Neighborhood residents casually use this route to avoid the steep climb up Church Street - even though it is illegal to walk on the tracks. A bond issue, which passed in 1913, provided funds for the J Church streetcar line, which opened August 11, 1917; this portion was the most difficult grade. The J Church line was one of the first MUNI lines built by the city. Previously, private developers had built the other lines. Since the city built the line, they could use the western edge of Dolores Park for the line.
