San Francisco: Rats scatter from Central Subway construction

SAN FRANCISCO -- Any city dweller knows to expect a rat sighting here or there. And in the seven years that Rolando Hernandez has worked at Eur-Asia Motors, a collision repair shop in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood, he's seen his share.

But since construction on the Central Subway tunnel began in June 2012, things have changed. Hernandez, 55, said he's never seen anything quite like this.

Rats have been swarming the empty lot near the freeway off-ramp at Fourth and Bryant streets where he parks his car. They're bold enough to come out in daylight, skittering from the bushes and overgrown ivy that surround a chain-link fence.

"They climb up and down the fence like Spider-Man," Hernandez said. "In the mornings, I come in and the ground is littered with feces. It looks like a carpet, there's just so much of it." ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Rats-scatter-from-Central-Subway-construction-4981540.php