Unprecedented Toll Considered for Popular ‘Crooked' Lombard Street in San Francisco
A suburb of Dallas considered a similar toll, but it never made it to the town council
By Lisa Fernandez ••
A possible toll, parking officers, reservations and a fully funded “Lombard Ambassadors” program are being considered as ways to curb congestion along San Francisco’s most crooked street. Jean Elle reports.
A possible toll, parking officers, reservations and a fully funded "Lombard Ambassadors" program are being considered as ways to curb congestion along San Francisco's most crooked street.
After more than a year of study, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority has issued several potential solutions on better managing the tourists who flock to Lombard Street, and who inevitably clog the access for those residents who actually live there.
On Tuesday night, frustrations boiled over at a community meeting as longtime Russian Hill residents said what used to be a weekend inconvenience of gridlocked traffic and people spilling into the streets is now a daily headache.
Longtime resident Judith Carlson said that it's not just traffic, but trash and toilets that are also a burden on those who live there.
"There's no place for people to sit, so they're all sitting on our steps and throwing trash on our steps," Carlson said. "There's no bathrooms, so they knock on my doors."
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A couple dressed in matching red-and-white short-sleeve shirts pose for a picture in front of Lombard Street in San Francisco. (Sept. 13, 2016)
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A couple takes a picture in front of Lombard Street. (Sept. 14, 2016)
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A woman adjusts her cell phone on Lombard Street in San Francisco. (Sept. 14, 2016)
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A man takes a selfie on the top of Lombard Street in San Francisco. (Sept. 13, 2016)
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Two women raise their hands and smile with cell phones in hand on Lombard Street in San Francisco. (Sept. 13, 2016)
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A man holds a selfie stick on Lombard Street in San Francisco before taking his picture. (Sept. 13, 2016)
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A woman looks serious while balancing a selfie stick on Lombard Street in San Francisco. (Sept.14, 2016)
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A man takes a selfie alongside a buddy on Lombard Street in San Francisco. (Sept. 13, 2016)
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A woman takes a selfie picture in front of Lombard Street in San Francisco. (Sept. 14, 2016)
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A selfie stick and smartphone are poised to snap away on Lombard Street in San Francisco. (Sept. 14, 2016)
As far as the transportation authority knows, it's the first time a toll has ever been considered for Lombard Street, spokesman Eric Young told NBC Bay Area. How much the toll would cost and who would pay it, hasn't yet been hashed out. The specifics of a toll, if it is approved, he said, would require yet another study.
The fee is one of several options to offset the average 16,000 visitors on peak days, and roughly 2 million tourists a year who flock to see the multimillion-dollar homes and 600-foot stretch of winding street, which is now the second most popular tourist destination in San Francisco.
Tolls are commonplace on bridges and highways, and even for driving to see redwood trees. But they're unusual in residential areas. In a suburban town outside Dallas, transportation leaders once considered the idea of charging a toll on Mockingbird Lane for non-residents in 2008, which at the time, would have been the first toll on a surface street in the United States. It never passed, however, because the idea died before it ever made it to the town council, according to Highland Park town spokesman Lance Koppa.
Young said he wasn't aware of any other U.S. tolls on residential streets - that question wasn't part of the study focus.
"Clearly, Lombard has been a tourist destination spot for many years," Young said. "But there seem to be waves of popularity. We're in a peak period, right now."
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 20: A car drives down Lombard Street on May 20, 2014 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors is considering a summer shutdown San Francisco's famed Lombard Street, known as the crookedest street in the world, as summer tourist traffic on the scenic street is causing huge backups and posing safety concerns for reisdents. The proposal would close the section between Larkin and Leavenworth streets on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. beginning on June 21 through July 13 and also on July 4. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A car drives down Lombard Street in San Francisco, California, in this file photo.
