A few spots to be wary of and other San Francisco, CA Warning Or Danger Tips

I've lived in SF most of my adult life. San Francisco is a relatively safe city, and, with common sense you should be just fine. Most of the places you're likely to go as a tourist are safe. However, here's a few places you should avoid.

Hunters Point/Bayview - Never EVER go to the HP. Day or night it is extremely dangerous. Fotrunately, it's hard to get lost there - few buses go there, so it' unlikely you'll wind up there by mistake. There's only ONE reason, as a tourist, that you would go there, and that's to see the 49ers at 3Com. Stick to the main exits and don't try to drive thru the 'hood.

Tenderloin - The TL isn't as bad as it used to be, but it should still be avoided at night. Some parts of it, like Turk Street just north of Market, should always be avoided. The bad blocks are pretty obvious - if it looks bad, turn around and find a different way.

Market & 6th - This is one of the scummiest blocks in the city. Avoid it at all hours. SOMA from 4th Street towards downtown is relatively safe however. The main homeless area (their home) is around 7th & Market, heading towards City Hall.

Haight Ashbury - Safe during the day, but LOTS of bums - calling them "homeless" is intellectually dishonest. Expect to be panhandled mercilessly. Simply smile and say "sorry" and keep walking. Do not make eye contact with anyone you don't want to have a rambling conversation with. Junkietown - the area near Golden Gate Park at the end of Haight Street near McDonald's - should be avoided at night.

16th & Mission - a major transportation hub but also a VERY scummy block. If you take BART to the 16/Mission station, go up the escalators, on to the plaza, and keep walking! Don't loiter around the plaza; all sorts of vermin hang out here. Things improve greatly just one block away.

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San Franciscans have a reputation for being really lousy drivers. Having lived here virtually my whole life, I can say that it is a very well-deserved reputation. It's not like in Boston with aggressive drivers. Quite the contrary - if you're driving aggressively, then at least you're paying attention!

No, San Francisco drivers are just clueless. And the advent of the cell phone has not helped matters. 9 out of 10 times you see someone doing something really stupid in a car, they are on a cell phone! And if you are one of those people who drive yapping on your phone, don't assume that I'm talking about the other guy! Chances are you've been in several close calls and were too busy gabbing away to notice! Shut up and drive!

In San Francisco, a yellow light means drive like hell, because the light's about to turn red! Red light running is a way of life here, unfortunately, and you should exercise caution both driving and walking - especially in the Castro District, where drivers are notoriously stupid (even by SF standards).

Things have definitely become more uncivil on the roads in the past decade. The primary cause is that many freeways were torn down because of earthquake damage, and, thanks to SF's liberal squabbling and Willie Brown's cronyism, it is now 15 freakin' years later and all that traffic is still choking city streets! The Octavia Street off-ramp and boulevard project has relieved some of the pressure, but if you drive in the northeast quadrant of the city, you should expect heavy traffic.

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In San Francisco, there's a very fine line between being "someone who rides a bike" and being "one of those crazy 'bike-people.'"

There are, unfortunately, many people in this town who take bike riding WAY too seriously, and think they're making some sort of 'stand for the Earth' by riding a bicycle. That's all well and good, but some of them take it too far - viewing cars and motorists as "the enemy" - and will openly challenge drivers in right-of-way situations. This is, of course, very very stupid.

I'm always amazed at the stupidity of many cyclists, who insist on riding without a helmet or, even worse, riding at night with no lights! Red light running is even more prevalent among cyclists than drivers.

As you can imagine, accidents occur frequently. I have seen many a car vs. bike accident, and I can tell you that in at least half of them, it was the cyclist's fault. But don't try to tell that to the 'crazy bike-people.'

You may have heard of "Critical Mass" - a large bike rally held on the last Friday of every month. It's been the scene of some bad fights in the past between idiot cyclists and motorists, though things have toned down quite a bit in recent years.

