This Week in Noe Valley: The J Church Is Slow, Sister Act Reminiscing, and Noe Valley Homes Are a Bad Investment

The latest news from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Fun thread with stories around Sister Act and the slumification of Noe Valley [@peterhartlaub]
• “[The J Church] isn't my favorite, because I like getting to work on time,” says Jeffrey Tumlin, SFMTA’s new transit director (plus some other gems) [@JanPaul123]
• SFMTA wants to speed up the J Church line (hallelujah) [The Bay Area Reporter]
• Noe Valley has one of the most expensive zip codes in the country [@SFGate]
• Noe Valley is also the #2 worst place to invest in real estate right now [Business Insider]
• Your pet armadillo can't poop in the Noe Valley streets [@gnusosa]
• Noe Valley Wine Walk returns Dec. 7 [idkevents]

[Photo: Beautiful doorway via oldsoulhomes]

NVV February 2016: We Read It So You Don't Have To

The Noe Valley Voice is published ten times a year and has been a neighborhood fixture since 1977. Here are notable highlights from the latest issue. Links are to stories we've covered here on NVSF or other resources. Follow the NVV link at the bottom for full articles and all the ads.

February 2016

Front Page: Design shop Wowhaus has won the commission to create the public art for the Town Square -- comments wanted; St. Luke's is under construction; the Affordable Housing Bonus Program is controversial with Noe Valley residents; a foster dog named Peanut needs a home and gets a ginormous feature story; SFMTA traffic engineers are still trying to slow down traffic and protect pedestrians and cyclists at the I-280 merge.

Letters: A neighbor reminds you to check the dates on construction sawhorses (contractor parking) - they might be expired; a 23rd St resident believes that traffic and speeding on his street are on the rise; a house garage on the 4700 block of 25th street was burgled; RIP to the dapper Wilkes Bashford, a longtime Noe Valley resident. Sidebar: the most common crimes in our little burg? Burglary, disturbing the peace, fraud, stolen cars, theft and vehicle break-ins.

Features: A full rundown of what transpired at the January 14 District 8 security meeting.

Cost of Living in Noe: Housing prices are up 20 percent year over year thanks to tight supply. Rents are flattening out (but still high).

Store Trek: Charlie's Corner, 4102 24th St. at Castro

Rumors and Tidbits: Lots of For Rent signs still on 24th Street including Common Scents and In-House - as are many storefronts over the hill in Eureka Valley/Castro; Hahn's Hibachi is closing for good after many rumors and 20 years; Pomelo is no longer serving dinner - for now; construction will begin soon on the former Bliss Bar which is becoming a thai noodle bar [Ed.--construction is underway]; La Boulangerie is open; Hamlet is open; the former toy store The Ark is papered over and will become a retail store for kitchen goods; Portuguese restaurant Uma Casa will come to life in the old Incanto restaurant space this summer.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

Noe Valley Is Getting A New Stoplight On Church Street

Remember that request for public comment regarding a proposed stoplight at Church and Cesar Chavez Streets? Looks like it's happening. The above sign is posted next to Noe Valley Pet Co. The referenced contract number 2419J specifies thirteen intersections around San Francisco (including here) and includes "traffic, pedestrian and transit signal installations, traffic routing and all associated work" for the bargain price of $1.726M. The entire project is expected to take one year, but don't count on construction at this one intersection taking that long.

What's not included in this is the rest of the Church St improvements approved under the same permit. See our post linked above for context (some links no longer work--SF redesigned its web presence and didn't redirect existing links...again). Here's the current page for the J Church Rapid Project. We're concerned that without making all approved changes vehicle traffic will reroute to avoid this light and make other intersections nearby more dangerous. What do you think?

[NVSF: Proposed: Traffic Signal For Intersection Of Church And Cesar Chavez Streets]
[Photo: @F6x]

NVV Oct 2014: We Read It So You Don't Have To

The Noe Valley Voice is published ten times a year and has been a neighborhood fixture since 1977. Here are notable highlights from the latest issue. Links are to stories we've covered here on NVSF or other resources. Follow the NVV link at the bottom for full articles and all the ads.

October 2014

Front Page: Noe Valley Ministry will reopen in November; A must-read piece about the tech shuttle buses and the new routes that are outraging residents of 26th St and Duncan (other streets could be next); Harvest Fest (coming on Sat Oct. 18) turns 10 this year.

