BART – 16th St. Mission

A girlfriend and I were going to the Mission for dinner on Thursday, January 28^th. We got on at the Powell Street station. 16^th Street Mission was only 2 stops away. Much easier and faster than taking a bus.
I’ve never had an issue with this station. Sure, it’s crowded, but it’s a major stop, so that’s to be expected. Compared to some of the downtown stations, I’d say 16^th Street Mission is actually cleaner with less homeless people camping out inside the station. Waiting to get out on the giant escalator can try my patience at times when I’m in a hurry, but it’s not a huge deal.
Much easier than taking muni from downtown. And less than muni too. The ride was only $ 1.95.

This station needs to be cleaner and free of loiterers. This is a review for the whole Bart as well. Bart is great because of its accessibility and parking as well schedule. Bart needs to massively improve its cleanliness and need to enforce non loitering. It seems that on a daily basis the seats and floors do not get wiped or mopped as you can still smell in the morning and all day trace of all kinds of body fluids. Bart would need to enforce also the ridership of patrons with valid Bart tickets and rides to ensure that seats are available legitimately as well as passenger comfort and safety. There are no Bart inspectors checking tickets. Compared to the trains in Asia and Europe, Bart needs to be massively improved hygiene and cleanliness side and ridership with valid tickets.

Born and raised in this area. I guess I could see why it would scare a tourist or a hipster, which is why this station has almost no stars. 16^th and mission has a history that goes back further than when the dot commers kicked out most locals to the streets or east bay. you must respect the history as well as the people in this area, the gentrification of San Francisco has affected the real locals most. Maybe if we show some sympathy or collectively work to help the less fortunate it wouldn’t be so bad. its true, Drugs are a serious problem in this area, from bugie pill popping hipsters to the corner crack addicts, everyone has their own issues. people pass judgment onto those that cant defend themselves. the homeless don’t see the Unilocal review with a photo of them sleeping on the cold floor because rich people kicked them out their homes. it really breaks my heart. Don’t shame the homeless, just thank the universe that you are fortunate. As for the crime, don’t walk through here looking like punk with valuables and no one will mess with you.

The 16^th Street Mission BART Station is lovely. It is near lots of cheap eats, features lots of art and even has a nice share of seating at the stop. Four of the five train lines go here. Culture is abound and it is occasionally hopeful that a pigeon makes its way underground.
The last time I go here will be a long time away. I love getting into the Mission District and thus leaving before Market Street fills up the trains in a clinically insane way. My only criticism is the prohibition on food inside the station, where it would otherwise be even more liberating.
Choo choo at 16^th St Mission BART.

Got on bart at this station coming from my doctors appt! Bugs crawling on the bart creeps me out. I will be standing up from now on. I live an hour away so bart is convienient. Reminds me why I should drive.

Yes, this is the Bart station where the infamous naked acrobat incident occurred. The station has one of those bike friendly rails where you can put the wheels in the slit and easily push it as you walk up and down the stairs. Lots of stairs and chances are you will run into a day where the escalator is out of order, forcing you to work out your legs. The urine smell is the worst out of all the stations. I know 24^th Mission station has a similar stank but I haven’t been there enough to tell you if it is on the same level or worse. As you are going up the escalator or walking up the stairs, it will hit and greet you.
There is a huge homeless population that hangs right around the top of the Bart escalator and stairs. They don’t really bother anyone except other homeless people. Don’t be surprised to see and hear homeless people arguing and yelling loudly at each other with colorful language. What other reviewers are referring to as zombies are the drug burnouts with the distinctive vacant, soulless expression on their face, muttering to themselves. You will see them sprinkled around the streets, sleeping on the sidewalk or pushing their shopping carts.
Be very careful wandering around the neighborhood at night. There are many areas that are pitch dark with only the occasional dim, dull orange-​yellow streetlights near by. Do not be on your phone! Pay attention! Remember night falls quicker during the late fall/​winter season. To those individuals who can be easily identified (or mistaken) as a member of the LGBTQQIA community, I would exercise some caution around the homeless. I speak from personal experience and the experiences of people I know when I say some of the people with the worst hatred for the LGBTQQIA community are some members of the homeless community. My friend and I have seen anti gay/​trans slogans on stickers around here once. Sad, sad!
The Mission does offer a lot of hidden gems in stores and restaurants. The Bart station does put you in a good proximity to these businesses and for that, I am grateful. There are nice people who live and/​or work in the Mission so even though the Bart station and area is a bit offputting, I encourage people to check out the surrounding neighborhood and explore. I would just do it during the day.

The station is dark, dingy and a little sketch but that just adds a little spice in my life! I’m a pretty big guy (6’1 /​185 lbs). I DO feel uncomfortable at times here but NEVER feel unsafe. The uncomfortable times when I drop by around 11:00pm on the hunt for some late night Mexican food while at a decent intoxication level.
There are two entrances: one on the North East corner (towards Van Ness) of 16^th and Mission and the other on the South West corner (towards Valencia /​Dolores).
TONS of great food in the area and the homeless people that hang out are pretty harmless.

If broken elevators, urine stench and sketchy people are your thing then you have found your station. To be honest, it has improved over the years and given the area, I suppose it could worse… it’s certainly not as bad Civc Center. Always be aware of your surroundings. Even though that area is getting more and gentrified there is still a fair amount of from in the area… get your face out of your phone!

