SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco officials have banned tour buses in a neighborhood that has become a major tourist draw for a set of Victorian homes featured in the opening credits to the 19980s-90s television show, "Full House."
The Municipal Transportation Agency's Board of Directors voted 5-0 on Tuesday to ban the buses from a 25-square-block area around and including Alamo Square Park, the San Francisco Chronicle reported (http://bit.ly/17Kf2kv). The park is across the street from some of the most colorful, iconic examples of homes known as "Painted Ladies."
It also provides views of downtown San Francisco.
Residents have complained that the buses, which they estimate at more than 50 a day during the peak season, double-park, block driveways and sideswipe parked cars.
"This is unsafe," resident Kelly Edwards told directors at the meeting.
The local neighborhood association sponsored the ban, according to the Chronicle.
Tour bus operators say the city is making itself less attractive to tourists, and the buses are not a problem.
"I fully understand neighbors' concerns, but if people can't come to San Francisco and see the sites that San Francisco is famous for, they won't come anymore," Patricia Hunting, a tour guide, told the board. "Imagine going to Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower."
City officials have previously passed a noise law that requires tour guides to speak so their voices cannot be heard from more than 50 feet away.
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Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com
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