Letters: The mystery Alvarado tree pruner fesses up and defends his pruning of YOUR trees; A plug for Prop F and against Prop I; RIP Bruno, "a dog who loved food."

Cost of Living in Noe: A house on Fountain sells for $5.15 million; condos are moving briskly and average $1.1 million.

Rumors: 24 HoliDAYS celebration starts this year on Dec 1 with events through Christmas; The SFMTA has agreed to postpone bulbouts on 24th St until after the holidays; The former Joshua Simon spot will become Lazeez, a Middle-Eastern food spot that will serve shawarma, falafel, hummus and sandwiches - it will be operated by the owners of Savor and expects to open this spring; Shufat got a health score of 100 for its deli; Real Foods is still stalled; Whole Foods named James Lick Middle School the beneficiary of its Nickels for Non-Profits Program; Valley Tavern's limited entertainment license was approved for live music - and you can also catch buses to the 49ers games there; Elizabeth Street Brewery donated beer to this year's St. Philip Parish Festival; The steam-cleaning of streets on 24th St has some residents worried about water use during the drought (the NV CDA has an exception for water use); The Noe Valley Ministry is re-opening and throwing a party with local chefs; The construction on Mark Zuckerberg's $10 million house at 21st St and Fair Oaks is annoying neighbors - and just outside the Liberty Hill Historic District designation; The fortress-like home at 801 Sanchez which hasn't been occupied for 40 years has reportedly been sold for $10 million.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

This Week In Noe Valley: Fun with Maps, Parking Musings, And A Vocal Local Glasshole

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Illustrator Jenni Sparks has created a whimsical map of SF – complete with Noe Valley landmarks like Elizabeth St Brewery and The Tavern [SFist]
• Martin Mattox is open at 1104 Sanchez and fashionistas rejoice [Racked]
• Radio Shack is in trouble – will the 24th St branch survive? [SFGate]
• Observed: People prefer waiting 15 min for free parking Whole Foods or Walgreens to paying for an open meter spot nearby [@tonypham]
• Does Angel Pagan live in Noe Valley? [@shaketini] 
• A survey by the City of SF looking for solutions to improve late-night public transit [via @Scott_Wiener]
• A plea for Blue Fog Market to open on 24th St [@tspollaro]
• Glassholes getting dissed by Noe Valley coffee shops – tech hate crime or satire? [@TechHateCrimes]
• Local fog hyperlapse [ericaaa_24]
• A local kitten that’s Internet famous on Reddit [thatcliffguy]

[Photo: Autumn is Coming via Ayesha_Mattu]

Proposed: Traffic Signal For Intersection Of Church And Cesar Chavez Streets

There's a small sign posted on a pole at Cesar Chavez and Church Streets announcing a hearing about a proposed traffic signal for that intersection. Pretty big news, right? There have been calls for a stoplight at 24th/Church, but this is the first we've heard of one at this busy intersection. Our initial reaction is that it's not necessary unless it can smooth the interaction of pedestrian traffic on Church and all the cars trying to get to 101. Otherwise, this intersection flows pretty smoothly. So where did this proposal come from? Follow us down the rabbit hole (and watch out for PDFs).

Remember the SFMTA's Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP)? When we covered it in 2008 the main issue was bus routes - there was a strong push to alter routes and eliminate stops to speed up the service. Then in 2012 the J Church line was included in Muni Forward's Travel Time Reduction Proposal (TTRP). Basically, the proposal aims to speed the J Church along its route by reducing stops, relocating boarding areas, creating transit-only lanes and (this is the key part) including "traffic calming" at certain intersections (more on that below). The SFMTA study says changes will "reduce the travel time of the J Church within the study area by about 6.5 minutes total in both directions."

Projects like this are never easy in San Francisco, and of course there was an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The huge public response sent everyone back to the drawing board, and many changes were made (for fellow planning dorks here are the three huge PDFs documenting response to public feedback: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). The end result is that the amended EIR was approved with changes on May 22, 2014.

