16th Street/Mission Station will close at 8 pm on Halloween
At the request of San Francisco leaders involved with the "Home for Halloween" organization whose goal it is to control Halloween-related activities in the Castro, we will close the 16th St./Mission BART Station at 8 pm on the evening of October 31, 2007.
If you live or work near the 16th St./Mission Station and you need to get to the station after 8 pm, you can take BART to the 24th St./Mission Station and then transfer to the MUNI 14 Mission bus and ride it to the 16th St./Mission Station. You can also can get off at the Civic Center BART Station, walk down 8th Street one block to Mission Street and take the MUNI 14 Mission bus to the 16th St./Mission Station.
For more information, please contact the San Francisco Municipal Railway at (415)701-2311 or visit www.sfmuni.com.
FREE MUNI RIDES DURING 16TH ST./MISSION STATION HALLOWEEN CLOSURE
BART and MUNI are working together to provide free MUNI bus rides between the 16th St./Mission and 24th St./Mission stations following the 8 p.m. closure of the 16th St./Mission Station on Halloween, October 31, 2007. BART will also provide free paratransit rides for disabled and mobility impaired passengers between the two stations.
SHOW BART TICKET FOR FREE MUNI OR PARATRANSIT RIDES
All you need to do is to show your BART ticket to a MUNI bus driver to take advantage of the free rides between 16th St./Mission and 24th St./Mission stations. PLEASE NOTE: The rides will be free just on MUNI's #14 Mission bus and #49 Mission/Van Ness bus after 8 p.m. until approximately midnight and only between the two BART stations. Learn more by visiting www.sfmta.com/halloween.
Additionally, if you are disabled or mobility impaired, you can take a free paratransit shuttle that will be operating between the two stations after 8 p.m. until the last normally scheduled train would leave 16th St./Mission Station. You simply need to wait by the surface level elevators at each of the two stations where either signs or shuttle staff will direct you to the free paratransit shuttle.
WHY BART IS CLOSING 16TH ST./MISSION STATION
BART is closing the 16th St./Mission Station at the request of San Francisco city and law enforcement officials involved with the "Home for Halloween" organization. Those officials are trying to limit Halloween activities in the Castro neighborhood this year after last year's celebration spiraled out of control. There were nine shootings during the 2006 Castro Halloween celebration. This year, Home for Halloween city and law enforcement officials are hoping to protect the public by canceling activities that draw huge crowds and asking area merchants to close their businesses early. That's why they've asked BART to shut down the 16th St./Mission Station - the closest BART station to the Castro neighborhood.
There are 150 other non-Castro related Halloween events in and around San Francisco. Visit www.HomeForHalloween.com for more information on those activities. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this closure may cause you. We kindly ask for your patience and understanding as we try to help to keep Halloween night in your neighborhood fun and most importantly, safe!