SFC\Sewer Ride: Educational Mission District tour

[San Francisco Chronicle]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/08/NSJK1KUH3U.DTL

Sewer Ride: Educational Mission District tour
Celeste LeCompte, Special to The Chronicle
Thursday, 08-Sep-2011 | San Francisco Chronicle | Page G-28

There are a lot of places to go for a weekend bike ride in and
around San Francisco - stunning oceanside paths, family-filled
Golden Gate Park, hilly city routes. But here's one you might
have missed: San Francisco's combined sewer/storm-water system,
one of the many recreational rides organized and led by
volunteers and friends of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.

On Sept. 17, a group of local artists, sewer historians and
organizations will lead attendees on a three-hour tour of the
sewers in the Mission District. When I described this ride to
some friends, I often was met with incredulous looks and
questions like, "You're going to ride your bike in the city's
poop tubes?"

In short, no. Riders will cruise along the flat streets of the
Mission, leaving from Workspace Gallery (2150 Folsom St.) and
making their way along paths that were riverbeds before they
became roadbeds toward Cesar Chavez and Precita Street. Though
the route passes by some of the neighborhood's beautiful murals,
attendees will be looking at a different part of the city - the
ground. Or, rather, the storm drains, grates, sewer pipes and
the new leafier infrastructure (that's plants and trees) that
collect both rainfall and sewage from the surrounding streets
and homes.

Sewers in San Francisco, as in many cities, handle just about
all of the water that's released within the city's limits -
everything from rainstorms and lawn care to clothes washers,
bathtubs, car washes, leaky faucets and toilets. That has been
the case since the Gold Rush days, when San Francisco's sewers
were simple wooden boxes that carried waste into the nearest
rivers. Today, the sewers aren't much more sophisticated. In
fact, throughout parts of the city - including the Mission's
sewers on tour this weekend - the same brick tunnels have been
directing water beneath the city's streets since the 1880s.

That's part of the reason the tour's happening now. The Cesar
Chavez area is beginning a major renovation that's going to
reshape the neighborhood, with projects designed to upgrade the
sewer infrastructure, as well as to put in new green areas along
the streets, which will help reduce the overall amount of water
running into the sewers. (For more information on the project,
go to: http://sfg.ly/qgurq4 ) In the words of one tour leader,
Greg Braswell, "There's a hell of a lot more water (to manage)
since 1880."

The construction project also will be a big focus for tour
participants: The bike ride aims to help educate regular riders
on Cesar Chavez about the project. "People on bicycles are going
to be affected by the tearing up of the street," Braswell said.
But, in the end, the project should help make it easier for
everyone, no matter how they're getting around, to enjoy the
street.

To join the fun and get a preview of the planned development,
along with a walk through local history, stop by Workspace on
Saturday to check out the show "Underfoot," which features the
work of 14 Bay Area artists as they look down at what's on and
under the ground in the city. The tour starts at 3 p.m., and
when it's done, stay for the closing-night party at 7 p.m. All
events are free, but donations benefit local nonprofit Walk San
Francisco. For more information, go to: http://sfg.ly/r4v0zk

Bike About Town is presented by the San Francisco Bicycle
Coalition, a 12,000-member nonprofit dedicated to creating safer
streets and more livable communities by promoting the bicycle
for everyday transportation. For more biking resources, go to:
http://www.sfbike.org/