By Mohammed Nuru, San Francisco Public Works director
I love walking around San Francisco. It’s a great way to get a feel for
the neighborhoods, to take it slow and make it real.
Great walking means great sidewalks. And that’s where Public Works comes in.
It is our job to make sure they are safe and accessible.
Did you know that there are more than 5,000 blocks in San Francisco? Wrapped
around the of maze buildings, homes and businesses are more than 122 million sf. ft. of sidewalks. Imagine a giant concrete field of two square miles if you put all of them together. That’s as big as the Sunset District.
Sidewalks serve each of us every day as we navigate up and down our very dense and fast-moving metropolis. Sidewalks are important connectors providing paths of travel for residents and visitors -- you and me -- to get around.
Because we recognize their significance, Public Works strives to keep sidewalks in top shape, and we utilize our resources to work with the public in ensuring they are well-maintained and in a condition that provides for safe pedestrian access.
Thanks to the support of San Francisco voters who helped approve the 2011 Road Repaving and Street Safety Bond, we are blessed to be able to make more sidewalk and pedestrian safety improvements than ever before to provide high-quality walking environments for everyone.
In the first year of the Streets Bond, our sidewalk inspection program exceeded its goals!
The result: More than 250,000 sf. ft. of San Francisco sidewalks were repaired -- fixing broken and buckling sidewalks that can be hazardous to public safety and potentially can create barriers for people with mobility and vision deficiencies.
And our teams hope to exceed those levels of repairs in each of the next two years with help from bond funding.
High priorities for sidewalk repairs include locations around public buildings, schools, hospitals, commercial corridors, Muni routes and key walkways that link neighborhoods to transportation and commerce. Each sidewalk is essential.
The bond program dedicates $22 million to curb ramps and to sidewalks. This is a wise investment.
Along with the improved sidewalk conditions, we are seeing hundreds and hundreds of curb ramps going in all over the City. More than 1,700 curb ramps are being designed and constructed. Top priorities are locations that residents with disabilities have identified as needed to safely access transit stops, civic buildings and their work sites.
Proactive strategies are key in order to maximize access and safety improvements for pedestrians and sidewalk travelers. When sidewalk repairs are made and when curb ramps are designed and constructed, our department coordinates with other City projects to maximize their impact.
Curb ramp installations and sidewalk repairs are opportunities to make our great public spaces even better and enhance walkability. So when each neighborhood roadway construction project gets under way, we design and build it within the larger context of pedestrian safety for the City as a whole.
We want to decrease crossing times. We want to design and build streetscapes that calm traffic, increase lighting and bring together the community. We want to contribute to Mayor Ed Lee’s pedestrian-safety strategy plan. And we want to combine all of the highest quality design elements and best practices to create safe, inviting, communal corridors.
With help from the Streets Bond, Public Works and our partner agencies are moving in the right direction when it comes to
sidewalks and pedestrian safety.
A great contributor to the success of our curb ramp and sidewalk safety programs is the input we receive everyday from the public. I encourage you to seek out ways to get involved. What are your main routes of travel and which sidewalks and neighborhoods matter most to you? Let us know.
The bond has dozens of streetscape improvement projects in the works and we want to hear from you. If you see a
corner in need of a curb ramp or pedestrian safety improvements, please drop us a line. You can call 311, or look us up at sfdpw.org.
Thank you. I look forward to seeing you walking out and around the City.
Twitter: @MrCleanSF
I love walking around San Francisco. It’s a great way to get a feel for
the neighborhoods, to take it slow and make it real.
Great walking means great sidewalks. And that’s where Public Works comes in.
It is our job to make sure they are safe and accessible.
Did you know that there are more than 5,000 blocks in San Francisco? Wrapped
around the of maze buildings, homes and businesses are more than 122 million sf. ft. of sidewalks. Imagine a giant concrete field of two square miles if you put all of them together. That’s as big as the Sunset District.
Sidewalks serve each of us every day as we navigate up and down our very dense and fast-moving metropolis. Sidewalks are important connectors providing paths of travel for residents and visitors -- you and me -- to get around.
Because we recognize their significance, Public Works strives to keep sidewalks in top shape, and we utilize our resources to work with the public in ensuring they are well-maintained and in a condition that provides for safe pedestrian access.
Thanks to the support of San Francisco voters who helped approve the 2011 Road Repaving and Street Safety Bond, we are blessed to be able to make more sidewalk and pedestrian safety improvements than ever before to provide high-quality walking environments for everyone.
In the first year of the Streets Bond, our sidewalk inspection program exceeded its goals!
The result: More than 250,000 sf. ft. of San Francisco sidewalks were repaired -- fixing broken and buckling sidewalks that can be hazardous to public safety and potentially can create barriers for people with mobility and vision deficiencies.
And our teams hope to exceed those levels of repairs in each of the next two years with help from bond funding.
High priorities for sidewalk repairs include locations around public buildings, schools, hospitals, commercial corridors, Muni routes and key walkways that link neighborhoods to transportation and commerce. Each sidewalk is essential.
The bond program dedicates $22 million to curb ramps and to sidewalks. This is a wise investment.
Along with the improved sidewalk conditions, we are seeing hundreds and hundreds of curb ramps going in all over the City. More than 1,700 curb ramps are being designed and constructed. Top priorities are locations that residents with disabilities have identified as needed to safely access transit stops, civic buildings and their work sites.
Proactive strategies are key in order to maximize access and safety improvements for pedestrians and sidewalk travelers. When sidewalk repairs are made and when curb ramps are designed and constructed, our department coordinates with other City projects to maximize their impact.
Curb ramp installations and sidewalk repairs are opportunities to make our great public spaces even better and enhance walkability. So when each neighborhood roadway construction project gets under way, we design and build it within the larger context of pedestrian safety for the City as a whole.
We want to decrease crossing times. We want to design and build streetscapes that calm traffic, increase lighting and bring together the community. We want to contribute to Mayor Ed Lee’s pedestrian-safety strategy plan. And we want to combine all of the highest quality design elements and best practices to create safe, inviting, communal corridors.
With help from the Streets Bond, Public Works and our partner agencies are moving in the right direction when it comes to
sidewalks and pedestrian safety.
A great contributor to the success of our curb ramp and sidewalk safety programs is the input we receive everyday from the public. I encourage you to seek out ways to get involved. What are your main routes of travel and which sidewalks and neighborhoods matter most to you? Let us know.
The bond has dozens of streetscape improvement projects in the works and we want to hear from you. If you see a
corner in need of a curb ramp or pedestrian safety improvements, please drop us a line. You can call 311, or look us up at sfdpw.org.
Thank you. I look forward to seeing you walking out and around the City.
Twitter: @MrCleanSF