Castro merchants cry foul over Super Bowl plans

There is growing concern among Castro merchants that next year's Super Bowl 50 celebrations will be a bust for their businesses due to the decision not to run the city's historic F-Line streetcars along upper Market Street.Instead, transit officials plan to run buses on that portion of the route between the Castro and the Embarcadero, where a free fan village will be staged, during the week leading up to the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 7.At their monthly meeting last week, the Castro Merchants business association accused organizers with the San Francisco Bay Area Super Bowl 50 Host Committee and city officials of fumbling the transportation plans. Without the unique public transit system, considered a "museum in motion," running its normal route, merchants fear tourists will not make their way to the gayborhood.READ MORE