Super Bowl festivities challenge work-week commute

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - Super Bowl 50 is now less than two weeks away. And the challenges associated with it have arrived in San Francisco.

The Financial District is feeling the brunt of the problems because so many roads are shut down.
It's an odd sight on Market Street: no traffic in the first three blocks. "It's crazy. It's a crazy excitement," said one commuter.

Things are not much better on surrounding streets because Super Bowl City has laid down its roots. Driving anywhere is a headache. Delivery driver Joel Berry said it's taking him twice as long to get anywhere. "Yes, yes. 16 minutes just to go around the corner."

The street closures and diverted traffic are causing frustration for people who work downtown. "Probably a mile and a half from here, things slowed down to a grind," said Charles Thompson, who drives in from Marin to work at his law firm at the Embarcadero.

Thompson says all the closures in the area have the Polsinelli Law Firm planning for some temporary changes. "We're going to do a lot of flex time, we're going to do a lot of creative commuting and hopefully, allow folks to work at home as much as possible."

At long-time San Francisco eatery, Tadich Grill, business is down. "I haven't seen very many of our regulars that have been here. So, I think they're even staying away from the city. Working at home instead of actually coming down to the office," said general manager David Hanna.

The American Greetings store on Market is where many Financial District workers get gifts and cards. But even with huge Super Bowl crowds expected next week, the manager is worried something might get lost in the shuffle. "We're a little concerned because Valentine's is coming up. Yeah, in the next week or so that's kind of like our busiest day, busiest week of all year, pretty much," said manager Jean Amirbagheri.

Valentine's Day is exactly one week after the Super Bowl.

One more note: a postal carrier said getting around the area is so challenging that he's taking next week off, so he doesn't have to deal with the mess.