Approval of said EIR is what grants the SFMTA authority to add a traffic signal to Cesar Chavez and Church Streets. But what isn't clear is why the SFMTA is pursing a stoplight at this intersection only. The TTRP stipulates changes along the Church St route at 25th, 26th, and Day Streets -- the "expanded alternative" asks for unspecified "traffic calming" measures for those intersections, but offers a "moderate alternative" that will instead install traffic signals. (The TTRP makes clear that 24th and Church will get a light, but other changes there make for a bigger project that will likely happen later.) The August 1 hearing is asking the public to approve one of those traffic signals without addressing the rest of the J Church route.

If you have an opinion on this traffic light want your voice heard please attend the August 1 hearing at City Hall: 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 416 at 10:00am.

Can't make the hearing? Per SFMTA hearing guidelines (emphasis ours):

Opinions on these proposed changes may be filed in writing prior to the hearing by email (link to sustainable.streets@sfmta.com) with the subject line “Public Hearing.” Written opinions may also be transmitted to the Sustainable Streets Division via fax at 415.701.4737 or by mail: Engineering Public Hearing, Sustainable Streets Division, One South Van Ness Avenue, 7th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-5417. Submitted opinions will become part of the official public record and will be brought to the attention of the person(s) conducting the hearing.

NVV July/August 2014: We Read It So You Don't Have To

The Noe Valley Voice is published ten times a year and has been a neighborhood fixture since 1977. Here are notable highlights from the latest issue. Links are to stories we've covered here on NVSF or other resources. Follow the NVV link at the bottom for full articles and all the ads.

July/August 2014

Front Page: 3 scenic walks around Noe Valley; Folio Books offers some summer reading choices including Americanah, Carsick, Midnight in Europe and more; a local gives up her car (and parking spot) and lives to tell the tale.

Letters: A Castro street resident is outraged at the city's cavalier and inept sewer contractors who have ripped up the sidewalk 3 times; a complaint about the ad in the last issue title "Considering a Move from SF to the Peninsula?" from a longtime Bernal Heights (!) resident; the unmarked crosswalk at Church and Elizabeth Streets needs signs; a 30th St resident rails against the "over-salaried, post-teenage technocrats now marinating in the city..."; the Noe Valley Garden Tour was a success with over 275 tickets sold.

Short Takes: In memory of Angus Brunner, landlord of the Just for Fun building, who died in March; an open letter from Gwen Sanderson of Video Wave about the proposed $15 minimum wage and how it hurts small businesses; the historic trains of the F Line will no longer run on Church Street; Noe resident Steve Fox's new business Urban Putt has been open for a few months in the Mission (South Van Ness at 22nd St).

Cost of Living in Noe: $2.2 million is now the average price for a single family home.

Rumors: Ambiance is moving from it's current 2 storefronts to the spot recently vacated by Sway - the move is expected to happen after the new space is retrofitted, in about 2 months; Joshua Simon is closing after more than 35 years on 24th St - the building will also need a retrofit once the store closes at the end of July; Decor Galore is closed; Wink is renting out shelf space to a pop-up store; Yes more speculation that Neutraceuticals will be applying for permits to demolish the old Real Foods building [Ed note: a permit was posted on the building today for a new roof, and a reader wrote to say she saw stacks of plywood being brought inside so a teardown is unlikely]; the Town Square is now fully funded and any additional money at this point is "for embellishments" - construction will likely start in the summer of 2015 and be done by Spring 2016; Of the 15,911 people registered to vote in our little village, 5531 of us (or about a third) took the time to cast a ballot; former Voice contributor and Noe Valley resident Bill Griffith who created the Zippy the Pinhead cartoon recently came back for a visit and discovered his former 25th St home had been "renovated beyond recognition."

[The Noe Valley Voice]

This Week In Noe Valley: Pop-Up Grits, SFMTA Hit And Run, And Signs Of Labor Day In Noe

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Cheese grits pop-up coming to Noe Valley bakery every Friday in September [Noe Valley Bakery]
• Good Samaritan reports SFMTA hit and run and gets results [@sleepyemu]
• Noe Valley family physician Dr. Daphne Miller on Forum: What Can Farming Teach Us About Living? [KQED]
• Noe Valley "dream home" comes with landlord duties and a Sauron-like heat lamp in the bathroom [KTVU]
• How you know it's Labor Day in Noe - 10 years of Real Foods blight [@NikkiDreams]

[Photo: nicoco_xd]

