Bay Bridge closure - LIVE traffic coverage?

[DJBigOne]

Will there be any stations doing "live" traffic coverage this weekend?

For those making a rare visit to San Francisco, where should one listen?

 

[sandiegoinexile]

KCBS AM740 has live local traffic on the 8's all weekend long. (OK, they do bail for awhile to broadcast 60 Minutes and Face The Nation on Sunday nights). As for a Traffic Mess, it's highly unlikely.

 

[DavidKaye]

Will there be any stations doing "live" traffic coverage this weekend?

For those making a rare visit to San Francisco, where should one listen?

Listen to me. No radio needed. Take any other bridge into SF. To leave SF you may also take the Bay Bridge, as the lower deck going to Oakland will remain open.

And during the entire weekend you can visit Treasure and Yerba Buena Islands via mainland San Francisco as both upper and lower decks will be open between mainland SF and the islands.

 

[recto101]

Remember the last time the Bay Bridge closed everybody used Bart, San Mateo Bridge, Golden Gate to get to the city. Look at LA last year when a section of the 405 freeway was closed from
Northridge to Westwood. The residents in LA used surface streets, 170 Hollywood Freeway and the Golden State Freeway to reach West LA.

 

[Goldilocks94941]

DON'T PANIC!

OK, if I were there and actually needed to get into the City from the E Bay, I'd want a couple of reliable stations to let me know if BART was overcrowded or backed up, and if there were unusual delays on the other entryways. KCBS is essential. Hope someone else can do the job, too.

Do you remember how the SF media got everybody worked up over Y2K? I returned to San Francisco from thousands of miles away, wanting to have a memorable Millennium, and found the city boarded up and scared silent. I think the reporting style of the old KGO had something to do with that, plus "action" hungry TV reporting that prefers emotional speculation over factual information. And I though San Franciscans were more sophisticated than that.

 

[LKellerIII]

DON'T PANIC!

OK, if I were there and actually needed to get into the City from the E Bay, I'd want a couple of reliable stations to let me know if BART was overcrowded or backed up, and if there were unusual delays on the other entryways. KCBS is essential. Hope someone else can do the job, too.

Do you remember how the SF media got everybody worked up over Y2K? I returned to San Francisco from thousands of miles away, wanting to have a memorable Millennium, and found the city boarded up and scared silent. I think the reporting style of the old KGO had something to do with that, plus "action" hungry TV reporting that prefers emotional speculation over factual information. And I though San Franciscans were more sophisticated than that.

Uh...I remember Y2K, and I don't remember anybody local panicking, or "boarding up" anything. Most of the apocalyptic prediction stories were from national news outlets, not from KGO, or local TV.

The Bay Bridge has been closed before (one time I, IIRC) for this same reason - maybe a year or two ago. Nobody is panicking, everything is fine.

It's simple - if you have to travel east from SF by car - no problem - you drive the lower span, as usual. If you have to travel west from the East Bay to SF by car, you have to take an alternate bridge, or BART, which is running extra service.

BFFD.

 

[DavidKaye]

Uh...I remember Y2K, and I don't remember anybody local panicking, or "boarding up" anything. Most of the apocalyptic prediction stories were from national news outlets, not from KGO, or local TV.

Oh I definitely remember the Y2K scare. The donut shop at 5th near Mission, across the alley from the Mint, was all boarded up. The first 2 or 3 floors of the Hyatt Regency at the Embarcadero was boarded up. There were hundreds of buildings boarded up, as if people were preparing for a hurricane (or tornado, or whatever those are called). By about 5pm the streets were deserted.

Around 11pm I left my home to try to find a New Year's party. This was along Mission Street between 24th and 30th. Everybody was closed! I was walking by El Rio (Your Dive), which was also closed, when Dawn the owner quickly opened the door and pulled me inside and told me that she was ready in case of a riot. I told her that there wasn't a soul on the street. At first she didn't believe me and she wouldn't come out to check.

Instead of being a happy and joyous New Years 2000, the mood inside El Rio was somber. It was very very weird.

