Two Driving Lines to the Gate
The campus sits on Parnassus Avenue at the UCSF Parnassus Heights block. Route data from OSRM places two driving lines to the gate.
From Union Square, the model runs 7.2 kilometres and 13 minutes at free flow. The line runs west on Geary Street and Geary Boulevard, left on Masonic Avenue, right on Anza Street, left on Stanyan Street, right on Frederick Street, through Lincoln Way to 2nd Avenue, right on Irving Street, left on 3rd Avenue and left onto Parnassus Avenue.
From the Civic Center, it runs 5.5 kilometres and 11 minutes. The line leaves Larkin Street, turns on Grove Street and Webster Street, runs west on Fell Street, turns left on Stanyan Street and repeats the same finish through Frederick Street, Lincoln Way, 2nd Avenue, Irving Street and 3rd Avenue.
Both figures come from an OSRM driving model with no traffic and no vehicle-size restriction. San Francisco congestion adds to them. Print them as a baseline and put your own buffer on top.
Where a Vehicle Can Actually Stop
UCSF publishes its parking inventory. The Millberry Union patient and visitor garage sits at 500 Parnassus Avenue and runs 24 hours, and patients are encouraged to valet at 400 Parnassus Avenue. The westside surface lot at 50 Kirkham Street serves patients and visitors. The ACC garage at 2 Irving Street carries permit-only parking.
The Kezar Lot at 825 Stanyan Street takes hourly, daily and monthly parking. It opens Monday to Friday from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., and 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. at weekends. It sits 580 metres in a straight line from the campus point, on the same street the approach uses.
Those pages carry no motorcoach set-down, no coach standing area and no group loading zone. A charter operator needs a written answer from the campus before the route goes to a client.
The Transit Money and What It Buys
UCSF committed $20 million to public transit near Parnassus Heights. It paid $11 million of that to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency in April 2024 to augment the N Judah line. The release publishes no new stop at the hospital door, so do not sell one.
UCSF runs its own shuttle. The service is free to employees, patients and visitors, and it connects campus locations, BART and Muni. Confirm the route and the hours for the travel date before the itinerary prints.
The Park and Ride programme issues monthly permits to employees at facilities away from the hill. The Japan Center garage at 1610 Geary Boulevard takes those permits and opens Monday to Friday from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
What the Cranes Do to a Morning
The hospital is under construction from 2024 to 2029, with testing and pre-occupancy from 2028 to 2029 and the opening in 2030. The building is 15 stories and 880,000 square feet. The contractor states the job uses two of the seven largest cranes in the world.
Oversize equipment on a hilltop street means deliveries and temporary lane control on the approach. Build 20 minutes of buffer into any leg that ends on Parnassus Avenue during the construction years, and reconfirm the week of travel.
Protecting a Medical Itinerary
A clinic appointment is the clock. Everything else fits around it. A group arriving for an 8 a.m. consult needs a set-down at 7:15, and a group leaving after a discharge needs a vehicle that can wait.
Book the arrival leg one service earlier than the appointment needs. Keep the return leg changeable, and confirm the discharge time the day before.
The Lodging Ring and the Two-Leg Transfer
One hotel sits inside a kilometre of the campus. The Stanyan Park Hotel at 750 Stanyan Street is 670 metres away. Hotel Castro at 4230 18th Street is 1.8 kilometres off, and Metro Hotel at 319 Divisadero Street is 2.0 kilometres.
Union Square is 5.2 kilometres out and Moscone Center is 5.6. Most groups therefore run two vehicle legs, hotel to campus in the morning and campus to hotel in the afternoon, and both use the same western approach.
Five Questions Before the Route Prints
Can a coach set down on Parnassus Avenue? Where? What is the vehicle length limit on the permitted approach? Who authorises the stop, and how far ahead? Where does the driver stand while the group is inside? What is the fallback if 3rd Avenue closes for a delivery?
The Dates Behind the Programme
The groundbreaking was 27 April 2024. The research and academic building on the western edge of the campus is expected in 2028. Testing and pre-occupancy run 2028 to 2029. The hospital opens in 2030.
Recheck the approach before each season.