This Week in Noe Valley: @ev Exits Noe, NYC Through SF's Eyes, And Typical SF Roomates

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Twitter co-founder Ev Williams lists his Noe Valley "mansion" for sale for $2.9 million - world freaks out [Business Insider (and a billion other places)]
• New York through a San Franciscan's eyes  [San Francisco Magazine]
• And the earlier piece that inspired it: SF through a New Yorker's eyes [Visual.ly]
• Inside a newlywed stylist's stylized Noe apartment [Racked]
• SFMTA wants to bring order (and revenue) to the shuttle bus chaos [Chronicle]
• Map: The San Francisco rent explosion [Priceonomics]
• San Francisco vs. Chicago apartment rentals (we win) [Chicago Now]
• Noe Valley Artist Festival needs artists to exhibit work, only $100  [FONV]
• "Typical" San Francisco roomates? Gah... [Apartmentlist.com]

[Photo: French Attitude in SF]

This Week In Noe Valley: Yoga Pants, J Church Disruptions, And Local Stairway Walks

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• J-Church to share transit-only lane north of 16th starting this weekend [SFMTA]
• Scott Wiener's March 2013 Newsletter [SW]
• MTC: Google would be 7th largest transit agency in Bay Area [SJ Merc]
• Noe Valley stairway walks [The Whole Hog]
• Nearby St Vincent adding Saturday tastings, bottle sales and food [Eater]
• Time to get dressed, Noe Valley Ladies [WaPo]

[Photo: @friscolex]

This Week In Noe Valley: The Holidays Are In Full Swing, Scott Wiener In The News, And A Field Of Dreams Hits The Market

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Christmas vandals left their ladder [@mauriolg]
• Noe Valley Carolers [@SFGeoNinja]
• The New York Times profiles Scott Wiener's moderate voice [NYTimes]
• Ceremony for the completion of Church and Duboce improvements [@Scott_Wiener]
• Rare, large and vacant Noe Valley lot with a view for sale (and priced for a bidding war) [Zephyr, Also: Street View]

[Photo: @ShopSweetThings]

This Week In Noe Valley: Zuckerberg Buys A Pied–à–Terre, Muni Turns 100, And A Reminder About Earthquake Preparedness

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Noe Valley real estate defies logic, continues to shine [Zephyr]
• Film shot during and after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake [Seismogenic; Also: NERT]
• Zuckerberg buys nearby, but not living with the hipsters as some reported [Socketsite]
• The J-Church will join the Muni Centenial celebration on Nov 4th with history lessons on streetcars [SFMTA]

[Photo: SqueakyCleanDave]

NVV Sept 2012: We Read It So You Don't Have To

The Noe Valley Voice is published ten times a year and has been a neighborhood fixture since 1977. Here are notable highlights from the latest issue. Links are to stories we've covered here on NVSF or outside sources as the Voice doesn't post stories until the middle of the month.

September 2012

Front Page: Occupy Noe finds a toehold outside BofA; First Republic bank bails on 24th St - the space at 24th and Sanchez is for lease for $4,000 per month; local resident and pastry check Elizabeth Dekle struggles with Parkinson's and starts a support group and blog Eating for Life; preschool shopping begins now for next fall; Tuggey's is closed, former owner Denny Giovannoli says "I don't think I've ever been this happy... I was very fortunate to be able to walk away with a great retirement;" One Medical Group, a chain of SF-based private physician offices is moving in..
 
Letters: A reader and real estate broker writes that not all homes in Noe are selling like hotcakes: "Unless a home is both well priced (probably underpriced) and shows well, those overbids won't be happening."

Cost of Living in Noe: Average price for a single family home in Noe is now $1,548,000 - 32% higher than a year ago. Rents? $3,400 on the high side for a 1 bedroom.

Store Trek: Easy Breezy (4028 24th St.)

Rumors: Bob Roddick petition to increase parking attracts 816 signatures, SFMTA abandons plan to extend bus stop; A recap of Whole Foods' August parking lot madness; Noe Valley Town Square closes in on half a million in pledges; Mill is now open; DavidsTea will have a grand opening Sept 22; Bethany returns to its renovated Church on Sanchez - there will be open house on Sept 15; 24th Street makes Via Magazine's list of best window-shopping destinations; Joe's Cafe closing, new owners moving in; Noe Valley took 5 spots in 7x7's list of 100 things to do before you die; Jerry Brown visits James Lick; 24th Street beat cop Lorainne Lombardo is recovering from an injury on the job and Officer Lou Barberini is filling in; police Capt. Moser advises there have been alot of car thefts in Noe Valley with "the thieves looking for 1990 Hondas and Toyotas."