I had set up a couple VCRs to record the New Year's celebrations around the world on ABC and PBS, along with an audio input from my police scanner. When I went back to look at the various scenes from the NY partying, I saw that just about everybody else around the world was having more fun than we did. Also, at midnight the SFPD comments were, "Okay, it's midnight". "Already? I don't see anything." "I hear a bunch of pops, probably firecrackers." "Okay, I guess we're clear." And it went on and on that way. Nothing. KGO-TV and the other scare mongers had terrified most of San Francisco for no good reason.

When I get around to looking at my archives I may upload the photos I took of the boarded up buildings and sound bites from the scanner.

I was pissed off that the SF media ruined what could have been a wonderful Y2K.

 

[LKellerIII]

Uh...I remember Y2K, and I don't remember anybody local panicking, or "boarding up" anything. Most of the apocalyptic prediction stories were from national news outlets, not from KGO, or local TV.

Oh I definitely remember the Y2K scare. The donut shop at 5th near Mission, across the alley from the Mint, was all boarded up. The first 2 or 3 floors of the Hyatt Regency at the Embarcadero was boarded up. There were hundreds of buildings boarded up, as if people were preparing for a hurricane (or tornado, or whatever those are called). By about 5pm the streets were deserted.

Around 11pm I left my home to try to find a New Year's party. This was along Mission Street between 24th and 30th. Everybody was closed! I was walking by El Rio (Your Dive), which was also closed, when Dawn the owner quickly opened the door and pulled me inside and told me that she was ready in case of a riot. I told her that there wasn't a soul on the street. At first she didn't believe me and she wouldn't come out to check.

Instead of being a happy and joyous New Years 2000, the mood inside El Rio was somber. It was very very weird.

I had set up a couple VCRs to record the New Year's celebrations around the world on ABC and PBS, along with an audio input from my police scanner. When I went back to look at the various scenes from the NY partying, I saw that just about everybody else around the world was having more fun than we did. Also, at midnight the SFPD comments were, "Okay, it's midnight". "Already? I don't see anything." "I hear a bunch of pops, probably firecrackers." "Okay, I guess we're clear." And it went on and on that way. Nothing. KGO-TV and the other scare mongers had terrified most of San Francisco for no good reason.

When I get around to looking at my archives I may upload the photos I took of the boarded up buildings and sound bites from the scanner.

I was pissed off that the SF media ruined what could have been a wonderful Y2K.

I guess I didn't go out that New Year's Eve - I don't recall any of that...though I don't doubt it. There was a lot of fear about an impending apocalypse. I do recall all the media coverage.

 

[1069_KIFR]

I remember, at the time, I was employed by a major Grocery Chain. New Years Eve on Dec 31, 1999 was nuts! We sold pallets and pallets worth of Water, Batteries and all types of Emergency Supplies. As did Home Depot and other retailers.

Here it was a once in a lifetime event, to celebrate the changing of a new century, and a lot of North Americans were huddled in their homes living in fear. While in underdeveloped third world countries, they were celebrating and having a grand time.

I had kept telling people that huge corporations are not going to let a computer glitch of a date bring everything to a screeching halt. It will not happen.

By 9:01PM we would know for sure.

 

[DavidKaye]

I had kept telling people that huge corporations are not going to let a computer glitch of a date bring everything to a screeching halt. It will not happen.

Well, as to the glitch thing, that was well taken care of by any programs running under Windows. Windows stores dates in integer.decimal format, the integers being the days since 12/30/1899 and the decimals being part of that day. Thus, as I write this at 7:46pm, the date in Windows is 40957.8235185185 -- meaning that the Y2K was just another integer. In this case, 1/1/2000 midnight was 36526.0.

When I was writing medical software we had to bring in a Y2K expert to certify that our dates were compliant. They were.

Now, there were a few problems. Some aircraft had GPS systems that just quit until they were restarted. Also, Unix systems on the Internet kept showing dates such as 1/1/201900 and things like that. But Windows and Macintosh passed with flying colors.

