<[snipped]>
>
> Sure enough, I read, "Another delay occurred on the M-Line,
>near Junipero Serra and 19th Avenue between 5:08 and 5:48 p.m,
>because of a parked car on the tracks".
>
> Doesn't Muni have the authority to get a Tow Truck out there and remove
>the >offending vehicle? Why did it take so long? (I've also been on
>N-Judah trains >which were held up because of double-parked cars,
>typically on the 9th or >Irving sections of the route. Usually, the
>driver would make a fuss, using >their oversized bicycle bell, till the
>person comes out and moves their car).
>
> Anyway, the question stands, what can Muni legally do?
>
> Till later,
>
> Ken Parker (Metro Subway Spelunker)
>
Ken:
The procedures for removing an automobile from Muni trackways are as follows:
1) Operator calls Muni Central Control to report track blockage by
motor vehicle, giving location and direction.
2) C. C. sends an inspector to assess the situation.
3) Inspector requests CC to call SFPD to order a tow truck. (For
some reason--perhaps by law or liability, Muni cannot order a tow truck
directly.)
4) The police dispatch a tow truck to the scene.
5) The offending vehicle is removed, and service is restored. But
not before the vehicle is plastered with tickets with the applicable
vehicle code, and a ticket for trespassing is issued. (That's right:
Driving a motor vehicle on railroad or transit tracks, whether or not it
was accidental, is TRESPASSING!) The trackway must also be inspected for
damage, which, if found, is assessed the vehicle owner. It could amount to
thousands of dollars. Not to mention the cost of the damage done to the
car itself.
Occasionally, if the problem isn't too serious and is simple to remedy,
Muni will send the LRV shop truck to get the auto out of the way. This
avoids having to use the SFPD.
The principal locations for "autos-on-the-trackwaY' are:
M-Line: 19th Avenue & Junipero Serra, inbound
J-Line: Glen Park Station, inbound
J-Line: San Jose & Randall, outbound
These usually occur during a rainstorm, or at night, or both. BTW,
"autos-on-the-tracks" situations also take place in Philadelphia and
Boston, where a motorist gets lost and decides to follow a "bus", which
"turns into a streetcar" and enters a tunnel. The results are predictable
and disastrous.
During my Muni career, I have been in several situations where I was
blocked by autos on the private-right-of-way. The most spectacular one I
can recall occurred in 1993 or 1994 during the beginnings of the Alcatel
debacle. Alcatel shut the Twin Peaks Tunnel down on weeknights after
1000pm for construction, and four to six 3-car trains shuttled between
Embarcadero to Castro from 1000pm to the end of service. (This was one of
the few instances where the $XX million Castro crossover has been actually
USED--but that's another story.) Because the Twin Peaks Tunnel was shut
down, we all had to pull in over the J Extension. Anyway, the first of the
six trains was pulling in shortly after midnight when its progress was
stopped by an auto which had driven over the short concrete divider onto
the trackway just north of Glen Park Station and into an empty space where
the ties end. Somehow, the driver had managed to also foul the inbound
track as well, so we couldn't reverse run back to Church & Day crossover
and use the Glen Park crossover. All the tires went flat, of course. All
of the other pull-in trains were blocked, too. Well, about 200am, the SFPD
sent a unit, and the cop turned out to be the driver's roommate! Two tow
trucks were dispatched, and the first one failed to get the auto out of the
ditch. The shop came out, too, as they were getting very nervous about
being able to fill the next morning's pullout schedule. In all, 18
bleary-eyed operators got 2-3 hours of unscheduled and unwanted overtime
that night.
Then there was the time in March 1997 when, on two CONSECUTIVE EVENINGS(!)
motorists fouled the outbound San Jose right-of-way, again, just north of
Glen Park. On the first night, the panicked woman driver from
Pennsylvania, when asked why she didn't stop and back up, said "I thought I
could keep going until the tracks ended!"
And here's a "Ninth & Irving" story which demonstrates the selfish,
self-impor- tant attitude of car owners. One evening, about 630pm, I was
blocked by a motorist who had parked his car right on the corner of 9th
Avenue & Irving, just far enough so we couldn't clear. (The motorist also
blocked the handicapped ramp--a $271 infraction.) An inspector arrived and
issued a ticket. The police wouldn't send a tow truck, so all service
(including a number of pull-in trains) were blocked for 45 minutes! Then
the inspector and a bunch of us operators decided to try to lift the car
onto the sidewalk so that the line could be cleared. Just then, the
offending motorist showed up. Instead of apologizing, he chewed US out for
attempting to move HIS car out of the way!!!
Clearly the rule here is "Next Time Take The Streetcar--It's Easier On Your
Pocketbook and Psyche".
Peter Ehrlich
F-Line Operator
Green Light Rail Division
<norcalrr@sprynet.com>