I am a shameless advocate for Bernal Heights. Bernal Heights has easy on and off access to 101 and 280 freeways. A great way of getting downtown easily from Bernal Heights is to take Cesar Chavez down to third street, third street all the way to downtown. Its a good alternate when 101 is backed up. You can also take a bus to the new light rail on third street. Bernal has a small neighborhood feel to it with shops and restaurants on both sides of the hill and close to the trendy Mission area. Families are moving into this area. Check out this link for a description from SF Gate:
http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/bernal.shtml - Sat Feb 2 2008, 05:30