how long.............

how long would it take to walk from ramada, market st to union sq, also how much in a taxi

how long.............

The Ramada is at 8th and Market and Union Square is 3 blocks down Market to Powell and 2 blocks up. Unfortunately, although your hotel is pretty decent, to walk to Union Square means a trip down Market and Between 8th st and Powell(5th st) it%26#39;s pretty wild. Lots o drug addicts, drug dealin, strip clubs and homeless asking for change. If you can catch a taxi it%26#39;s maybe $6. Good luck.

how long.............

I wouldn%26#39;t characterize it as ';wild.'; It%26#39;s urban and gritty and there are panhandlers and questionable folks on the street, as well as just average people. You are typically not going to be accosted. You would, however, want to take a cab at night. The three blocks from your hotel to Market and 5th streets are long blocks. Once you cross Market Street and head up the cable car line (Powell Street, which is roughly opposite 5th Street), the blocks are shorter in length.

A couple of more thoughts. I forgot to guesstimate the time it takes.

I%26#39;d allow 15-20 minutes to walk to Union Square proper. I%26#39;d allow 10-15 minutes for a cab. I%26#39;m allowing enough time to actually flag a cab should cabs not be immediately outside the Ramada, and for the to do what it needs to get across Market Street (there are no left turns on Market Street except in certain places).

An alternative you might think about is Muni and Muni Metro. This is the public transit system. The latter is the underground light rail transit (underground in the downtown area, that is). There is a station in the 8th Street vicinity. It%26#39;s called the Civic Center station. You take an inbound train one stop to Powell Street, emerge above ground and walk up Powell Street two blocks to Union Square. Allow the same time as walking. If you don%26#39;t want to go below round, there are buses that run down Market Street. Hop on, then ask the drive to let you know when you are near 5th Street (or simply watch the street signs).

Aboveground, too, you will find Muni%26#39;s F line streetcar. They%26#39;re the historic streetcars that run on the tracks up and down Market Street, all the way to Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf.

All Muni fares are $1.50. (With the exception of the cable cars, which we did not discuss here because they do not go where you are trying to go, except for such a short portion that it isn%26#39;t worth it.)

Unfortunately, I was down there recently buying tix at the Orpheum and afterwards I stood there and wathed the network of drug runners across the street on there bikes running smack for their dealers...They weren%26#39;t necessarily bothering anyone,but...

Until Gavin and the SF sups look at the Tenderloin and Market St. blight in it%26#39;s face and admit there is a HUGE problem there and start coming up with viable solutions such as more on the street services and redevelopment ideas, I would think it would be safe to say that one could charectarize it as wild...but that%26#39;s just MHO...;)

thanks for your replies. We will be in sf for 3 nights so the taxi option seems the best bet.

I%26#39;d allow fifteen minutes for the walk with blinders; twenty to smile at the people who speak to you, peek in the many shops%26#39; windows, and admire the nicer buildings.

%26gt; thanks for your replies. We will be in sf for

%26gt; 3 nights so the taxi option seems the best bet.

I regret seeing that. I%26#39;m sorry that others have convinced you to fear fellow citizens who are little-to-no different, except that they have less money, from similar people you%26#39;ll find where you live.

Drug addiction has been found to be more common in rural communities. By any definition, my home isn%26#39;t!

I would walk at any time. If I felt like not walking, I%26#39;d take any bus or streetcar stopping in from of the hotel.

An Earthquake could happen at any instant. Fires happen. Cyclones, floods, tornadoes, tsunami, hurricanes. Bad guys might be at the corner. If they%26#39;re not involved with someone else, they might want to get involved with you. You could be mistakenly arrested and charged with a serious crime. Traffic lights get out of order. People ignore STOP signs and lights. Safety isn%26#39;t anywhere. Danger is everywhere. What scares you might differ from what scares me. Statistics indicate that your bathroom is the most dangerous place you can be. Better watch out!

