August 14, 2010
Outside Lands neighborhood survival guide 2010

Outside Lands Music and Art Festival tickets and VIP passThe Outside Lands Music and Art Festival returns to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park this weekend, bringing tens of thousands of music fans — and their money — to the city. But while Outside Lands is a fun, freewheeling weekend for those with a ticket, it can try the patience of people who live in nearby San Francisco neighborhoods.

In the festival’s earlier years, a three-day schedule and masses of partying out-of-towners created havoc for residents of the Richmond and Sunset districts near Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach. But Outside Lands 2010 has been scaled back to two days, and information about how neighbors can survive the weekend with a minimum of fuss is available from a variety of sources.

One good place to start is Akit’s Complaint Department, which has put together a detailed list of contact numbers for city agencies and officials, plus information about parking, traffic and transit disruptions.

The sound from Outside Lands can carry pretty far, so residents near the Ocean Beach end of Golden Gate Park might want to check out the official schedule of performance times from Outside Lands itself. The bottom line, though, is that no act is scheduled to be on stage after 9:55 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 14 or 9:20 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 15.

Outside Lands also has a information guide for the festival, as well as an Outside Lands Neighborhood 311 guide with information including phone numbers for parking enforcement and a general hotline for neighbors to call if they have problems with the Outside Lands Music and Art Festival itself or with concert-goers. The San Francisco parking-enforcement number is 415-553-1200 and the hotline number is 415-752-2098.

- Tom Prete

Photo: TheNickster/Flickr

August 3, 2010
Lands End parking lot to close for remainder of 2010

Rendering of Lands End parking lot at USS San Francisco Memorial, San Francisco from Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy

The parking area in Lands End adjacent to the USS San Francisco Memorial, near Fort Miley, will close for renovation starting the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 3.

According to the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, renovations will start Monday, Aug. 9 on the lot, which is marred by numerous potholes in some areas. The lot off El Camino Del Mar will be closed through December.

The main Lands End parking lot at Merrie Way, overlooking Sutro Baths, will remain open. The Coastal Trail, which hugs the San Francisco coast at Lands End, will remain open as well.

The parking area is known for the memorial monument at its northwest corner, honoring the sailors and marines of the WWII-era USS San Francisco. According to the USS San Francisco Memorial Foundation, the San Francisco, a heavy cruiser built at Mare Island, lost 106 sailors in fighting with a superior Japanese force off Guadalcanal in 1942.

More information about the USS San Francisco is available from the U.S. Navy.

Image courtesy Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.

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