and Saturday 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Most of the city of San Francisco should be able to receive the following free over-the-air TV channels with an antenna. Some areas may not receive all stations due to signals being weakened or blocked by nearby buildings, trees or hills. NameChannelCallsignTransmitter KTVU FOX 2 2.1 KTVU-DT Sutro LATV 2.2 KTVU-DT2 Sutro Movies! 2.3 KTVU-DT3 Sutro Buzzr 2.4 KTVU-DT4 Sutro KRON4 4.1 KRON-DT Sutro Sky Link TV 4.2 KRON-DT2 Sutro getTV 4.3 KRON-DT3 Sutro Court TV 4.4 KRON-DT4 Sutro Antenna TV 4.5 KRON-DT5 Sutro KPIX 5 CBS 5.1 KPIX-DT Sutro Start TV 5.2 KPIX-DT2 Sutro Dabl 5.3 KPIX-DT3 Sutro ABC 7 7.1 KGO-DT Sutro Localish 7.2 KGO-DT2 Sutro Laff 7.3 KGO-DT3 Sutro KQED 9 9.1 KQED-DT Sutro KQED Plus 9.2 KQED-DT2 Sutro KQED World 9.3 KQED-DT3 Sutro PBS Kids 9.4 KQED-DT4 Sutro NBC Bay Area 11.1 KNTV-HD San Bruno Mountain Cozi TV 11.2 COZI-TV San Bruno Mountain NBC LX 11.5 NBCLXSan Bruno Mountain KOFY TV20 20.1 KOFY-TV San Bruno Mountain This TV20.2 This-TVSan Bruno Mountain Positiv20.3 PositivSan Bruno Mountain LATV20.4 LATVSan Bruno Mountain Charge! 20.5 Charge San Bruno Mountain Fun Roads 20.8 Fun Roads San Bruno Mountain KRCB 22.1 KRCB-DT Sutro KRCB Create 22.2 KRCB-CSutro NHK World 22.3 NHKWORL Sutro ShopHQ 28.1 KCNZ-CD San Bruno Mountain HSN 28.2 KCNZ-CD San Bruno Mountain Quest 28.3 KCNZ-CD San Bruno Mountain Shop LC 28.6 KCNZ-CD San Bruno Mountain KMTP 32.1 KMTP San Bruno Mountain KCNS RNN 38.1 KCNS Sutro Sino TV38.2 38-2 Sutro Estrella TV 38.4 Estrell Sutro NTD TV38.5 NTDTVSutro The CW 44.1 KBCW-DT Sutro Comet TV 44.2 COMET Sutro MeTV 44.3 MeTV Sutro TBD 44.4 TBD Sutro Circle 44.5 CIRCLE Sutro Azteca América 50.1 KEMO-TV Sutro beIN Sports Xtra50.2 KEMO-TV Sutro Infomercials50.3 KEMO-TV Sutro KPJK60.1 KPJKHD Sutro France 24 60.2 PJKFRA Sutro NHK World 60.3 PJKNHK Sutro Deutsche Welle 60.4 PJKMHZ Sutro First Nations Experience 60.5 PJKFNX Sutro Jazz TV 60.6PJKJAZZ Sutro ION TV KKPX 65.1 ION San Bruno Mountain Qubo 65.2 qubo San Bruno Mountain ION Plus 65.3 IONPlus San Bruno Mountain ION Shop 65.4 Shop San Bruno Mountain QVC 65.5 QVC San Bruno Mountain HSN 65.6 HSN San Bruno Mountain UniMás 66.1 KFSF-HD Sutro Univision 66.2 KDTV-HD Sutro Bounce TV 66.3 Bounce Sutro Grit 66.4 Grit Sutro Justice Network 66.5 Justice Sutro

An application for a San Francisco Public Library card may be made online or by completing a paper Library Card Application form. Presentation of valid photo ID and proof of residential address is required in-person at any SFPL location in order to process the application and issue a library card. Residents of California are entitled to a free San Francisco Public Library card. Visitors from outside of California with valid photo ID and a temporary San Francisco address may apply for a three-month Visitor Card for a fee of $10. If you have lost a San Francisco Public Library card you can get a free replacement at any SFPL location with your valid photo ID.

