Soon You Might Have to Pay to Drive San Francisco’s Famous Lombard Street
Well thank you very much, Instagram obsessed, selfie-stick-wielding tourists. Your job is done here.
Solidly in the "Top 5 Most Touristy Things You Can Do in San Francisco," is taking a drive down the famously steep and twisty Lombard Street. However, due to an infestation of tourists and selfie-obsessed Instagrammers, this privilege might cost you a few bucks pretty soon.
According to CNN, the city's Board of Supervisors unanimously greenlit legislation last Tuesday that'd require anyone wanting to take a vehicle onto the unique tourist attraction not only pay a small fee, but make a reservation ahead of time. The move was apparently made in an effort to curb overcrowding. As it stands, taking a trip down Lombard only costs the fuel you use and up to 10 hours(!) of your time. Talk about a tourist trap.
"Due to over two million annual visitors, and daily queuing for up to 10 hours, traffic congestion on and around the 1000 block of Lombard Street in the City and County of San Francisco (known as the "Crooked Street") has deteriorated the safety and quality of life for residents of the Crooked Street and surrounding community," reads Assembly Bill 1605.
The city wants to charge $5 per car on weekdays and $10 per car on weekends and holidays. Prospective visitors would also have to register for a time and date beforehand. Those opting to make their way down the boulevard on foot, however, can still do so for free. Given how steep Lombard is, though, you'd be doing so at the risk of some messed-up ankles and skinned knees.
Slanted 27 degrees and consisting of eight hairpin turns, Lombard Street is speed limited to just 5 mph. I mean, I've never been but that sounds downright lame, free or otherwise. If you ask us, a road like that is wasted if it's used for anything other than a drift stage.