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 20: A view of Lombard Street on May 20, 2014 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors is considering a summer shutdown San Francisco's famed Lombard Street, known as the crookedest street in the world, as summer tourist traffic on the scenic street is causing huge backups and posing safety concerns for reisdents. The proposal would close the section between Larkin and Leavenworth streets on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. beginning on June 21 through July 13 and also on July 4. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 20: Cars drive down Lombard Street on May 20, 2014 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors is considering a summer shutdown San Francisco's famed Lombard Street, known as the crookedest street in the world, as summer tourist traffic on the scenic street is causing huge backups and posing safety concerns for reisdents. The proposal would close the section between Larkin and Leavenworth streets on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. beginning on June 21 through July 13 and also on July 4. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 20: Tourists take pictures while driving down Lombard Street on May 20, 2014 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors is considering a summer shutdown San Francisco's famed Lombard Street, known as the crookedest street in the world, as summer tourist traffic on the scenic street is causing huge backups and posing safety concerns for reisdents. The proposal would close the section between Larkin and Leavenworth streets on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. beginning on June 21 through July 13 and also on July 4. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 20: Tourists take pictures while driving down Lombard Street on May 20, 2014 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors is considering a summer shutdown San Francisco's famed Lombard Street, known as the crookedest street in the world, as summer tourist traffic on the scenic street is causing huge backups and posing safety concerns for reisdents. The proposal would close the section between Larkin and Leavenworth streets on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. beginning on June 21 through July 13 and also on July 4. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 20: Tourists look at Lombard Street while riding on cable car on May 20, 2014 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors is considering a summer shutdown San Francisco's famed Lombard Street, known as the crookedest street in the world, as summer tourist traffic on the scenic street is causing huge backups and posing safety concerns for reisdents. The proposal would close the section between Larkin and Leavenworth streets on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. beginning on June 21 through July 13 and also on July 4. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 20: Tourists takes selfie while standing Lombard Street on May 20, 2014 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors is considering a summer shutdown San Francisco's famed Lombard Street, known as the crookedest street in the world, as summer tourist traffic on the scenic street is causing huge backups and posing safety concerns for reisdents. The proposal would close the section between Larkin and Leavenworth streets on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. beginning on June 21 through July 13 and also on July 4. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 20: Tourists take pictures of Lombard Street on May 20, 2014 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors is considering a summer shutdown San Francisco's famed Lombard Street, known as the crookedest street in the world, as summer tourist traffic on the scenic street is causing huge backups and posing safety concerns for reisdents. The proposal would close the section between Larkin and Leavenworth streets on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. beginning on June 21 through July 13 and also on July 4. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 20: A tourist takes a picture out of a sunroof while driving down Lombard Street on May 20, 2014 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors is considering a summer shutdown San Francisco's famed Lombard Street, known as the crookedest street in the world, as summer tourist traffic on the scenic street is causing huge backups and posing safety concerns for reisdents. The proposal would close the section between Larkin and Leavenworth streets on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. beginning on June 21 through July 13 and also on July 4. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 20: A tourist maves a video while walking down Lombard Street on May 20, 2014 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors is considering a summer shutdown San Francisco's famed Lombard Street, known as the crookedest street in the world, as summer tourist traffic on the scenic street is causing huge backups and posing safety concerns for reisdents. The proposal would close the section between Larkin and Leavenworth streets on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. beginning on June 21 through July 13 and also on July 4. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 20: A tourist uses a smartphone to take photo while driving down Lombard Street on May 20, 2014 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors is considering a summer shutdown San Francisco's famed Lombard Street, known as the crookedest street in the world, as summer tourist traffic on the scenic street is causing huge backups and posing safety concerns for reisdents. The proposal would close the section between Larkin and Leavenworth streets on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. beginning on June 21 through July 13 and also on July 4. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 20: A view of Lombard Street on May 20, 2014 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors is considering a summer shutdown San Francisco's famed Lombard Street, known as the crookedest street in the world, as summer tourist traffic on the scenic street is causing huge backups and posing safety concerns for reisdents. The proposal would close the section between Larkin and Leavenworth streets on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. beginning on June 21 through July 13 and also on July 4. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Greg Bundage of the Lombard Hill Improvement Association has lived on Lombard for 20 years.
"This used to be a great place to live, but the city has turned its head and let this happen," Bundage said. "And even though it may be an icon, we deserve to have some privacy."
Bundage liked the idea of dynamic pricing. "Tolls with surge pricing cheaper during the week vs. the weekend," he said. "And night should be max. Nobody knows unless they live here. At night, people go down 2 or 3 a.m., honking, yelling, boom boxes."
Some tourists on Tuesday said they understood the residents' frustrations and said they would be willing to pay a small fee for access to the street.
But a toll was not the answer for many others. "Insane. Greedy," Kayrn Pierce tweeted.
"It's kind of a highlight for people to come here to San Francisco to see this pretty street, and to charge to see the street would be an injustice, actually," said tourist Anand Raivaderaand of London, while enjoying the unusual street and stunning surrounding views.
Aside from the toll, the study's other possible recommendations include adding parking control officers to direct traffic and shepherd pedestrians meandering along with their iPhones, and creating a permanent funding base for an ambassador program first started in August 2015. The program currently costs $110,000. Other ideas include asking people to make reservations to drive down Lombard, now a victim of its own popularity.
The transportation authority will consider the feedback from Tuesday night's community meeting and forward some ideas to the Board of Supervisors by the end of 2016, Young said.
Lombard Street is "the second most popular spot next to the Golden Gate Bridge," Supervisor Mark Farrell's legislative aide, Jess Montejano, said Tuesday. "Within the last year and a half, the congestion and quality of life have gotten worse and we need to get our act together."
NBC Bay Area's Pete Suratos, Marianne Favro and Jean Elle contributed to this report.
