Mission Mission

It’s been a few weeks since we noticed that the previously synchronized street lights seemed to be all out of whack, and judging by the comments in that post, it wasn’t just our imagination.  Further investigation revealed that a maintenance issue was the culprit and that the situation would take about two weeks or so to resolve.

Fast forward a few weeks, and the green wave appears to be back!  I’ve been able to coast all the way down Valencia for the past week or so without encountering any red lights as long as I keep a steady, relaxed pace.  Similarly, I can make it all the way from Folsom past Valencia up 24th without stopping, catching all of the green lights on the way.

What about the rest of you? Are your morning commutes back in sync?

[Photo via Streetsblog]

Previously:

• Who messed up the timing of the Valencia street lights?

Look at these details:

What was once a green wave has now become a red tide, as the excellent system in place on Valencia street that allowed cyclists and motorists alike to encounter a consecutive string of green lights so long as they maintained a steady 13 mph pace seems to have succumbed to some obstacles.  MM reader Alex reports:

It used to be that I could zip straight from 25th to 16th (heading North, that is) on my bike without having to stop a single time, because the lights were perfectly set up to be a bitchin’ bike corridor.  Now I always gotta stop around 20th and 21st.  Why?  Who killed the good light timing?

I’ve also noticed this alarming trend, not just on Valencia Street but also on 24th where the same 13 mph speed could be employed from Folsom to Valencia (and probably Guerrero) to get through every green light with plenty of time.  Now I seem to always get stuck on Capp unless I seriously gun it.

Are these changes the result of some recent decision to move away from the Green Wave initiative, or could they just some random coincidence or malfunction that upset the timing of the stoplights?  Anyone know what’s up?

[Photo via Streetsblog]

Previously:

• Valencia Street Green Wave Here to Stay

Looks like this would be useful for a variety of purposes, from cleverly infiltrating Kink.com to unscrupulously picking your neighbor’s peaches, but in the end you will probably just run out of gas looking for parking.  Kinda looks like fun, though, in an Indiana Jones at Disneyland kind of way.

[Photo by Mike W.]

As fun as it may be to leave clothesline booby traps for cyclists attempting to traverse the narrow gap between the parked cars and moving cars, if you forget to flip it, some bigger car will always come around and do it for you.

Mission Local came upon this scene just now but doesn’t yet know what happened. [link]

UPDATE: Our own resident vegan Caroline was on the scene!

I was on the scene! Heard an explanation from the guy who caught the person responsible.

In short:
The guy in the white pickup truck creamed the parked Toyota into the phone pole, clipping another nearby parked nearby on the way. He hopped out of the car and booked it on foot, but a 19th street resident watched the whole thing happen from his window and chased down the driver.

He caught the guy as he was getting on the #33 bus, held up the bus driver, and apprised the driver. There happened to be some undercover cops nearby who showed up and caught the driver.

I got there about a half-hour later when the 19th street resident was back on the scene taking a photo of the aftermath as a memento.

(I didn’t have my phone with me or I would have provided more photos of my own.)

Realized this sentence is confusing:
He caught the guy as he was getting on the #33 bus, held up the bus driver, and apprised the driver.

means:
19th st resident caught the hit-and-run driver as he was getting on the #33, and the resident asked the bus driver to stop the bus so the cops could catch the hit-and-run driver.

Shouts and Frowns has a bone to pick:

Today two hipsters screamed out of their window at my Dad to get out of their way on Valencia street because he was driving a bit too slow while looking for parking. I OF COURSE screamed back and first thing my parents said were “Don’t do that even if you are in the right because in America everyone has guns and they’ll shoot whenever they feel like it”. Mission hipsters with guns? I kinda doubt it. I bet this two douchebags’ okcupid profiles said they love peace and ethnic food.

Ha! I bet that’s true! Anything else?

I won’t have said anything if I were driving through Bay View or Cow Palace or something…

Yep. [link]

Say what you will about how tough it is to let go of your favorite memories from childhood. This guy will just laugh as his sweet off-road powerwheel SUV or jeep kicks sand (or gutter piss) in your face while he rides by.

And then you can laugh when the battery conks out a block or two down the road. Unless of course the driver is a miniature albino with dreadlocks.

Right back where we started from. Well, except for those people from the Midwest. But seriously, it’s time to stop hating on them. It’s not their fault they weren’t born next to a beach.

If anything, blame plate tectonics or something.

 

Saw this Italian made 1925 model on 19th & Capp St. @burritojustice @missionmission twitter.com/yodlur76/statu…

— Mark Makin (@yodlur76) March 19, 2012