Waterfront

The Warriors announced this week that the site for the basketball team's proposed arena would be moved from Piers 30-32 on the Embarcadero to Mission Bay, quelling opposition from waterfront development foes. Whether or not the new site will work out for better or worse in terms of accessibility to regional transit, however, is still up for debate.

The SFMTA has installed 40 temporary wayfinding signs at 27 locations to guide people walking and biking to the America's Cup races starting next month, according to agency spokesperson Ben Jose. Though the SFMTA installed wayfinding signs for walking during the preliminary races last summer, this may be the first time the city has provided estimated travel times and distances for people on bikes.

Transporting folks to and from a new Warriors arena, condo, and hotel development planned for Piers 30-32 along the Embarcadero will require smart planning and the money to fund improvements for transit, walking, and biking to avoid clogging the waterfront with cars.

The plaza behind the Ferry Building, known largely as a farmer's market venue and a place for ferry commuters to pass through, could be temporarily turned into a 64-space part-time parking lot during weekdays under a plan being considered by the Port Commission. Equity Office, which leases the Ferry terminal, is pushing the 18-month proposal as a way to generate revenue to underwrite pilot public space improvements around the plaza's edges during that time.

A luxury waterfront condo and parking garage development is on its way to the central Embarcadero, even though it would add three times the number of residential parking spaces allowed by law, plus 255 public spaces, to one of San Francisco's most transit-rich destinations.

(Editor's note: This is Part 3 in a 3-part series on the Bay Area watershed. In Part 1, we examined a radical new daylighting proposal in Berkeley; and in Part 2, we looked at the changes that SF streets may face under a bold plan by the Public Utilities Commission.)

(Editor's note: This is Part 2 in a 3-part series on the Bay Area watershed.)

(Editor's note: This is Part 1 in a 3-part series on the Bay Area watershed)