Wednesday News Roundup
BASEBALL RETURNS TO BAY AREA WITH A’S/GIANTS EXHIBITION GAME THURSDAY
Baseball is about to return to the Bay Area.
Even before opening day on Monday, the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s will face each other in three exhibition games starting Thursday.
The first two games will be played at AT&T Park in San Francisco starting at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and the final game will be at the O.co Coliseum in Oakland at 1:05 p.m. Saturday.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is warning residents and commuters that game days will cause larger crowds and more traffic. The agency is encouraging anyone taking public transit to buy their tickets in advance.
The regular baseball season will begin on Monday when the A’s host the Chicago White Sox at 7:05 p.m. BART crowds might be heavier that day as fans head to the game.
The Giants will play their first regular season games on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers, but will return to AT&T Park on April 7 when they begin a four-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Transportation options for San Francisco’s home opener will be limited since ferry service to the game has been canceled for that day.
Regular ferry service will resume on Friday, though there may be delays for the rest of the month because of vessel availability, according to the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District.
SOURCE OF GLITCH THAT DAMAGED BART TRAIN CARS 2 WEEKS AGO REMAINS MYSTERIOUS
Two weeks after an electrical glitch knocked BART train cars out of commission between two East Bay stations, the source of the problem remains mysterious and normal service has yet to resume there.
BART spokesman Jim Allison confirmed today that train shuttles are still being used as a temporary measure to take riders between the Pittsburg/Bay Point and North Concord/Martinez stations.
He also confirmed that the problem first reported the morning of March 16, a voltage spike that damaged the propulsion systems of around 50 train cars, continues to elude the agency’s investigating crews.
While there still is no timeline on when normal service may be restored between the two stations, BART officials said crews are moving the train cars most prone to propulsion equipment failure in this stretch of track off of the line.
The cars are being replaced with other models that have more robust protective systems, BART officials said.
“Once we have completed this reconfiguration we will do more testing to ensure we can run regular service without experiencing additional propulsion failures on the cars,” BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said in a statement Monday.
Until then, riders who have to travel between the two stations will have to rely on two train shuttles that arrive roughly every 10 minutes at the stations.
During a Thursday BART board of directors meeting, the agency’s officials expressed dissatisfaction with the interim measures that have been necessary to keep regular riders moving on the affected line.
When people use the train shuttles to get between the stations, they have to off-board and get on a different train to get to other destinations on BART.
“We need to understand how significant this is to people,” BART director Joel Keller, who represents the affected stations, said.
Keller said he took the shuttle to Thursday’s meeting, and while it works, “it’s not what people are accustomed to, it’s not what they expect, it’s not the level of service that we have provided people for 20 years. It’s a step down in service.”
GARDEN CLUB DONATES 90 TREES TO GOLDEN GATE PARK IN HONOR OF ANNIVERSARY
San Francisco Recreation and Park officials today marked the 90th anniversary of the San Francisco Garden Club with the planting of the first of 90 trees donated by club members to Golden Gate Park.
The tree, a coast redwood, was planted this morning in the park’s Fuschia Dell.
The club, founded in 1926, has donated 90 trees in total that will be planted over the next year in areas including Sharon Meadows, the Botanical Garden, the Japanese Tea Garden, the Rhododendron Dell and the western end of the park, where a number of trees have died over the past few years due to disease.
“The San Francisco Garden Club has been an incredible partner for nearly a century and I thank them for their generous gift to the park,” said Phil Ginsburg, the department’s general manager. “These 90 trees will serve as a legacy to their ongoing efforts to keep our parks green and beautiful.”
For more information about the San Francisco Garden Club go to www.sanfranciscogardenclub.org.
