The Big Cross-Bay Move

I have recently moved to San Francisco.  I had lived in the East Bay for eight and a half years.  I’m not one of those rabid “Bay divide” folks.  I like certain features on both sides of the bridge.  However, I have been under the impression for a long time that the East Bay tends to be more bike-friendly and that the majority of the car/bike accidents I hear about happen in SF. 

 

That said I welcome advice on best and worst places to ride in the city.  I am living near 3^rd Street.  I have found that 3^rd is too busy and narrow to accommodate bikes well.  However, Illinois St. runs alongside it for many blocks and is far less congested.  I have not yet figured out whether bikes are allowed on the Third Street Rail (T-Line).  I know that regular Muni buses have a bike rack on the front.  However, I don’t think that’s the case with the rail lines.  The rail seems like it might be big enough to accommodate bikes at non-busy times.  However, I’m really hesitant to just try it out, because Muni drivers can be incredibly surly—probably for some good reasons—and I’m not usually in any mood to be yelled at in front of a large group.

 

 

Also, even though my wife and I found a nice place to live and our street seems pretty quiet, the overall Bayview/Hunter’s Point neighborhood has quite a bad reputation.  I haven’t had any problems yet, but I welcome tips about safe commuting in and around the neighborhood—aside from avoiding the most obvious: rough housing projects and intersections in which drug deals appear to take place or a lot of loitering happens. 

 

Outside of my immediate neighborhood, I am eager to find good places to ride in the city just for fun.  Any street that has a bike lane and isn’t too terribly steep is a welcome route to explore as far as I’m concerned!