Here's the latest Major Timesaver guide to weekend events and traffic alerts from KCBS Radio's Bob Pryor. The report, published every Friday, rounds up family-friendly events in all corners of the Bay Area and highlights any important spots on the roads and with mass transit that could slow you down this weekend.
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Women’s soccer comes to Levi’s Stadium this weekend when the South Africans meet the U.S. Women’s National Team; and if that’s not international enough for you, there’s the Taiwanese-American Cultural Festival in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley Irish Fleadh in Mountain View. Meanwhile, East Bay BART patrons will want to be aware of a bus substitution that could tack an additional 20-minutes onto passengers’ travel time. And there’s a freeway on-ramp closure in the Petaluma area that may be tough to beat, as it goes from Friday night until early Monday morning. Read on for all the details.
SOUTH BAY:
Sun, May 12 at 1:30pm: Levi’s Stadium soccer: U.S. Women’s National Team plays South Africa in the first match of a 3-match “Send-Off Series” that will lead into next summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup. About 20,000 people are expected.
- Pro tip: Drivers (and public transit riders) should expect heavy traffic and delays on major roadways leading to and from the stadium, starting around 10:00am and continuing after the match ends, around 4:00pm. You can read the full City of Santa Clara Traffic Advisory here.
- Areas and roadways affected: Expect heavy traffic on Highways 101, 237, 880, Lawrence Expressway, Great America Parkway and San Tomas Expressway. Tasman Drive will be closed from Convention Center Drive to Centennial Blvd / Marie P. DeBartolo Way and there will be no parking allowed on Tasman or on the posted section of Lick Mill Blvd.
EAST BAY:
Sat, May 11 and Sun, May 12, all day: BART: The trackway between the Concord station and the Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre station will be CLOSED for round-the-clock work on replacing aging tracks and other critical infrastructure. On Saturday and Sunday, passengers traveling between these two stations will need to avail themselves of the free bus bridge provided by County Connection. Passengers whose trains travel through this area should add 20 minutes to their planned trip. Passengers heading through this area on the very last train of the day should also see the BART website for special information.
Finally, please note: This same work and same trackway closure will happen in the future on two more weekends:
May 25-27 (3-day Memorial Day weekend) | June 8-9.
https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2019/news20190401
- Pro tip: Passengers traveling toward San Francisco who normally park at Concord, North Concord, or Pittsburg/Bay Point stations, may want to consider driving to the Pleasant Hill Station (BART weekend parking is free) in order to avoid having to take the bus. I would also recommend using BART’s Trip Planner, which has been updated to reflect the bus substitution impacts.
Sat, May 11 and Sun, May 12 from 10am-6pm: 19th Annual Downtown Alameda Spring Festival takes place on Park Street between Encinal Ave and Lincoln Ave (and on part of Central Ave). Features live entertainment on 3 stages, 150+ art-and-craft booths, a kids’ zone, etc.
https://downtownalameda.com/events/spring-festival/
- Pro tip: AC Transit’s Line 19 provides service between Fruitvale BART, 12th Street BART, and the vicinity of the festival on Park Street. For drivers, the Civic Center Parking Structure is located on Oak Street between Central and Santa Clara Avenues, within easy walking distance of the Festival. There’s also metered street parking on adjacent streets.
- Areas and roadways affected: In Alameda, Park Street closed between Encinal Ave and Lincoln Ave. Possible extra traffic on the non-closed portion of these streets, as well as Lincoln Ave, Broadway, and the Park Street Bridge.
PENINSULA:
Sat, May 11 (Noon-8pm) and Sun, May 12 (11am-7pm): Mountain View: 6th Annual Silicon Valley Irish Fleadh (pronounced “Fla”, it means “festival”) takes place on Hope Street between Villa and West Dana Streets. There will be Irish music and dance, Irish cuisine, arts and crafts, a kids’ zone, etc.
Website: https://svirishfleadh.com/
Or see: https://sf.funcheap.com/silicon-valley-irish-fleadh-mountain-view/
- Pro tip: The CalTrain Mountain View Station and VTA’s Downtown Mountain View Light Rail Station are both just a few minutes’ walk from the festival venue. Various SamTrans and VTA bus lines (522, 35, 22) will also get you there, and of course there are several public garages in the downtown area.
- Areas and roadways affected: Since the closure on Hope Street is only a block long and the larger, busier Castro Street runs parallel to Hope, traffic impact shouldn’t be too bad.
SAN FRANCISCO:
Sat, May 11 from 10am-4pm: San Francisco’s Union Square: Taiwanese-American Cultural Festival features live entertainment (Taiwanese song and dance, circus performers, traditional puppet show, etc.), Taiwanese food, culture, crafts. Expected to draw over 10,000 people.
https://sf.funcheap.com/taiwanese-american-cultural-festival-union-square-2/
- Pro tip: Union Square is a few minutes’ walk from either the Powell or Montgomery BART stations. Since several MUNI Metro lines serve Powell Station, MUNI is also a convenient way to get close enough for the short walk to the Square. This page may be useful for those planning to drive and park in a garage.
- Areas and roadways affected: Possible extra traffic on roadways in the Union Square area (bounded by Powell, Sutter, Stockton, and Post Streets).
NORTH BAY/SOLANO:
Fri, May 10 at 10pm continuously through Mon, May 13 at 5am: Petaluma: The on-ramp from Kastania Road to southbound Hwy-101 will be CLOSED in order to allow Caltrans to build a new southbound on-ramp. For drivers who normally use Kastania Road as their on-ramp to southbound 101, there will be two separate detours, depending on where you’re coming from:
Detour #1: For drivers coming from the Kastania Road/Petaluma Blvd South area:
- Get on northbound Hwy-101 via Kastania Rd/Petaluma Boulevard South on-ramp.
- From northbound 101, take exit 472B toward Lakeville St. Turn right onto Lakeville.
-Turn right to merge onto southbound Hwy-101.
Detour #2: For drivers coming from southern Petaluma, west of Hwy-101:
- Head northwest on Petaluma Blvd South
- Turn right onto D St.
- Turn right onto Lakeville St.
- Use the left two lanes to turn left and merge onto southbound Hwy-101.
Caltrans press release:
https://www.dot.ca.gov/d4/newsreleases2019/ct-d4-us-101-kastania-advisory.pdf
- Pro tip: The second detour may put extra traffic onto Petaluma Blvd South and D Street – but since both detours ultimately use Lakeville Street for access to southbound 101, there will most certainly be heavy use of Lakeville Street. Drivers heading to the southbound freeway should allow extra travel time; and in at least the northern half of Petaluma, drivers would be well advised to consider using Petaluma Blvd North for access to the southbound freeway.
- Areas and roadways affected: Kastania Rd on-ramp to southbound 101 closed. Expect extra traffic on the detour routes described above.
