As excited as I am by everything Octavia Boulevard (and Hayes Valley in general), it sure would be nice if it were a little easier to find the Octavia off-ramp from either direction. I managed to miss it the first two times I tried to use it from both 80 W and 101 N.
It's basically not signed until almost the last minute. To get there, follow signs towards Civic Center / Golden Gate Bridge, do not exit at Civic Center, and then you should see a sign for Octavia Boulevard.
Agreed – the Octavia Blvd freeway access is a God-sent! It takes off like a good 10-15 minutes of travel when you can avoid 9th St. I have managed to almost miss it from 80-W because you have to take 101-N in the middle of that construction, but going out, don’t you just go straight on Octavia and that becomes the freeway?
Yes, it’s almost impossible to miss if you want to get *on* at Octavia. By “both directions,” I meant trying to get *off* at Octavia from 80W and from 101N. They both suck.
Good Lord … yeah I never knew about this secret exit until someone told me about it … it has made my commute a lot less of a pain. They really should update the signs further out (for Octavia take 101 N) just append it somewhere!