Bay Area locals and visitors navigate traffic impact, events as APEC summit comes to San Francisco

ByRyan Curry KGO logo

Sunday, November 12, 2023

Bay Area locals, visitors navigate traffic as APEC summit comes to SF

Bay Area residents are offering their perspective on APEC and shared how they plan to navigate the week filled with special events and road closures.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco residents are offering their perspective on APEC.

Many were out enjoying the city Saturday night and shared with ABC7 News on how they plan to navigate the week filled with special events and road closures.

Locals as they enjoyed their last moments of feeling "normal" before the city entered the global spotlight.

But those who came to the city already had to plan ahead.

"We drove here. Traffic coming off the highway was a pain in the butt, but we are here now," said Alex Gottschalk from San Francisco.

MORE: APEC summit kicks off in SF with week full of lane closures, diplomatic talks

After months of planning and anticipation, San Francisco began playing host this weekend on a global stage for the APEC summit.

Many of those that attended the Warriors game at Chase Center had to sacrifice extra time to get there before tip-off.

"I always look at the map to kind of get a gauge for how long it is going to take to get here, so I probably left about an hour earlier than I would have usually," said Mike Millerick from Sacramento.

The Warriors put out an advisory this week telling fans attending events at Chase Center in the coming week to start planning.

The Muni line in-front of the arena will be re-routed and all the lane closures will make it challenging for anyone driving.

Bad traffic that could rival other major cities.

"I feel sorry for the people that live here, because I know how stressful it is. I travel all over the country. New York traffic is horrible. LA traffic is horrible. Houston traffic is horrible," said Melissa Cervantes, a Texas resident and San Francisco native.

Similar feelings were felt in North Beach.

"The weather is good. The town is poppin'," said Sherry Guridi-Butler from San Francisco.

A beautiful night Saturday, but people here say they might not be able to have a night like this for a least a week.

Guridi-Butler plans to avoid the APEC zones altogether.

She says others should do the same.

"We are going to stay away from downtown and let APEC do their business and we'll stay in the neighborhoods. You see North beach, there's no barriers up here. It is business as usual," she said.

Many roads will be closed and many transit lines are changing.

But parts of the city will stay the same.

The people we spoke with say even tourists should go check them out.

"We're friendly and we have a lot to offer. This is a world class city," Guridi-Butler said.

Friendly to thousands of people ready to embrace San Francisco.

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