Air carrier flight crew reported reflective poles nearby an island separating taxiways caused confusion regarding where to taxi at SFO at night and recommended a note should be added to the chart.
Synopsis
Air carrier flight crew reported reflective poles nearby an island separating taxiways caused confusion regarding where to taxi at SFO at night and recommended a note should be added to the chart.
Narrative
On the Runway 28R we were cleared to exit Delta cross 28R on Delta and join Alpha to the gate. I didn't hear the clearance as the Pilot Flying because I was concentrating on slowing the aircraft on the runway. Once we turned off I asked the First Officer (FO) what the clearance was. He repeated the clearance and then added it was the second taxiway. As we crossed 28L and cleared I looked up and was confused because there were a long row of reflective poles. On my AMM map is depicted a solid line with a dashed line after Alpha to denote the ramp area. The reflective poles threw me off as I thought they were a separator from the movement and no movement area. So I turned in front of them expecting to be in Alpha. The FO immediately said we are turning short of Alpha; before I could stop; the Controller said we turned on Bravo and that we were the sixth aircraft tonight to do so. He reissued a new clearance of B; E; A to the gate. The reflective poles actually denote an island separating Taxiways Bravo and Alpha. At night this caught me off guard and lead me to believe it was marking the barrier between the taxi area and the ramp. This area is already designated as a hotspot on the airfield diagram. But the reason is for the short distance between the runways on taxiway Tango. There is no mention of the reflective poles.I was caught off guard by the poles. I should have stopped to verify where we were but was unsure of how close the next landing traffic was. I think a note should be added to HS3 to state there are reflective poles in the island between Taxiways Bravo and Alpha.
Second reporter narrative
Landed on Runway 28R at SFO. Tower cleared us to cross 28L and call Ground. Ground directed us to taxi via D to A. We accidentally took D to B and was questioned by Ground as to why we were on B. We received amended taxi instructions and proceeded to the gate without incident.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.