OpenSF 2012 Transit Information
Hotel By Car
Parking near the Holiday Inn is difficult. There are meters in the area that prevent parking for more than an hour or two on Saturday. To avoid the meters, head a couple blocks west and park just past Gough Street on residential streets. Pay attention to the signs, as certain areas may be two-hour parking. The meters are not live on Sunday or in the evening after 6pm Friday and Saturday, and so it is generally possible to find street parking near the hotel during those times, especially west of Van Ness Avenue. If you are parking Friday night, remember that the meters will turn on Saturday morning.
The hotel garage is of course the closest garage. Originally we thought this would cost $30 per day, but as it turns out we will be able to validate your parking to bring it down to $20. BUT, this rate is only for the first 10 hours, after which things get more expensive. The hotel garage has height limits that prevent vans and some SUVs from parking there. Most of the other garages in the area are sub-optimal, but here are the ones with the best reviews:
- Royal Parking, Sacramento between Van Ness and Polk: $25 per day, $30 for large vehicles. Open 24 hours.
- City Park, Pine between Hyde and Leavenworth: $20 per day, good reviews. Open until midnight.
- State Garage, Leavenworth between Bush and Sutter: $15 per day, and less for day-only parking. However, cars are parked by attendants and there are reports of damage. Closes at midnight.
Hotel By Public Transit
For any bus usage in San Francisco, we strongly recommend www.nextmuni.com, which reports wait times for buses in real time, and can be accessed from a computer or smartphone. Also, some bus stops display this information.
To get to the hotel from BART, the most direct way is to get off at Civic Center station. Then walk west a couple blocks to Van Ness Avenue. Take the 47 or 49 north to California. An alternative when coming from the east bay is to exit the BART at Embarcadero. Walk north a block to Sacramento and catch the 1 bus to Van Ness. Or, if you want to ride a fairly non-touristy cable care for slightly more money, exit at Embarcadero and catch the California Street cable car directly to the hotel.
Love Triangle and Pink By Car
Both Love Triangle and Pink are near the intersection of Mission Street and 22nd Street. Please be careful when leaving the party - while the Mission is a fairly safe neighborhood, there have been some incidents in the area in the last year. In particular, we encourage women to leave with a friend.
If at all possible, we recommend carpooling to these parties. This is to make getting back to the hotel (or elsewhere) easy, as most bus lines stop running around midnight.
Street parking in the Mission district on a Friday or Saturday evening is difficult. Be prepared to spend some time circling. Good parking areas are Mission Street itself and east of it. Mission Street has street cleaning at 4am, which is why there is often parking there.
The El Capitan Garage is on Mission between 19th and 20th, and it is 24 hours. There is a garage on 21st Street between Mission and Valencia that is usually open until 2am, but varies. Both of these garages are often full on weekend evenings.
Love Triangle and Pink By Public Transit
Big news! Holly from HOmobiles has offered the HOmobiles service to OpenSF attendees, which should make getting back from these parties a lot easier. She has this to say:
For my friends coming into SF for OpenSF Conference here's how to make use of HOmobiles to get around the city: text/call (415) 574-5023 and state your name, location, destination & number of people in your party. Yes you can pre-book (esp good for going to the airport). You'll get a response with an estimated time for pickup. Then the dispatcher texts you when the driver arrives, you walk out & find the described car with their flashers on & off you go. Suggested donation is $1 a minute, bring cash, tips are very very welcome. And no one is turned away for lack of funds! The service is primarily in SF proper with runs to SFO & OAK airports. Spread the good word...and welcome to the Bay!!!!
Again, please leave these parties with a friend or group. When leaving, we recommend calling or hailing a cab rather than trying to take the bus. Taxis are common, even late at night. Note that while phoning for a taxi can prevent a wait on the street, they often simply do not come.
The 49 bus goes straight from the hotel to that section of Mission Street, and runs regularly. When returning, take the 14 late-night bus back to Van Ness and then either walk up the hill or catch the 90 back up the hill. Late-night buses tend to arrive sporadically, and there can be a wait of up to an hour for each one. Again, we strongly recommend www.nextmuni.com when trying to catch a late-night bus.