San Francisco city officials have announced plans to remove a series of benches and planters installed along Taylor Street in the Tenderloin area, citing budgetary constraints regarding future maintenance costs.
Michael Roccaforte, a spokesperson for the Municipal Transportation Agency, stated that although the ‘Safer Taylor Street’ project has not been fully completed, the city cannot afford the cleaning, repairs, and ongoing maintenance for the newly installed amenities.
Much of the infrastructure will be dismantled, though Roccaforte did not provide a specific timeline for the removals.
The benches and planters were part of a $20 million project aimed at enhancing pedestrian safety and traffic calming, which also included wider sidewalks introduced in December.
City records indicate that the installation and materials for the seating and planters alone cost approximately $183,000. However, today, many of the planters stand mostly empty, filled with gravel instead of greenery, and are marred by layers of graffiti.
While some social interactions occur around the benches, the area also features individuals slumped on the pavement, with bags and shopping carts cluttering the expansive sidewalks.
As plans move forward to remove the new street furnishings, city officials say that a limited number of planters will be retained along with existing decorative features, such as trees, new streetlights, and crosswalks.
David Elliot Lewis, co-chair of the Tenderloin People’s Congress, described the decision as a “slap in the face” during a recent community meeting, emphasizing that the city should not undertake construction projects without a financial plan for ongoing maintenance.
“This approach is fundamentally flawed,” Lewis remarked. “You shouldn’t initiate capital projects without allocating budgetary resources for their upkeep.”
Lewis further criticized the lack of communication from city officials regarding the removal plans, stating that the People’s Congress was neither consulted nor informed about the decision.
He proposed that, instead of allocating funds to dismantle the streetscapes, the focus should shift to adequately maintaining, cleaning, and activating the area to benefit the community.
This situation is not an isolated incident in the Tenderloin. Previous public installations have risen and subsequently fallen into disrepair, particularly on Taylor Street.
In 2010, then-Mayor Gavin Newsom unveiled a plan to revitalize the neighborhood and attract visitors through the creation of the Taylor Street Arts District.
This initiative included street landscaping and redesigned crosswalks, similar to features seen in the current Safer Taylor Street project.
However, just two years later, the project fell into disrepair, and many of the landscaping efforts, including planter box trees, were removed.
A March 2012 article in the Central City Extra highlighted the failure of this initiative, which did not result in the expected arts district of galleries and studios.
The exact costs of the unsuccessful project went unreported, but its lack of sustainability echoed the concerns raised today about the current project.
Kate Robinson, head of the Tenderloin Community Benefits District, emphasized the significance of stewardship in maintaining public spaces within the neighborhood.
Last year, the Tenderloin’s Safe Passage Park, a newly established space intended to provide recreational opportunities for children during the pandemic, was also dismantled after three years due to insufficient maintenance funding.
Robinson recalled that the initiative ceased to fulfill its intended purpose, becoming a site plagued by issues such as open drug use and public urination.
“The conditions on the street became so severe that it turned into a neighborhood where we can’t have ‘nice things,’” she lamented.
The community-led project that once allowed children to play outdoors has since reverted to a bare pavement roadway after the removal of the park.
In another recent example, the parklet on the Golden Gate Greenway, part of a larger initiative for a car-free gathering space in the Tenderloin, was also deconstructed in July.
Geoffrey McFarland, the senior community engagement manager for St. Anthony Foundation, noted that community sentiment has shifted away from wanting permanent seating in the area due to night-time behaviors that have escalated on-site.
A worker associated with the greenway reported that the parklet became a rendezvous point for open drug consumption and stashing use.
Consequently, the project and its future are currently under reassessment after scaling down its amenities.
Robinson pointed out that some public spaces thrive with consistent attention, referencing Elm Alley behind the Tenderloin Community School and Dodge Alley, where frequent events are hosted by the Tenderloin CBD.
“Such active spaces require dedicated staffing, not solely dependent on Urban Alchemy ambassadors, but also ongoing programs and daily care, cleaning, and activation,” she advised.
Aseel Fara, a community development assistant with the San Francisco Planning Department, is orchestrating a working group aimed at enhancing and creating more accessible public space in the neighborhood as part of the Tenderloin Community Action Plan.
“We aspire for the Tenderloin to have nice things,” Fara stated. “However, achieving that vision will necessitate more resources in the future.”
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