APEC is an acronym for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. It’s an intergovernmental economic forum that’s been meeting annually since Taylor Swift’s birth year —1989.
The members of APEC are the economies of 21 countries. The city expects more than 20,000 attendees, including President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The member economy countries account for nearly 40% of the global population and nearly 50% of global trade, according to the U.S. Department of State.
APEC events in San Francisco will last from Nov. 11 to Nov. 17, with the Economic Leaders’ Meeting on Nov. 15 to Nov. 17.
From Nov. 14 at 5 a.m. to Nov. 17 at 9 p.m., two lanes of the Bay Bridge will be closed: the leftmost lane of the eastbound side and the rightmost lane of the westbound side. Drivers should expect delays.
BART will run regular service from Nov. 11 to Nov. 17 and all transbay trains will run with eight cars. All four downtown San Francisco stations will be open.
According to a map from the city government, there will be five security zones. The two main ones will be in the Nob Hill and SoMa neighborhoods and will be in effect from Nov. 13 to Nov. 19. There will also be a security zone around the Asian Art Museum on Nov. 14, a zone in effect near the Exploratorium on Nov. 15. and another near the Legion of Honor on Nov. 16. The green areas on the map are only open for local traffic and red zones are closed to all traffic.
Modified Muni Metro service will be in effect from Nov. 13 to Nov. 20, but the M will stay on its regular route. Due to the SoMa and Nob Hill security zones, many Muni bus lines will be rerouted: T Bus, 1, 5 Owl, 8, 8AX, 8BX, 12, 14, 14R, 15, 30, 45, 45, 91 and 714.
The California cable car line will be replaced with bus service. The two other cable car lines will be shortened and a bus will substitute a portion of both lines’ routes.
The No to APEC Coalition will host events protesting APEC. The coalition includes several San Francisco State University student organizations: the League of Filipino Students, GABRIELA SFSU and the Young Democratic Socialists of America.
- On Nov. 9 at 10:30 a.m., there will be a rally at Yerba Buena Gardens.
- On Nov. 11, there will be a People’s Counter Summit at SFSU’s Student Life Events Center at 1 North State Drive.
- On Nov. 12 at noon, there will be a rally and march at Justin Herman Plaza (Embarcadero Plaza).
- On Nov. 15 at 7 a.m., there will be a mobilization at Hallidie Plaza.