 

[radioguy39nj]

I lived in Queens, NY at the time of Y2K. I recall in early December, walking into a hardware store and seeing an older gentleman asking for sterno burners for when the lights would inevitably go out on Dec 31. On the morning of 12/31/99, I was in the local supermarket and saw people on the checkout line walking out with literally cases of bottled water. People must've really been spooked by the Toyota Corolla commercial that ran then, showing the lights of NYC going dark at the stroke of midnight while the Toyota started right up in a dark, chaotic city.

When I awoke that morning, I was listening to 1010 WINS and they announced it was now the year 2000 in New Zealand. No glitches. I knew then there would be no problem in NYC.

 

[Bongwater]

Y2K was the biggest mass joke. And scam. I have witnessed yet.

Anybody remember Gary North? He was the frequent guest on Coast to Coast AM w/ Art Bell in '98 and '99 who made most of the alarmist predictions about Y2K. And got rich off the hysteria.

First, the mass hysteria was totally unwarranted. I knew this in 1998. All but the very oldest DOS, Mac, Linux/Unix and Windows computers would simply roll over from 99 to 00. However older software programs may need to be patched. So why not just buy a new computer and new software instead?

The confusion and worry was a gold mine for various scam artists

Art Bell himself got SERIOUS egg on his face in the debacle. And he tried to get North to comment after the Y2K non-event, but to no avail. Soon afterward, Art Bell "retired"

This is what launched the freeze-dried food and gold brokers you hear on these "liberty talk" programs (Alex Jones, et al.), though none of them have ever been able to explain how living in constant fear became "liberty".

I figure there's a niche market for pantophobics.....

 

[recto101]

The Bay Bridge will open Tonight between 7pm and 8pm San Francisco Time.

 

[LKellerIII]

Y2K was the biggest mass joke. And scam. I have witnessed yet.

Anybody remember Gary North? He was the frequent guest on Coast to Coast AM w/ Art Bell in '98 and '99 who made most of the alarmist predictions about Y2K. And got rich off the hysteria.

First, the mass hysteria was totally unwarranted. I knew this in 1998. All but the very oldest DOS, Mac, Linux/Unix and Windows computers would simply roll over from 99 to 00. However older software programs may need to be patched. So why not just buy a new computer and new software instead?

The confusion and worry was a gold mine for various scam artists

Art Bell himself got SERIOUS egg on his face in the debacle. And he tried to get North to comment after the Y2K non-event, but to no avail. Soon afterward, Art Bell "retired"

This is what launched the freeze-dried food and gold brokers you hear on these "liberty talk" programs (Alex Jones, et al.), though none of them have ever been able to explain how living in constant fear became "liberty".

I figure there's a niche market for pantophobics.....

The survivalist movement predated Y2K, and is still active. I stumbled into a show on the Nat Geo channel the other day about a deluded survivalist who is making her escape plans - for when the coming global oil apocalypse happens. They didn't really explain it, but I guess this will supposedly happen when the Middle Eastern countries (Saudi Arabia, etc.) cut off our oil...never mind the obvious fact that our dollars keep them rich and they'll stop getting those dollars if they cut us off.

The point is - there will always be some coming "apocalypse" or conspiracy theory to keep these people going.

 

[DavidKaye]

The survivalist movement predated Y2K, and is still active. I stumbled into a show on the Nat Geo channel the other day about a deluded survivalist who is making her escape plans - for when the coming global oil apocalypse happens. They didn't really explain it, but I guess this will supposedly happen when the Middle Eastern countries (Saudi Arabia, etc.) cut off our oil...never mind the obvious fact that our dollars keep them rich and they'll stop getting those dollars if they cut us off.

What those media folks fail to tell us is that the U.S. actually produces enough oil to fuel its needs. The problem is that all oil is sold on the world market and thus it doesn't matter if the oil comes from wells in Los Angeles or Saudi Arabia, it will ultimately all be priced the same.

 

[LKellerIII]

The survivalist movement predated Y2K, and is still active. I stumbled into a show on the Nat Geo channel the other day about a deluded survivalist who is making her escape plans - for when the coming global oil apocalypse happens. They didn't really explain it, but I guess this will supposedly happen when the Middle Eastern countries (Saudi Arabia, etc.) cut off our oil...never mind the obvious fact that our dollars keep them rich and they'll stop getting those dollars if they cut us off.

