There is no particular reason why a hotel at that location is a bad
thing, AS LONG AS it is built on AIR-RIGHTS over a terminal. The F is
already to have a stop there, there is space for a 4-6 lane bus
terminal, 2 lane auto circulator for the hotel, and a lobby with
escalators for the hotel (main lobby 20 feet above grade) on the corner
of Mission and Steuart, but little or no street level amenities/stores.
Dispersing terminal (Muni) traffic is a BAD THING...causing
inconvenience to passengers, Muni drivers, auto/truck drivers, not to
mention the loss of parking spaces and increased congestion. For a
fairly small annual yield $300K-400K (this from the rosy cheeked
initial report...imagine how much it will COST Muni a year by the time
it actually happens). Muni should try to make travel More Convenient,
and connections easier to make, even if it costs money.
Imagine a Ferry Terminal with signed boading islands for the F, 2, 6, 7,
9, 14, 14L, 14X, 21, 31, 66, 71...with or without a hotel above it.
Certainly it is now an barren asphalt parking lot with operator
bathrooms, but hundreds of buses a day travel across it, reason enough
to keep it. If all that matters is the bottom line, perhaps they should
fire the people who are selling Muni's operating birthright for a pot of
tin...most likely they could realize an actual savings equal or greater
than that derived from the hotel deal...all the benefits, with none of
the consequences.
Robert Parks
time to go back to bed before I get really mad!