Driving in San Francisco

[Anonymous]

I’m going to be staying in SF for six months and will have a car. I’m only familiar with driving in DC and Boston. I always hear terrible things about driving in San Francisco but I want to be prepared. Walk me through it, please. The traffic doesn’t particularly concern me (I sort of assume it’s about what it is here). These are my questions: How difficult are the hills? Do you get used to them? I’m short so I can barely see over the dash on a small incline. I read there are narrow roads. Are they actual narrow or just normal city-style? I know that I need to curb my wheels. Is there anything else I should know?

[Anonymous]

I’ve lived in all three places and think SF is the easiest of all. As long as you have an automatic transmission, that is. Parking in popular areas can be tough, but if you live in the city proper, just use a taxi/Uber/Lyft to get around on weekend nights.

[Anonymous]

Oh also - is the parking worse than in DC? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Boston and DC are way harder than SF, most of which is on a grid. You'll want to pay attention to the one-way streets, but Google maps and Waze directions work very well here and they will route you appropriately.

Hills are no big deal. Just don't tailgate. Give the car in front of you plenty of room in case they slip back a little in the moment between stepping off the break and hitting the gas. The only hilly intersections that are tricky are the ones at the top of Pac Heights, such as the intersection of Washington and Gough. I lived there for two years and still had to double foot gas and break driving up Gough.

Honestly, the bigger issue is going to be parking. Most people take public transit, Lyft, or walk just to avoid the hassle of trying to find a new parking space.

[Anonymous]

Sorry. Gas and BRAKE. ^^^^ i-fingers

[Anonymous]

Do you have an automatic and a modern car with anti-roll? If so, you’ll be fine. You can go many routes and avoid the hill.

[Anonymous]

I lived 11 years in DC and am in SF now- SF is way easier IMO. The traffic circles in DC are much worse than the hills. Agree with other posters though that it's hard to drive a manual transmission on some of the hills.

[Anonymous]

The hills are the biggest concern - it's not too hard to navigate and not as narrow as east coast big city streets.

[Anonymous]

Driving in SF is easy especially now. No one is going downtown so there's really no traffic.

But, don't leave anything in your car. It'll be gone in a second and don't bother calling the police. Its not what the SF Police do.

[Anonymous]

I live in SF. Firstly, I don't know where you'll be but you can get around without a car. Even the people who have cars dont drive them daily if they live and work in the city.

Here's what you should know: The traffic lights are on the SIDE of the intersection and NOT over the CENTER. When I first moved here I blew through a few red lights because I didn't know to look towards the side. I even remember thinking "this seems like a busy intersection - they should think about putting in a traffic light!"

Do not leave ANYTHING in your car. Not even an empty tote bag, not even a piece of gum. If they can see it, they will steal it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m going to be staying in SF for six months and will have a car. I’m only familiar with driving in DC and Boston. I always hear terrible things about driving in San Francisco but I want to be prepared. Walk me through it, please. The traffic doesn’t particularly concern me (I sort of assume it’s about what it is here). These are my questions: How difficult are the hills? Do you get used to them? I’m short so I can barely see over the dash on a small incline. I read there are narrow roads. Are they actual narrow or just normal city-style? I know that I need to curb my wheels. Is there anything else I should know?

I lived in all 3. Sf is organized. But I haven’t been to city for a while. Heard breakins r common now.