OSCAR SERVELLON - [X]PRESS The number 30 Stockton Muni bus crosses the crowded streets of Chinatown on a weekday afternoon. Some Chinatown residents say that despite the future construction of a Muni underground train that will run under Stockton Street, most elderly residents will continue to use the bus because walking up and down the stairs is too difficult.

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s proposed Central Subway Light Rail aims to change all this. It will run underneath Chinatown as part of the agency’s Third Street Light Rail, which began in 2002 to connect Visitacion Valley to Fisherman’s Wharf. The plan calls for a 1.7 mile-long addition with three new subway stations.

Roughly 68 percent of the residents live along the Stockton corridor and rely on public transportation.

“The transportation benefits are many for the Central Subway program,” said John Funghi, central subway project manager.

Residents, however, have mixed reactions.

“I think it’s unnecessary and many Chinatown residents, especially senior citizens, will not use the underground subway,” said Alice Choy in Cantonese, a bead hobbyist. “The elderly would be reluctant to walk the staircases and will continue to use buses.”

Most public transportation riders are elderly residents. “Without the support of the elderly, the system will rely on tourist money,” Choy added.

Some say residents are uninformed.

“The poorly-informed, uneducated, non-English-speaking and elderly residents of Chinatown, who have no understanding about the subway project, have been manipulated by subway activists and project leaders,” said Larry Chin, a consultant and property manager on Stockton Street.

“In addition to the poor direct and unbiased contact with Chinatown citizens, there has been extremely poor media coverage, and an almost complete lack of materials in Chinese,” Chin said.

Chin is also concerned about potential physical damage from construction and long-term subway vibration. The damage could be detrimental to Chinatown’s cultural and historic significance in San Francisco history.

“Every building along Stockton Street and the proposed tunnel is historic, many built on masonry foundations. I see no convincing evidence that collateral damage around the construction site will be zero,” said Chin.

Not all those interviewed viewed the subway as negative.

“More people will come to Chinatown, creating an economic stimulus in the area,” said Nancy Cai in Cantonese, a Chinatown saleswoman.

The subway could reduce a 20-minute trip on a good day to a reliable 7-minute trip. With fast service, she said, more travelers from Union Square might come, saturating the Chinatown economy with tourist money.

When the line is completed, some Chinatown residents hope it will bring a more pristine image to the area.

“The subway will make San Francisco look like New York,” said David Tsui, Pang Kee bargain market manager. “Only time will tell if the subway will be successful in the eyes of Chinatown.”