Governor vetoes toll system for San Francisco's crooked Lombard street
SAN FRANCISCO - Tourists who want to drive down San Francisco's crooked Lombard Street will not have to make reservations and pay a toll after all.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill on Saturday that would have allowed the city to test a fee and reservation system for the famous street.
FILE - In this Aug. 19, 2009 file photo, children run down Lombard Street in San Francisco, transformed for the day into a gigantic Candy Land board game to commemorate the game's 60th anniversary. Tourists may soon have to pay a fee to drive down Sa
Newsom said he is concerned a pricing program would create "social equity issues" and he wants to keep the street accessible to people, regardless of their ability to pay.
The city's transportation department had recommended $5 per car weekdays and $10 on weekends and holidays to address residents' complaints of gridlock, noise and litter from tourists.
Cars make their way down Lombard Street in San Francisco, Monday, April 15, 2019. Thousands of tourists may soon have to pay as much as $10 to drive down the world-famous crooked street if a proposal announced Monday becomes law. In the summer months
Tourism officials estimate that 6,000 people daily visit the 600-foot-long (183-meter-long) street in the summer, creating lines of cars stretching for blocks.
FILE - In this April 15, 2019, file photo, cars wind their way down Lombard Street in San Francisco. Thousands of tourists could soon be forced to make reservations and pay to drive the famed crooked Lombard Street in San Francisco. California lawmak