Giants Parade Expected to Draw Huge Crowds; Ferry Service Expanded to Marin

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee announced Wednesday evening that the city will hold a victory parade for the Giants on Friday following the team’s Game 7 World Series victory against the Kansas City Royals.

Lee congratulated the Giants for their third World Series win in five years. “…This world-class organization brought our city together as only our hometown heroes can,” Lee said in a statement. “San Francisco waits with giant anticipation for the return of our hometown team so we can celebrate as one city with a parade down Market Street to welcome them home,” he said.

The parade is scheduled to start at noon at Market and Steuart Streets and continue down Market Street to Civic Center Plaza.

The Giants defeated the Royals 3-2 in Kansas City, with Madison Bumgarner throwing five shutout innings after two stellar starts earlier in the World Series. Both teams scored twice in the second inning and Michael Morse hit a broken-bat RBI single in the fourth to score Pablo Sandoval with what proved to be the winning run. Sandoval reached base all four times in the game.

The team’s World Series-clinching wins in 2010 and 2012 also came on the road.

GETTING THERE

BART will have increased staffing and will be running rush hour service all day Friday, according to the BART website. Trains will run until 2 a.m. on Friday night.

In anticipation of high ridership, the agency released the following video:

Golden Gate Ferry service is also expanded for the big parade. The agency released the following news release on Thursday, detailing the specifics:

Golden Gate Ferry will provide expanded service on Friday, Oct. 31 to help more fans attend the Giants World Series Parade in San Francisco.

All fans are encourage to buy their tickets Thursday or use Clipper. The ferries are expected to be packed, lines will be long, and parking will be extremely tight.

We will run 5 ferries from Larkspur. The first run will be at 5:45 a.m., as usual. The next will be at 6:35 a.m. From 7 a.m. on, we expect to run ferries continuously until 11:30 a.m. The boats will be “load and go”, meaning that each will leave as soon as it is loaded and ready to depart, rather than adhering to a strict schedule.

We will run one ferry from Sausalito. The first trip will be at 7:10 a.m. The Sausalito schedule will be the same as it usually is, but each boat will be staffed to accommodate many more passengers.

We will also be running extra ferry service from San Francisco back to Marin County after the parade.

The afternoon ferry service will also be operating in the “load and go” configuration, based on need, rather than a set schedule.

OUR PARKING LOT AT THE LARKSPUR FERRY TERMINAL WILL LIKELY FILL UP VERY EARLY. We encourage all riders to find alternate means of transportation to the ferry terminal, such as using the WAVE shuttle service, walking, biking, or getting a ride.

A full Ferry fare is $10 from Larkspur and $10.75 from Sausalito. With Clipper, fares are $6.50 from Larkspur and $5.50 from Sausalito. Children under 5 are free, and we provide discounts for seniors, youth, and disabled passengers.

Are you going to the parade? Have you gone to one of the previous parades? Tell us and share your tips for getting there in the comment section below. Show us your orange and black pride by posting your parade pics for free in the comment section or on our bulletin board!

Photo of 2012 victory parade for the San Francisco Giants.