[The Noe Valley Voice]

The NVMPA's Parking Problem

The NVMPA's newsletter is always amusing, but this item from July is particularly out of touch:

PARKING - NOE VALLEY NEEDS PARKING

As noted in the President's information emails, your Association, specifically the merchants on Castro, is circulating and gathering signatures in protest of the SFMTA's planning for the removal of three (3) much needed parking spaces on Castro. We need more parking for our customers, for the community and for commercial growth, not less. The future will be more demanding, especially with the loss of the Ministry Lot.

We need your support! If the SFMTA insists upon taking of a parking space; then we want some support from the City, in which we live, work and pay taxes. We are asking for the conversion of the 24 Divisadero bus zones at Noe and 24th Streets, that they be converted to 'pole or bar stops', thereby adding necessary and favorably anticipated additional parking. Not only would this add parking but would eliminate the dangerous illegal right turn lane that so many drivers use. The intersection at Noe and 24th Streets would be made safer for the entire Noe Valley Community. See attachment, copy and circulate.

Please, read the Petition. Gather signatures, then call your President for pick-up. We are also asking for unmetered Diagonal Parking on the Eastside of Castro at James Lick Middle School. The issue of needed parking in Noe Valley is a straight forward one and your Association has a Parking Plan.

This is an old issue with the NVMPA and deserves discussion. But since NVMPA President Robert Roddick never returns our emails we put these questions to our readers:

• In a Transit First city should Noe Valley really push for more parking (and therefore more traffic)?
• How many of the employees at NVMPA member businesses are encouraged to carpool, take public transit or ride a bike to work?
• What is the "illegal right turn lane" at 24th and Noe?
• How is the NVMPA working to reduce car use and pedestrian safety on our very busy commercial corridor? (For instance, curb bulb-outs at all intersections, increasing the number of parklets, etc.)

Your thoughts in the comments, please. We'd especially like to hear from you, Robert.

[Noe Valley Merchants and Professional Association July Newsletter]
[NVV: Scouting for Parking in `Downtown Noe Valley']
[NVSF: Parking, Parklets and Other Backroom Deals in Noe Valley]
[NVSF: Forget Whole Foods - Noe Needs a Parking Lot]

This Week In Noe Valley: First Republic Approved, Summerfest This Weekend, Google Bus Beached

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Planning Commission votes 5-2 to approve First Republic Bank for 24th St [Mission Local]
• Castro grapples with chains stores and banks [Bay Area Reporter]
• SFPD needs your help identifying "people of interest" in Bay to Breakers murder [SF Appeal]
• MUNI's new maintanence yard at 25th and Illinois still not open; trains still running Church to Balboa [SF Weekly]
• Google Bus ignores street use restrictions at its own peril [Uptown Almanac]
• Reminder: Summerfest this weekend in Noe Valley [NVSF]
• You can still pre-order a picnic from Delfina Pizzeria for Saturday's Film Night in Dolores Park [Eater SF; Also: Film Night in the Park]

[Photo: Twin Girls Farm arrives a little later than usual to the farmer's market]

Meeting: Upper Noe Neighbors June 2012

Vicki Rosen sent the agenda to this month's meeting, and also a call to arms. Emphasis ours:

We have a good meeting planned for June and hope many of you can attend. Here's the agenda:

• J-Church effectiveness study and proposals--MTA's Transit Effectiveness Program will present options for improving service on our favorite streetcar line including suggestions they've gotten from people in our neighborhood so far. Also, MUNI reps will be there to discuss other issues we've been having on our line like the continued shuttling of non-J streetcars and excessive use of air horns.
• Police report focusing on the break-ins we've been having recently that aim mostly for expensive bicycles. Bad people are getting into garages that folks think are secure.
• Friends of Upper Noe Rec Center have applied for a grant to put an outdoor classroom on the Sanchez St. side...see the draft plans!

