Maps show how to navigate downtown SF during APEC

World leaders such as President Joe Biden, President Xi Jinping of China and President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico will be attending the APEC Leaders’ Summit, which begins Nov. 15. The event has been declared a National Special Security Event by the Department of Homeland Security. This is the first National Special Security Event to take place in California, and will be the largest gathering of world leaders in San Francisco since the United Nations Charter was signed in 1945, according to a release from Mayor London Breed’s office.

The Secret Service is leading the city’s security plan and has identified several security zones around Moscone Center, where the conference will mostly be held. Many streets around the Moscone Center and the Yerba Buena Gardens will be closed, and traffic congestion will be exacerbated around restricted areas. Other throughways may close “briefly” for motorcades and special events, the City of San Francisco stated on its APEC webpage. 

“It’s unavoidable to have an impact to businesses and people in the city with an event of this magnitude and that’s obviously the case,” Jeremy Brown, Secret Service special agent-in-charge, said in a Wednesday news conference held in conjunction with SFPD. “However, we’ve worked tirelessly together to come up with a plan that would minimize the impact to the public as a result of the security of this event.”

Drivers and pedestrians will also have limited access to some roads. The list of road closures and detours, mostly in the SoMa area, can be found on the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency website.

The security perimeter includes parts of the SoMa neighborhood, the Nob Hill neighborhood and the waterfront. At the security checkpoints, people will be asked to undergo a screening that will include showing identification.

An interactive map of the pedestrian and vehicle checkpoints in those areas can be found here.

According to the map provided by the city, vehicles will not be able to drive through most parts of downtown but pedestrians can still walk through. Only “authorized vehicles” will be able to enter and will be inspected. 

In the zones closest to Moscone Center, though, cars are fully prohibited and pedestrians will be restricted from entering unless they are APEC leaders, employees or customers visiting a few local businesses located inside the perimeter. There are no private residences in the restricted area. Pedestrians entering the restricted area will be checked by security. 

Beginning Monday around 10 p.m., fencing and concrete barriers will be installed around the Nob Hill neighborhood, near the Fairmont hotel, Brown said Wednesday. He said a full security sweep, conducted by the Secret Service together with SFPD, will begin late that night. A similar plan is in place for the area around Moscone Center beginning Tuesday night; those barriers and security sweeps will be in place until Saturday, Nov. 18. 

Beginning Wednesday, there will be security, barricades and street closures around Fisherman’s Wharf and around Pier 15 and 17, Brown said. The Embarcadero will also be closed Wednesday between Pier 9 and Pier 23. Street closures and security across town, around Lincoln Park and the Legion of Honor, will start at noon Thursday and will last until that night. 

Some off-ramps on Interstate 80 and Highway 101 will also be closed, including entrance and exit ramps that offer access to downtown San Francisco.

Freeway offramps, including the Interstate 80 eastbound 4th Street ramp and the westbound 5th Street ramp will be closed during parts of the conference. The eastbound, far-left lane (San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge) and westbound far-right lane will also be closed during some days.

Officials recommended that people getting around San Francisco take public transportation or walk around the security zones because “you won’t be able to drive around freely in those areas.” Still, they advised straphangers to keep an eye out for reroutes and warned that Muni may be a bit more crowded than usual.

A list of Muni reroutes and detours can be found on the SFMTA website. The agency said the most up-to-date changes will be communicated through the Muni Alerts service. BART and Caltrain service will remain the same. 

People in San Francisco will also notice more police officers than normal during the event, San Francisco Police Department Chief Bill Scott said during Wednesday’s press conference. “We’ve done a lot of planning and we want this event to be a model event for our city and for our country,” he said.