Lombard Street, San Francisco - Definition

Lombard Street in San Francisco, California is a major east-west thoroughfare that crosses the entire city. It is best known for one block on Russian Hill between Hyde and Leavenworth Streets, with eight sharp turns (or switchbacks) that have earned the street the distinction of being the most crooked (winding) street in the United States. The Powell-Hyde cable car line stops at the top of this block.

The crooked section of the street is reserved for one way traffic traveling east (downhill), and is paved with bricks. The section was built in 1923 to accommodate the steepness of the slope.

Looking uphill at Lombard Street

In 1999, a Crooked Street Task Force was created to try to solve traffic problems in the neighborhoods around the winding section of Lombard Street. In 2001, the Task Force decided that it would not be legal to permanently close the block to vehicular traffic. Instead, the Task Force decided to institute a summer parking ban in the area, to bar eastbound traffic on major holidays, and to increase fines for parking in the area. The Task Force also proposed the idea of using minibuses to ferry sightseers to the famous block, although residents debated the efficacy of such a solution, since one of the attractions of touring the area is driving along the twisting section of the street.

The street, and the difficulty of driving it, is the primary plot of the Bill Cosby sketch Driving in San Francisco.

External links

• Maps and aerial photos
  • Street map from Mapquest (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=37.8021&longitude=-122.4189&zoom=9)
  • Topographic map from Topozone (http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=37.8021&lon=-122.4189&s=24&size=m)
  • Aerial photograph from Microsoft Terraserver (http://terraserver.microsoft.com/map.aspx?t=4&s=8&lon=-122.4189&lat=37.8021&w=600&h=400)