San Francisco’s ‘Most Crooked Street’ Soon a Ticketed Attraction?

Lombard Street runs back and forth, steeply down a pretty green neighborhood, and it's only natural that tourists arm themselves with selfie sticks and rush there to make some memories.

​But what's good for tourists is, as usual, a headache for locals. Long-time residents of the area state that they have forgotten the meanings of words like "peace" and "comfort." The endless flow of cars and pedestrians continues after the sun goes down.

"Even though [Lombard Street] may be an icon, we deserve to have some privacy," resident Greg Bundage told NBC Bay Area. "…nobody knows unless they live here. At night, people go down 2 or 3 a.m., honking, yelling, boom boxes."

It has been estimated that around two million tourists visit the neighborhood annually. In a bid to control traffic, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) recently proposed several solutions to the problem and launched an online poll to get public feedback.

​One of the suggested options is charging non-residents for access to the street. Another possibility is hiring parking control officers who would encourage people to visit the cable cars in other parts of the city or require reservations to access the street.

Additionally, officials plan to equip the area with security cameras.

​For those who want to take pictures on that single block of Lombard Street free of charge, however, plan your trip to San Francisco soon. By the end of the year SFCTA will present its final report on Lombard St. access, and make recommendations to the city's Board of Supervisors.