What those media folks fail to tell us is that the U.S. actually produces enough oil to fuel its needs. The problem is that all oil is sold on the world market and thus it doesn't matter if the oil comes from wells in Los Angeles or Saudi Arabia, it will ultimately all be priced the same.

Yes, true. I shouldn't admit this, but I caught Bill O'Reilly complaining about this on his Fox News show the other day. It was amusing watching the conservative O'Reilly advocating government intervention to force the oil companies to reserve a greater percentage of American crude for the American market

 

[Bongwater]

The survivalist movement predated Y2K, and is still active. I stumbled into a show on the Nat Geo channel the other day about a deluded survivalist who is making her escape plans - for when the coming global oil apocalypse happens. They didn't really explain it, but I guess this will supposedly happen when the Middle Eastern countries (Saudi Arabia, etc.) cut off our oil...never mind the obvious fact that our dollars keep them rich and they'll stop getting those dollars if they cut us off.

What those media folks fail to tell us is that the U.S. actually produces enough oil to fuel its needs. The problem is that all oil is sold on the world market and thus it doesn't matter if the oil comes from wells in Los Angeles or Saudi Arabia, it will ultimately all be priced the same.

Yes, true. I shouldn't admit this, but I caught Bill O'Reilly complaining about this on his Fox News show the other day. It was amusing watching the conservative O'Reilly advocating government intervention to force the oil companies to reserve a greater percentage of American crude for the American market

Interesting O'Reilly would say something like that. But it's funny too. The trend amongst conservatives in general is who could "out-conservative" the other - even to the point in driving themselves off a cliff......

 

[DJBigOne]

Listen to me. No radio needed. Take any other bridge into SF. To leave SF you may also take the Bay Bridge, as the lower deck going to Oakland will remain open.

And during the entire weekend you can visit Treasure and Yerba Buena Islands via mainland San Francisco as both upper and lower decks will be open between mainland SF and the islands.

Thanks for the info. We took the San Rafael and Golden Gate in, the Bay Bridge out. We love the city, avoided the tourist areas, and the weather was perfect.

 

[DavidKaye]

Thanks for the info. We took the San Rafael and Golden Gate in, the Bay Bridge out. We love the city, avoided the tourist areas, and the weather was perfect.

Glad you enjoyed your visit. Just remember that the broadcast media have a flair for the dramatic that isn't a reflection of real life. I noticed that when the Bay Bridge opened 1 1/2 days ahead of schedule, the TV remote vans were out in force and the radio reporters were phoning it in from wherever that, Gee, the bridge is open! And as if that weren't enough, we're treated to the follow-up on Monday of, "Well, this WOULD have been a terrible day if they bridge hadn't opened ahead of schedule." And today, Tuesday, we were treated to, "Now, it's the first full workday since the bridge was closed..."

None of this was necessary. But I guess reporters, especially those lacking journalism training, felt they had to report on *something*.

 

[TomJF]

Thanks for the info. We took the San Rafael and Golden Gate in, the Bay Bridge out. We love the city, avoided the tourist areas, and the weather was perfect.

Glad you enjoyed your visit. Just remember that the broadcast media have a flair for the dramatic that isn't a reflection of real life. I noticed that when the Bay Bridge opened 1 1/2 days ahead of schedule, the TV remote vans were out in force and the radio reporters were phoning it in from wherever that, Gee, the bridge is open! And as if that weren't enough, we're treated to the follow-up on Monday of, "Well, this WOULD have been a terrible day if they bridge hadn't opened ahead of schedule." And today, Tuesday, we were treated to, "Now, it's the first full workday since the bridge was closed..."

None of this was necessary. But I guess reporters, especially those lacking journalism training, felt they had to report on *something*.

Well, given that typical human nature, especially news media nature, is to give no credit (or even the barest recognition) for efforts that result in stuff not going wrong, I suppose we should enjoy it while it lasts!