Wednesday, June 13, 7:30 pm
Upper Noe Rec Center (Day & Sanchez)

ONE MORE THING: We need volunteers to help Upper Noe Neighbors by being on the Board. It's very little work. We need ideas and a little bit of commitment. If we don't get people to step up to the plate, we'll have to reevaluate how UNN will operate in the future. Please help YOUR neighborhood group!

This Week In Noe Valley

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• A tree took out J-Church lines and a power pole [Twitter, also: ABC7]
• Only 8 single family homes for sale in Noe Valley right now (and not cheap) [Zephyr]
• The only TIC unit that sold at the converted flop house on Church returns to market [SocketSite]
• SFMTA wants to eliminate DPT ticket writers on street cleaning day, use cameras instead [KTVU]
• SFPD recovered over 100 stolen bikes; is yours one of them? [SFPD, also: SFGate]

Google Buses Behaving Badly

Longtime readers of this blog know that Google (and other) corporate shuttles have been controversial in Noe Valley. Homeowners appreciate the value they add, users continuously remind us that they cut down on cars on the road (as if living where you work wouldn't), and people who don't work in Silicon Valley complain about their neighborhood becoming a bus depot. But for the first time, we have a complaint about the buses from a bus user...of another company:

Noe Valley Editors - I read your blog on Noe Valley and I wanted to write in about an issue I've been noticing in our neighborhood. We our own home at 22nd Street and Noe. We have lived in Noe for 8 years and just recently, I noticed Google switching its private commuter shuttle bus route from 24th street to go on local streets that were not intended to be used by such large buses...

This reminds me of the incident where Google was upsetting residents on Jersey Street years ago. As a fellow Silicon Valley employee, I can empathize with the desire to have commuter bus shuttle service to service the commute to/from the Peninsula. I have commuted in/out of the Peninsula my entire career here in the Bay Area for the past 13 years but my employee commuter shuttle runs up/down Guerrero Street and does not go down the local neighborhood streets.

I believe these are the Google buses that are at fault but these private commuter shuttles are running west on 24th Street, going right onto Noe, driving up the hill, and making a left on 22nd Street to cut over to Castro Street. I am pretty sure they are doing this to avoid the traffic of commuter shuttles and SF buses and the light at the corner of 24th and Castro. I am upset by this as my children play on 22nd Street, it's a small street towards the top of the hill and was never intended to be a street served by bus traffic. I am wondering what we can do to help rectify this issue as a community as the Jersey Street folks did years ago for their street.

Which brings up a question: Do the commuters who use these buses ever confront the drivers for using inappropriate streets, bus stops, etc? Or are they just along for the ride?

[NVSF: All posts on shuttle buses]
[NVSF: Shuttle Buses: Useful or Menace?]
[NVSF: Meeting: Upper Noe Neighbors]

This Week In Noe Valley

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• 11 Day MUNI shut down means the J-Church won't make it downtown [SFGate, also: SF Appeal]
• Yet another article about the Facebook IPO "attracting techies in T-shirts and jeans carrying fat wallets" [LA Times]
• SJ Merc review of Incanto says tough to park in Noe Valley but offaly worth it [SJM]
• Plaza Planning done right with neighborhood involvement [Mission Local]
• K9 Scrub Club makes "Top 25 Coolest New Businesses" list [Business Insider]
• Trip planning: Yosemite Falls via webcam and two cool videos [KQED]

[Photo: K9 Scrub Club]

Fair Warning: DPT To Crack Down On Sidewalk Parking

Jersey St.

We learn from the SFPD Ingleside Station that the DPT will step up enforcement of Section 22500(f) of the California Vehicle Code, more commonly known as "parking on sidewalks." The DPT appears to believe that enforcing a policy last updated in February of 2010 will help close SFMTA's budget deficit (which we're not getting into here). In short:

Vehicles parked on sidewalks constitute an inconvenience for pedestrians and a hazard for people who are blind or otherwise visually impaired. Officers are to renew their efforts to cite violations...to discourage this ongoing and increasing problem.

Section VC2200F states: "No person shall stop, park or leave standing any vehicle whether attended or unattended, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the directions of a peace officer or official traffic control device..." DPT will collect $105 each time you stop "even for just one minute." We're going to go ahead and assume that Whole Foods customers will be exempt.

A full list of all parking fines is available here. Keep a copy in your glove box so you can choose the cheapest late-night option.