Avoid Travel Headaches: Check 511 During the APEC Conference

People traveling to, from and within San Francisco next week can expect heavy congestion and traffic delays; transit reroutes, delays and crowding; and reduced or inconvenient pedestrian and bicycle access during the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting taking place in the city from Monday, Nov. 13, through Sunday, Nov. 19. 

APEC is expected to draw more than 20,000 people, including heads of state and dignitaries from over 20 member economies, to downtown San Francisco. MTC encourages people to avoid traveling to San Francisco next week if possible. For those who must travel to or through the city, MTC encourages them to ride transit and to visit 511.org for critical travel alerts related to street closures and transportation delays. 

Muni will reroute several transit lines from Nov. 13-19, and Muni Metro T-Third service will be suspended. For more details, visit SFMTA’s APEC information page. BART, Caltrain and the San Francisco Bay Ferry do not anticipate any major APEC-related impacts to their services.

Two lanes of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge will be closed during the APEC conference. The far-left lane on the eastbound lower deck and the far-right lane on the westbound upper deck will be closed to traffic beginning at 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 14, through 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17. 

Off-ramps from Interstate 80 also will be shut down by the California Highway Patrol from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily Nov. 15 through Nov. 17. These include the eastbound off-ramp at Fourth Street and the westbound off-ramp at Fifth Street. Off-ramps to Yerba Buena and Treasure islands will remain open.

For the Golden Gate Bridge, the Dana Bowers Vista Point off-ramp from northbound U.S. 101 will be closed from Nov. 14-18. There will be no access to the Vista Point for vehicles, bicyclists or pedestrians. The Golden Gate Bridge Pedestrian Path will be closed at north end of bridge, and there will be no pedestrian access from Marin County.

Most APEC activities will take place in the South of Market and Nob Hill neighborhoods. Due to the scale of the gathering, APEC also may create travel impacts on travel in other areas. People should expect a range of street impacts in and around the United States Secret Service security zones (Vehicle Exclusion Zones) established for the conference and conference-related events. Pedestrians will be banned from APEC security zones unless they live or work there; and bicycles, whether traditional or e-bikes, also will be barred.

MTC operates 511 in partnership with Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol and other transportation agencies.