For your own sake, keep an eye out for cyclists.

P.S. Renting a bike can be fun - especially riding around Golden Gate Park, and double especially on Sundays, when most roads are closed to car traffic. But if you ride on the streets, please be very careful. The laws of physics are not in your favor!

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Website: http://www.bayareabikes.org/

If you go to the Haight/Ashbury, you will see lots of so-called "homeless" people. It's unfortunate that the word homeless has been used to describe this group, who are more accurately described as "bums."

Virtually all of them have alcohol and drug problems (particularly heroin), are seriously mentally ill, or both. They are rude, disrespectful, and belligerent. Any of them will resort to petty crime (or worse) in a heartbeat if they feel they can get away with it.

While some of these kids are here 'cuz they fled abusive households (especially foster children), much of the time the only "abuse" they've suffered is that they had parents who wouldn't let them run wild and take drugs all night.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU GIVE THEM ANY MONEY! This is especially true if they are threatening or belligerent! In my experience, giving money to an aggressive, belligerent person only makes them MORE belligerent!

The area they live and congregate in is called Alvord Lake, though I call it Junkietown. It is the area at the beginning of Golden Gate Park, right at the western terminus of Haight Street, near the ever-slumming McDonalds. This is really the only part of Golden Gate Park where you need to keep your wits about you. I wouldn't say it's necessarily dangerous, though it's certainly depressing and infuriating to watch young people live like animals.

And speaking of animals, be particularly careful if you have young children or pets with you. Many of these street kids have dogs - who are often meaner and dirtier than their owners. Another serious concern is used hypodermic needles; tell your kids not to pick anything up off the ground!

You should definitely avoid this area - and any unlit areas of the park - at night.

As always in dealing with homeless people, if you are threatened, followed, or harassed, go into a nearby business and CALL THE POLICE.

Unlike many in this city, I make a firm distinction between "helping the homeless" and "enabling junkies." And so should you. Thank you.

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Many of the homeless people of San Francisco have come here from other parts of the country. I don't know where they are getting their information from, but many of them seem to think that being homeless in San Francisco is easy.

HEAR ME AND HEAR ME GOOD! If you, or maybe some kids you know, are planning on coming to S.F. thinking that the Haight is still a "peace and love" place, or that living on the streets is romantic and fun, FOR GOD'S SAKE READ THE WEB PAGE BELOW.

If you come here thinking you'll find peace and love, let me tell you what you're really going to find... alcoholism, drug addiction, scabies, lice, Hepatitis C, tuberculosis, "friends" who will rip you off, and cops and residents who will hate your guts. And that's if you're lucky!

If you're unlucky, you can wind up a prostitute, contract the AIDS virus, be beaten up or raped, or maybe even killed. Roughly 100 homeless people die on the streets of S.F. every year.

What ever issues you have at home, running away from them and coming here penniless may just destroy your life. Talk to other members of your family or your church or your local social services or somebody! The solution to your problems is not living on the streets.

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Website: http://www.sfgate.com/gate/special/pages/2003/homeless/

Most tourists don't go to Hunter's Point or Sunnydale for the simple reason that there is really nothing to see - certainly not compared with the rest of the City. I'm a little surprised by some of the anonymous comments on here who are seeming to say that there is no reason to worry about going to the HP. That is just plain false.

For those not aware, San Francisco is on the peak of a 3-year surge in violent crime. Most of these murders occur in the southeast of the City. Now, we can argue all day about what racial, social, and economic conditions are the reason for it. But, my dear tourist, this is NOT YOUR PROBLEM. We SF liberals are very good at guilt-tripping people into denying that certain realities exist. And one of those realities is that the southeast, particularly Hunter's Point, is a dangerous place to be. Only a FOOL would suggest otherwise!

Please do not go to Hunter's Point, and please do not let these well meaning but misguided people convince you to go to a place that is simply NOT SAFE.

Enjoy your visit!

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