The ';Don%26#39;t-miss sights in San Francisco'; page geocities.com/iconoc/Articles/Sights.html has enough to keep you busy for nine twelve-hour days.

The best on-line map of San Francisco is an inter-active PDF: geocities.com/iconoc/Grafix/MuniMap.gif. Click on it to get the *.PDF. I recommend 200-400% magnification. A creation of the San Francisco Municipal Railway, it includes all of its routes.

The frequently-updated SPECIAL EVENTS page has irregularly-scheduled music and dances as well as links to seven calendars of regularly-scheduled dances, a composite of five of them, and one of dance cruises and events around the world: geocities.com/dancefest/Specials.html#t

Swingcha- Let%26#39;s you and I go down and stand on Hyde and Golden Gate one night and we%26#39;ll see how much safer you feel than standing on any streetcorner in rural America..Gimmie a break! Unfortunately, any large city has an underbelly and where rob2000 is staying and where he wants to go requires venturing through that underbelly. It%26#39;s just a simple fact of life...

Don%26#39;t get me wrong. I love this city, I was born and raised here...I also worked as a doorman at the SF hilton for 4 years and I have seen the Tenderloin at it%26#39;s best and..worst. All I%26#39;m sayin, is to be prepared...Market between 9th and 6th st%26#39;s is just no picnic no matter how you look at it..

But still, SF in my opinion is the greatest city on earth and I wouldn%26#39;t ever want to live anywhere else... :)

after growing up in belfast, sf holds no fears,and as previous posters have said its just like any other city. Just like any other city we have visited we will take taxis after dark if we feel there is the slightest chance of trouble. thanks again.

Swingcha, seriously let it go already. There is no need to post that in every post on here about ';saftey';. You know what the person is asking. There ARE neighborhoods that are more sketchy than others and I think people coming here have the right to hear about those... they don%26#39;t need a lecture about earthquakes and other natural disasters.

%26gt; tomvegas

%26gt; Let%26#39;s you and I go down and stand on Hyde and

%26gt; Golden Gate one night

I was there earlier this evening. It%26#39;s where I get my mail.

%26gt; and we%26#39;ll see how much safer you feel than

%26gt; standing on any streetcorner in rural

%26gt; America..

Rural America terrifies me. Try going out in Grass Valley or Nevada City at night. Or Taft.

%26gt; where rob2000 is staying and where he wants

%26gt; to go requires venturing through that

%26gt; underbelly.

We disagree on the safety of that alleged underbelly being where you say it is.

%26gt; Market between 9th and 6th st%26#39;s is just no

%26gt; picnic no matter how you look at it..

But it%26#39;s not unusually hazardous, either. Parked at Sixth and Jesse this evening around 21:40 and walked up to Market Street, crossed Sixth, and back down to cross to the car. All quite normal.

%26gt; But still, SF in my opinion is the greatest

%26gt; city on earth and I wouldn%26#39;t ever want to

%26gt; live anywhere else... :)

You%26#39;re quoting me!

Saks:

%26gt; There is no need to post that in every post

%26gt; on here about ';saftey';.

There is. Although you might have seen it a dozen times or more, it%26#39;s new to the questioner.

%26gt; You know what the person is asking. There

%26gt; ARE neighborhoods that are more sketchy than

%26gt; others

Of course. But there are greater, and more common, hazards that I choose to point out.

%26gt; and I think people coming here have the

%26gt; right to hear about those...

I%26#39;m not saying they don%26#39;t. As the boilerplate says, ';What scares you might differ from what scares me.';

%26gt; they don%26#39;t need a lecture about earthquakes

%26gt; and other natural disasters.

Perhaps, but I%26#39;ll continue to deliver it as I think it makes a point, that being the concluding sentences: ';Safety isn%26#39;t anywhere. Danger is everywhere. What scares you might differ from what scares me. Statistics indicate that your bathroom is the most dangerous place you can be. Better watch out!';