Golden Gate Bridge

September 11, 2013 by  
Filed under Featured

Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most recognized symbols of San Francisco. It spans the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean, linking San Francisco on the south to Marin County on the north. Until 1964, it had the longest suspension bridge main span in the world, at 4,200 feet (1,280 m).

Visiting the bridge

The bridge is popular with pedestrians and bicyclists, and was built with walkways on either side of the six vehicle traffic lanes. Initially, the walkways were separated from the traffic lanes by only a metal curb, but railings between the walkways and the traffic lanes were added in 2003.

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The main walkway is on the eastern side, and is open for use by both pedestrians and bicycles in the morning to mid-afternoon during weekdays (5 am to 3:30 pm), and to pedestrians only for the remaining daylight hours (until 6 pm, or 9 pm during DST). The eastern walkway is reserved for pedestrians on weekends (5 am to 6 pm, or 9 pm during DST), and is open exclusively to bicyclists in the evening and overnight, when it is closed to pedestrians. The western walkway is only open, and exclusively for bicyclists, during the hours when they are not allowed on the eastern walkway.

Bus service across the bridge is provided by two public transportation agencies: San Francisco Muni and Golden Gate Transit. Muni offers Sunday service on the 76 Marin Headlands bus line, and Golden Gate Transit runs numerous bus lines throughout the week. The southern end of the bridge, near the toll plaza and parking lot, is also accessible daily from 5:30 a.m. to midnight by Muni line 28.

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