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The city’s other cable car turnarounds, on Powell, Mason, and Hyde and Beach Streets, are similarly already pedestrian-only. The Market Street terminus is “much more pedestrian focused,” with “a sense of place” created with special paving, site furnishings, lighting and plantings, and, most importantly, no access to personal vehicles, according to INTERSTICE chief executive and managing partner Zoee Astrachan. That means the cars can turn around just by flipping a switch once they reach the end of the line.Īccording to the Lower Polk and Discover Polk Community Benefit Districts, the current western terminus is just “a sudden endpoint in the middle of a busy street.” The two partnered with INTERSTICE Architects, headquartered on nearby Sutter Street between Larkin and Polk, to study and propose options for what the eastern intersection of California and Van Ness could look like in the future.ĭuring a public meeting yesterday, representatives from INTERSTICE and the two CBDs compared the current state of the Van Ness Avenue turn around to the line’s eastern terminus, on Market Street.Ĭomparison of the California Line's western and eastern terminus | Images: INTERSTICE Architects Unlike the smaller cable cars that move tourists up and down Powell and Hyde streets - which can only be operated from one side and require a turn-table at each end - the cars used on California Street can be operated from both sides. As Muni implemented service changes on its new cable car system, the segment between Van Ness and Presidio avenues was removed from service by 1954. When Muni acquired the California Cable Railroad in 1952, the California Street line ran all the way to Presidio Avenue. Two Polk Street community benefit districts are seeking community input to inform a proposal that could transform the California Street cable car turnaround at Van Ness Avenue into a new parklet.Ĭalifornia Street is the oldest remaining cable car line in the city, having first run in 1878.