PLAY BALL! AND TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME BY FERRY!

BY BOBBY WINSTON

Pac Bell Park opens April 11 and all indications are that it will be the pride of San Francisco but virtually impossible to get to except by public transportation.

Perhaps the most convenient – and certainly the classiest – public transportation option to Pac Bell Park is the ferry. The Golden Gate Bridge District, Blue and Gold and Red & White have all announced service that will alight on a dock just feet away from home plate. (See our special centerfold section on pages 8-9 for details)

The vexing problems of access to Pac Bell Park -- and the opportunities for ferry service to provide a solution -- are a microcosm of the larger Bay Area transportation problem and the helpful role ferries can play. Eventually, the entire region will be like the neighborhood around Pac Bell Park with traffic so dense that public transportation becomes an only option. When that inevitable day comes, let us hope a comprehensive regional ferry service is in existence to serve us all.

Bay Crossings will be on hand when the first pitch is thrown -- arriving by ferry, of course -- and we will report next month on this exciting new addition to Bay Area ferry service.

For ferry schedule info click here.