The name Alcatraz Island originates from a name given to one of the islands in San Francisco Bay during Spanish rule of California, La Isla de los Alcatraces. That translates to ‘The Island of the Gannets’ but it is widely suggested that the original meaning was ‘The Island of the Pelicans’, based on an archaic Spanish word for pelican, alcatraz. It is documented that there were populations of brown pelicans inhabiting the Bay’s islands. The name is credited to Spanish naval officer Juan Manuel de Ayala who charted San Francisco Bay in 1775. Although it is suggested that Ayala’s original charts ascribed the name to what is now Yerba Buena Island and at some point in history it instead became attached to the present day Alcatraz Island.

The distinct areas of black sand on some San Francisco beaches, such as Ocean Beach and Funston Beach, are mostly iron-rich magnetite crystals. The major source of this black magnetite is the granite rocks of the Sierra Nevada mountains where tiny grains break away through erosion and are carried to the ocean by rivers and deposited on San Francisco beaches by wave action and sea currents. The magnetite has a different grain size and density to the more familiar yellow and clear silica-rich sand and tends to settle as a layer or band of black sand, which people sometimes assume is dirt or oil contamination. The amount of black sand visible varies through the year, depending on weather systems, currents and wave energy. An interesting property of magnetite is its magnetic attraction, enabling it to be separated from regular sand using a magnet, and the reason it is sometimes called magnetic sand.

San Francisco’s Telegraph Hill was so named because of the semaphore signal station erected on it in September 1847. The station operated as an optical telegraph, having two hinged arms on a tall mast which were raised or lowered to relay information which could be read from downtown and the waterfront as to the type of ships entering the Golden Gate Strait and the cargo they might be carrying. In gold-rush-era San Francisco it provided useful early information to merchants, traders and speculators as to the nature of the cargo arriving imminently at the city’s port so that the supply effect on prices of goods and commodities could be predicted.

The 59-story Millennium Tower in San Francisco was built on a floating pile foundation. Rather than sitting on bedrock, floating piles are supported by the gripping action of friction with the surrounding mud and sand, and some settling is anticipated. In the case of the Millennium Tower, the ground has been unable to adequately support the weight of the tower. During design of the building, it was projected that the maximum vertical settling of the Millennium Tower would be 5.5 inches (or 15 centimeters) over 20 years from its completion in 2009. In fact, by 2018 the building had sunk by 18 inches (or 46 centimeters) with a lean of 14 inches (or 35.5 centimeters) to the northwest. The issue is the subject of several legal disputes, with the developer alleging that construction of the neighboring Transbay Transit Center caused the settling, countered by an assertion that the building had already sunk beyond design projections before construction commenced on the Transit Center. A fix involves underpinning the structure with additional piles along the tower’s north and west sides driven down to the bedrock below. It is expected that this will stabilize the building and substantially correct the tilt over a ten-year period.

Residents can block their own driveway in San Francisco only if the vehicle’s license plate is registered to the building’s address and the building has two or fewer units. The vehicle must be parked parallel to the curb and a street parking permit is not required provided the vehicle fits between the curb cuts where the top of the curb begins to slope down on either side of the driveway.

The Megabus stop for all arrivals and departures in San Francisco is on Townsend Street eastbound, at the corner of 5th Street, opposite the UserTesting building. The bus stop is one block west of the San Francisco Caltrain station.

Most towed vehicles in San Francisco go to the City and County of San Francisco Impound on 7th Street, between Harrison Street and Bryant Street, which is open 24 hours a day. The facility is operated by the City’s contractor, Auto Return, and confirmation that a vehicle is there can be made online at autoreturn.com or by calling 415-865-8200. To release your towed vehicle you must appear in person at the impound and pay all fees. To claim a vehicle towed by order of the San Francisco Police Department, you must first obtain a release form by taking your driver’s license and proof of ownership to a police station.