***This BART station conveniently features a lot of bike racks though the escalator was out of order and I did not get a sense it was going to be fixed soon; the area immediately outside of the station might make tourists and even locals uncomfortable; you can expect to get hounded for money and such; I think though there might be a few notable establishments around here like the highly rated (though disappointing) sushi restaurant Maruya, which is just a block away***
I am not sure what the parking situation is around here.

Pretty jank station in the middle of Mission so why am I surprised? It’s just funny how tiny this station is compared to Powell or something. Really convenient location that’s right in the heart of everything going on in Mission which is great, but definitely on the sketchier/​smellier side which I’m not a fan of. Just be careful and avoid at night for safety.

Sexual harassment central. This is why I ended up moving out of the Mission. It’s a cool neighborhood (if you’re a dude). If you’re a woman being followed down the street by a heckler who’s trying to intimidate you because he doesn’t think you showed enough appreciation to him telling you that you have a nice body, not so pleasant. Otherwise, just get used to daily harassment and swallowing your pride. Where are SFPD/​BART police when you need them?

This station has always been pick up or drop off I try to negotiate away.
«Yeah get off at 16^th and Mission and I will…»
That’s when I break in and try to get the next closest station. The station itself isn’t bad. It is underground and dark. There are larger benches aren’t circular (for no good reason I dislike the circular seats.)
The problem is the outside. Once that escalator pops you out you have no idea what you will find. Keep your wits about you.
I do dig it here when I need to transfer to another train on the line but don’t want to deal with the crowds other stations have.

«You got any crack?» was the first thing I heard when I got up the stairs, bless.

I can see why a lot of people are taken aback by how scary this station might be but as long as you don’t linger, keep your head up and act confident you’ll be alright. I’m from Chicago, so I’ve had my share of interesting public transportation moments on the red line.
It definitely seems like the worst is right outside the staircases as there are a number of homeless milling around but I wasn’t hassled too badly. Once you’re inside the station it seems a lot nicer and the trains are actually pretty comfortable albeit loud. I recommend it as it gets you to where you need to go.

I honestly liked this place. No, the place isn’t decorated that fancy on the inside like the Red Line in Los Angeles, but it was clean enough and that far surpasses my expectations. Price is too high to me but I’m not used to fancy San Francisco prices. $ 2.00. Really? For a one way, c’mon. I was here at 1 am in the morning and nothing scary happened so for anyone who is absolutely scared of public transportation, have no fear! I witnessed no murders, no human excrement, no unfortunate incidents with others and no awkward encounters with police because I’m on the train at 1 am and not sober.
Yep. I’m a fan.

I was visiting San Francisco and my friend said I could come by his work to see him. He told me to get off at the 16^th & Mission BART station and then walk a few blocks. I actually had little to no experience with BART stations at this point in my life so off I went!
…and stepped outside into the land of horror. I’m sure the reviews here all mention it already but the plaza/​street level outside is the stuff of nightmares, even during the day. Homeless and/​or zombies everywhere, just sitting, idling. Mostly sketchy looking men here. I don’t know what these people do, nor do I want to stick around and find out. I was actually so shocked by this sight that I ran into the Walgreens across the street and frantically called my friend asking if I were in the right spot. How the hell was I supposed to walk to his workplace if the rest of the streets here looked like this?
I ended up darting off after calming down a bit in Walgreens.
But seriously, I really don’t care for this station at all.

The only thing this BART station is good for is getting you closer to your destination and then getting you home.
This is certainly NOT a family-​friendly station.
To begin with, there’s no restroom here. If nature calls when you disembark, you’ll be forced to use the bathroom at the McDonald’s across the street — and that place is REPULSIVE.
Also, the entire plaza area at the top of the escalator is FILTHY. Expect to be greeted by beggars and the stench of urine. Do NOT speak to any of the «urban youths» who hang out on the benches and sidewalks. They are NOT to be trusted.
Finally, traffic on the surrounding streets can be dangerous. Keep your eyes peeled for fast-​moving vehicles and use the crosswalks.
This place isn’t as ghetto as the Richmond BART station or some of the Oakland stations, but it’s bad enough. VERY few things that are good happen here. When you get up to ground level from the platform, do not dilly-​dally. Keep right on walking and only stop if the pedestrian crossing signal compels you to.

Hashtag scary. Hashtag urine. Hashtag homeless. Hashtag drugs. Hashtag rude. Hashtag crime. Hashtag sketchy.
I think that about covers it. When you’re a 6’6 dude and you don’t want to go someplace this populated after dark, that says something.

Dawn of the gibbering crack zombies.
I can’t say much that hasn’t already been said before. Be prepared to discover new and exotic smells and sights. It’s certainly a jolt to the system to ascend to the street scene on a Sunday morning. Witness: insane thugs screaming at each other, babbling toothless crackheads, passed out junkies, needles on the pavement (watch your step), tranny prostitutes, pitbulls, religious freaks bloviating through bullhorns, mysterious stains and puddles. A pair of soiled jeans on the staircase. Mutant dive-​bombing pigeons. It definitely feels like a post-​apocolyptic dystopian future here.
1 star for cleanliness and safety. An extra star for morbid entertainment value, and an important study of the seedy bottom of the human condition. No need to travel to the third world.

Don’t fall asleep! Oh and make sure you know where your going!
I wish we had this in Arizona over the lightrail, I feel like the BART is much faster and efficient than the lightrail. I liked the cheap ticket price, the conveniently located ports of entry and its sneakiness!