Santa Clara will host the actual Super Bowl on February 7, but San Francisco officials say that the City by the Bay will be home to several events that will produce street-clogging traffic in the weeks before and after the big game. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is laying out a plan to deal with it all today, and the San Francisco Chronicle has an early report about it.
According to the Chronicle, the traffic pre- and post-Super Bowl will be "something like the America's Cup race combined with Salesforce's annual Dreamforce conference, but a little bigger." The SFMTA estimates that more than a million people could pour into the city to visit attractions such as Super Bowl City at Justin Herman Plaza (Jan. 30-Feb. 7) and the NFL Experience at Moscone Center (Jan. 30-Feb. 7). The Chronicle report points out that set-up and tear down at these venues will also contribute to traffic congestion.
The newspaper says people will be urged to forgo their cars around the event zones and Muni services will be increased to accommodate the influx of visitors. Several stretches of street will be closed during the events—including Market Street between Beale and Steuart Streets and the southbound lanes of the Embarcadero from Washington Street and Don Chee Way—so Muni lines will be adjusted.
If you think that SF will be playing second chair to Santa Clara during the Super Bowl, consider what P.J. Johnston, spokesman for Super Bowl 50 Committee, told a Chronicle reporter: "San Francisco's events are going to draw more than the game." It's estimated 75,000 people will actually watch the event in the Levi's Stadium. Tickets for the Super Bowl are hard to come by and run into to thousands of dollars; but Super Bowl City is free and the NFL Experience tickets cost $35. So, handicapping the locations of crowds is seemingly a no-brainer.
· S.F. hopes to block Super Bowl gridlock [SFGate]
· NFL Experience [Official Site]