potrero view

July 2009

Community Tours Showplace Square as part of Park Planning Effort

By Lisa Tehrani

The effort to plan open space amenities in the Showplace Square area marches on, literally.  Last month the San Francisco Planning Department hosted a walking tour of the area as part of its community open space planning process.  More than thirty people participated in the tour, which was led by Steve Wertheim, Planning Department project manager.  Several property owners, community members and developers presented their views along the way.  Particularly featured were underused street space, which could be converted to open space or improved as “green connector streets” with more trees, less pavement and an enhanced pedestrian environment.  

The first tour stop was the area between Wolfe’s Café and Axis Café on 8th and 16th streets. As Wertheim explained, the triangular intersection “has an amount of road capacity

that greatly exceeds demand,” and closing-off the street in front of the cafes would be an easy means of developing open space.  Coined “Showplace Triangle” plaza, the site is one of three upcoming projects under the Pavement to Parks initiative, a collaborative effort of the Mayor’s Office, Department of Public Works, Planning Department, and Municipal Transportation Agency. Wertheim noted that the street conversion, which is scheduled to occur before Labor Day, will last just six months.  If it’s well received it could become permanent.

Daggett Triangle, which occupies a portion of an empty lot that’s located along 16th Street, between 7th and Hubbell streets, that used to be occupied by a paint factory, served as another tour stop.  Daggett Street runs between the large corner parcels. Although still considered a formal street, the developers want to turn the one acre area into a park, with housing developments flanking either side. Dan Murphy of Urban Green Devco, one of the developers, explained that the site’s Environmental Impact Report considered the right of way space for use as either a park or a street. Murphy stated, “It would be a missed opportunity if a large portion of the right of way is not committed to open space.”  The Mayor’s office has expressed interest in using the space as an urban garden for homeless individuals.

Daggett Street is 137 feet wide; most city streets are 60 feet in width, leaving considerable room for new uses. The developers would like to make the street a smaller, one-way alley. Potential park amenities are yet to be determined, but earlier community feedback suggested preferences for a plaza-café, flexible lawn space, and a stage or terrace.  The project has yet to be approved, but if developed as currently planned the surrounding housing would consist of 450 units, and be 68 feet tall, according to Murphy.  Ensuring one acre of parkland would help the Planning Department achieve its goal of four acres of open space in the Showplace Square area to adequately accommodate new housing development.

Tour participants discussed how closing streets might disrupt traffic patterns and reduce street parking. Both issues will be addressed by traffic planners later in the process, according to Wertheim.  “Nothing will be built unless there is environmental review,” he said.

The tour then headed to Channel Street, a closed right of way that’s partially used for Golden Gate Disposal’s truck parking. A large portion of the street sits vacant. Planners are considering converting that street or Hooper Street into a green connector that will link to the planned railroad crossing on 7th Street, leading to Mission Creek and the Mission Bay parks. Tour participant Corinne Woods of the Neighborhood Parks Council explained, “It is so important to think about how we connect neighborhoods as we move forward.”

Golden Gate Disposal’s General Manager Maurice Quillen explained that his company is interested in acquiring a piece of Channel Street for parking their fleet in exchange for parkland they own in Little Hollywood. The exchange isn’t finalized, and planners are waiting for public input on the open space planning process before moving forward with any agreements.  According to Quillen, “The additional space [on Channel Street] would give us the ability to have better truck parking. With the implementation of the Fantastic Three program we added 50 percent more trucks.” He added that when Channel does reopen it will be located between a garbage company and a public storage facility, which may not be the best location for a green connector street. Quillen also asserted that Hooper Street is closer to the 7th Street railroad crossing, and would make for a more logical choice given the flow of pedestrian and bicycle traffic from the surrounding neighborhoods.

Townsend Circle was identified as another street that could be converted into a park or plaza.  A portion of Division Street, at Henry Adams, could be used as open space given the excessive amount of street space in the area, according to Wertheim. Sean Murphy, the developer for the adjacent parcel at 1 Henry Adams, explained that development plans include a 40 foot wide piece of public open space in between two residential buildings that will have 230 housing units.  The presentation prompted Isabel Wade, the Neighborhood Parks Council’s Executive Director, to remark that such small pieces of open space within developments are not acceptable as parks.  “We are not getting the kind of open space we need for neighborhoods with the current planning codes. The walk struck me because that part of town still has a lot of land, it is not like downtown where there is no space. At some point we have to realize that we cannot have housing on every square inch of land,” she said.

The tour ended in front of Jackson Playground, where Steve Cismowski, the San Francisco Department of Recreation and Parks’ Neighborhood Service Area Manager, expressed his interest in expanding the park to provide for more community-based amenities, given that such a large part of it is reserved for baseball fields.  Cismowski suggested extending the park either onto Carolina Street, or to a lot on the west side.  According to Wade, Jackson Playground is a good opportunity for the area, and it shouldn’t be considered an adequate neighborhood park in its current form. She supported Cismowski’s expansion ideas, and hopes that it can become “a real green space for the neighborhood.”


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