Do you live or work near the new Mission Bay School site? The Transportation Authority needs your input for the Mission Bay School Access Plan which will examine connectivity between the school located at the intersection of 6th Street and Mission Bay Boulevard South and the broader citywide transportation network.
There are various community engagement events to get involved:
Join the upcoming community workshop on Saturday, February 24 from 10:30-12noon and learn more about the project, ask questions and share your ideas. Refreshments will be served and there will be a supervised coloring book activity to engage young children.
● Location: Mission Creek Pavilion, 290 Channel Street, San Francisco, CA 94158 ● Presentations will be available in Spanish, Cantonese and Tagalog ● RSVP here. Advance registration is highly encouraged
Survey – We have launched our survey to give your input and help identify key barriers near the school which need to be improved to make traveling feel safe. Closes Sunday, March 17.
Please take our survey in English. Por favor responda nuestra encuesta en español. 请用中文参加我们的调查. Mangyaring kunin ang aming survey sa filipino
A second round of community engagement is expected in the summer of 2024 when the study team will share potential design concepts and solutions. To learn more about the project and sign up for updates, visit Mission Bay School Access Plan.
The San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival & Parade is thrilled to announce, Awkwafina as this year’s Parade Grand Marshal. Join us on Saturday, February 24 as we usher in the Year of the Dragon.
“It’s such an honor to serve as Grand Marshal of the San Francisco Lunar New Year Parade! I’m so excited to celebrate with our community,” says Awkwafina, who will be starring in the upcoming Kung Fu Panda 4 as Zhen, a fox who teams up with the franchise’s legendary Dragon Warrior, Po. “Having been born in the year of the dragon, I look forward to fostering growth and progress that the upcoming year will bring for us.”
Parade is approximately 1.3 miles in length and lasts about 2 1/2 hours.
Nowhere in the country will you see a lunar new year parade with more gorgeous floats, elaborate costumes, ferocious lions, exploding firecrackers, and of course the newly crowned Miss Chinatown U.S.A. and her court.
A crowd favorite will be the new and spectacular 288-foot Golden Dragon (“Gum Lung”). It takes a team of over 180 men and women from the martial arts group White Crane to carry this dragon throughout the streets of San Francisco.
Parade Route
The Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade, celebrating the Year of the Dragon will be on Saturday, February 24, 2024 at 5:15 pm, stepping off at Second and Market Streets. It is a free event for all to attend, but tickets must be purchased to sit in the bleacher sections.
The parade starts off at 2nd and Market Streets, goes around Union Square and ends at Kearny Street & Columbus Ave. The distance of the parade route is approximately 1.3 miles. The parade is a free event for all to attend and you may stand anywhere on the parade route, behind the barricades, to watch the parade.
The map also shows the location of crossing points through the parade route. These areas can be used to safely cross the parade route but must be kept clear for emergency personnel. Please do not stand in these areas to watch the parade.
New for 2024, there’s now 6 free admission days to the National Parks
On certain “fee-free” days throughout the year, enjoy free entry to all national parks and monuments including Muir Woods and Yosemite National Park, and free admission aboard all of the historic vessels at the Hyde Street Pier of SF’s Maritime National Historical Park.
Please always check with each National Park before heading out to confirm that the park and its facilities are open and admission is free.
Parks listed on this page typically waive their entrance fees on nationally designated fee free dates. Please check with each park below for operating hours and event schedules. See the latest updates.
Participating California National Parks – See the full list *Last Updated 1/4/24
Lassen Volcanic National Park – Near Redding – $30 vehicle ($10 in winter), $25 motorcycle ($10 in winter), $15 per person fee ($10 in winter) waived – fee details
A reservation will be required to drive into Yosemite for visitors on select dates in 2024.
A reservation will be required to drive into or through Yosemite National Park on some days in February 2024 and from April 13 through October 27, 2024, for those driving into the park between 5 am and 4 pm as follows:
February 2024: A reservation is required February 10-11, February 17-19, February 24-25
April 13 through June 30: A reservation is required from 5 am to 4 pm on Saturdays, Sundays, and on holidays (May 27 and June 19).
July 1 through August 16: A reservation is required from 5 am to 4 pm every day.
August 17 through October 27: A reservation is required from 5 am to 4 pm on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays (September 2 and October 14).
Driving through the park will also require a reservation if entering between 5 am and 4 pm. If you are planning to visit after peak hours, please do not arrive before 4 pm; vehicles blocking roads will be cited.
The National Park Service now offers six free days a year. All National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to everyone.
National parks are America’s best idea, and there are more than 400 parks available to everyone, every day. The fee-free days provide a great opportunity to visit a new place or an old favorite, especially one of the national parks that normally charge an entrance fee. The others are free all the time.
The entrance fee waiver for fee-free days does not cover amenity or user fees for activities such as camping, boat launches, transportation, or special tours.
In addition, there are also free or discounted passes available for senior citizens, current members of the military, families of fourth-grade students, and disabled citizens. Learn more about the variety of passes offered by the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass series.
See below and attached special ‘neighborhood’ offer from Cirque du Soleil. Coming to Lot A (behind Oracle Park) from January 17th to March 10th. (the flyer incorrectly shows March 17th)
A 10% discount is being offered for select dates.
Please click the link below for more information regarding the following Neighbor discount:
We’re reaching out to ensure you are aware of Monster Jam happening at Oracle Park on Saturday, 6th and Sunday, January 7th. We expect an increase in activity and noise in the surrounding neighborhoods.
For more information, please click the link below:
Below is the latest event schedule for January at Chase Center and Thrive City.
Unless otherwise stated, the following street closure plan will be implemented two hours prior to the start of events (except for Third Street northbound which will only be closed 30 minutes prior to event end time).
Neighborhood Hotline: For any concerns or questions related to activities occurring during events, please call the Chase Center neighborhood hotline at (415) 496-0820. This number will be monitored by a live staff member during events and may be directed to a voicemail outside of event hours.
For more information and street closure details, please click the link below:
Returning bigger than ever for 2023, tour The Fairmont’s gingerbread masterpiece through the New Year
Each October, painter Larry Walton puts down his brush and embraces a new temporary role: gingerbread house animator.
He’s part of the engineering team that spends 520 hours each year building, lighting, and outfitting a life-sized Victorian gingerbread house in the lobby of Fairmont San Francisco. More than 8,000 baked bricks cover the two-story structure, which stands at 25 feet high, 35 feet wide, and nearly 11 feet deep. Pastry then dedicates 450 hours to decorating those bricks with icing and sweets. By the numbers, it’s an astounding feat — and just as impressive to marvel at in real life.
Builders introduce new details each year, and families build holiday traditions around tours of the awe-inspiring display. “This year, I made a model Lombard Street and cable cars that move over the Golden Gate Bridge,” shares Walton. “It’s a whole new structure that took five days to build.”
Visits from Santa and a champagne bar round out Fairmont’ San Francisco’s engaging schedule of seasonal events, and through it all, the gingerbread house remains central to every celebration. Here’s an inside look at how it all comes together.
Fairmont engineering and culinary teams begin planning the gingerbread house in July, which is also when crews begin baking 12- by 4-inch gingerbread bricks to cover the home’s wooden frame.
As the holidays draw near, builders frame the rooms, set the roof, and prepare the structure for decorations. “When it’s complete, each gingerbread brick gets placed by hand, and the pastry people pipe icing along every single grout line,” Walton says (that icing requires more than 1,000 pounds of powdered sugar and around 150 gallons of egg whites).
Teams then tackle the sweet job of outfitting the gingerbread house with candy, from Peeps to gumdrops to strands of Nerds Rope in all colors of the rainbow. There are candy canes, of course, and in past years, designers have attached individual Hershey’s Miniatures bars to the walls with icing. When it’s complete, more than 1,900 pounds of candy adorn the Fairmont’s gingerbread house.
Walton, a self-described tinkerer, also creates magical holiday accents for the house, often from everyday items. He turns industrial air filters into snow-dusted hills, and motors salvaged from office shredders and windshield wipers power reindeer rocking chairs and swirling snowflake mobiles. His hand-cut shadow puppets even star in a holiday video aired inside the house.
As any avid baker (or Great British Bake-Off viewer) will know, sometimes, there are mishaps in creating a confectionary masterpiece — one year, the lobby lights even melted the home’s chocolate-covered roof. But unexpected surprises (both planned and accidental) charm hotel guests and public visitors alike throughout the season.
After the holidays, Walton removes the interior electronics and teams tear down the structure. The framework gets recycled, and the bricks, candy, and other edible ingredients are composted. The Fairmont lobby returns to normal, but the holiday spirit lingers until the next season.
“The gingerbread house is definitely a challenge, but we’re all glad to be part of the project. To watch kids light up as they explore, and to see adults marvel at the little nuances, is all really incredible,” Walton says.
The Fairmont’s Gingerbread House On view from Thanksgiving through the New Year Open daily from 11 am – 10 pm The Fairmont, 950 Mason St., SF FREE and open to the public in the hotel’s lobby
Unfortunately, on Monday, January 1, 2024, BART fares will increase by 5.5%. However, those who qualify for low-income fares will see a benefit in the new year; their discount will increase to 50%.
BART fares are set to increase after ringing in the New Year.
A 50-cent surcharge for paper blue tickets will also begin Jan. 1, in an effort by BART to encourage riders to adopt reusable Clipper Cards.
The 2.7 percent fare increase is inflation-based and occurs on a biennial basis. The increase was reauthorized by the BART Board of Directors in 2013, and generates funding for what BART called in a statement its “highest priority improvements,” like new train cars.
The fare increase dollar amount varies depending on starting point and destination. On a trip from Powell Station in San Francisco to Ashby Station in Berkeley, for instance, the increase adds up to about 10 cents on a $3.85 trip.
The fare increase was approved by BART’s Board of Directors during the June 8, 2023, budget vote. The Board decided to deviate from its policy of approving a fare increase every two years. BART’s Inflation-Based Fare Increase Program, which has been in place since 2003, would have required an 11% fare increase in January 2024. To cushion the economic impact on riders, the Board directed staff to raise fares 5.5% in January 2024 and again at the same rate in January 2025.
BART’s Trip Planner and online Fare Calculator have been updated with the new fares. Riders can look up their new fare by selecting a date of January 1, 2024, or beyond. New fare chart decals will be posted at vending machines.
Fares Fund Operations
The fare increases are expected to bring in an additional $26 million in operating funds through FY25.
Historically, BART relies on rider fares to fund safe, reliable, and clean service – more so than most other transit systems. This requires small but frequent fare increases to keep up with the cost of inflation.
New Fare Gates Being Deployed
Because our riders are directly responsible for funding our operations, BART is rolling out new fare gates in 2024 to protect against fare evasion and self-enforce fare payments.
Low-Income Riders Will Pay Less in 2024
Even with the fare increase, low-income riders will pay less for BART because the Clipper START discount is being increased to 50%.
Low-income riders get 50% off starting Jan. 1, 2024, through the regional Clipper START program, available to adult riders earning 200% or less of the federal poverty level.
The RTC Clipper card is a version of Clipper created for passengers under 65 with qualifying disabilities for 62.5% off fares.
BART offers a “High-Value Discount.” Adult Clipper cards get a 6.25% discount on cash value rides by buying $48 worth of value for $45 or $64 worth of value for $60 when autoload is set up.
For more information, please click the link below:
