Franklin Square Park Gets a Pit Stop

In November a staffed Pit Stop public toilet opened in Franklin Square Park. Friends of Franklin Square hope that the temporary toilet will ultimately be replaced with a permanent facility. 

Franklin Square Park Pit Stop costs $290,000 a year, paid by San Francisco Public Works. That covers staffing, unit rental, water, soap, hand towels, a used-needle receptacle, and dog waste station. The facility averages about 180 uses a week, according to Rachel Gordon, Public Works spokesperson.  

Hunters Point Family provides staffing as part of a workforce development initiative. The nonprofit also offers programs relating to health and the environment, youth enhancement and development, family and community. 

“While we don’t have people staffing the toilets, we have a Public Works team that manages the Pit Stop program to ensure it is operating as expected,” said Gordon.

Franklin Square is one of 30 Pit Stops citywide, including 24-hour facilities at Mendell Plaza and 2500 Jennings Street. There are five Pit Stops in the Mission, two located near Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, two South-of-Market. Typically, Public Works relies on street-cleaning data to determine Pit Stop locations. 

The Franklin Square Park Pit Stop was instituted as a result of advocacy by local residents and park users, who lobbied District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen. 

“Given the area’s high volume of constituent activity, between constant soccer practices and games, youth activities, and families with little ones that play in the park, this well-loved community space has long been in need of a bathroom, with no service of this kind in the vicinity until now,” said Jennifer Ferrigno, legislative aide for Supervisor Ronen.  

The Pit Stop is sited in a parking lot next to 300 Hampshire Street. It’s staffed daily between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. Current plans are to field it until June 30, 2024, though its duty may be extended depending on the availability of funding.  

“We have heard anecdotally from neighbors that the Pit Stop is very much appreciated,” said Ferrigno. 

We understand “…that it’s impacted the park in a positive way; parkgoers are appreciative,” said Tamara Aparton, San Francisco Recreation & Parks spokesperson. 

Jolene Yee, head of Friends of Franklin Square, said the organization met with Supervisor Ronen’s office to discuss the need for a bathroom last February. 

“We’re really pleased because Sup. Ronen’s office said they were committed to getting a Pit Stop at Franklin Square this year. They made good on their promise,” said Yee.

“My daughter Lily, who is 10, plays soccer. This Pit Stop gives the kids in the neighborhood a place to play and feel safe. Also, before the Pit Stop was there, there was a strong urine smell in the park,” said San Francisco resident Matthew Young.

Yee and Young added that they appreciated that Pit Stop staff act as an “extra set of eyes and ears” keeping watch at the park. 

“Our experience over the years has been that the Pit Stops have brought positive impacts to their locations with the staff on the ground. We have many cases of them calling for medical assistance, assisting law enforcement, and providing information to tourists,” said Gordon.

Residents and park users hope that the Pit Stop’s popularity will encourage establishment of permanent public bathrooms near the park. 

“Local residents and members of Friends of Franklin Square joined the Potrero Yard Neighborhood Working Group to share input regarding the need for public bathrooms with San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority. SFMTA is developing the Potrero Yard Modernization Project, an affordable housing complex and bus repair yard across 17th Street from Franklin Square Park,” said Yee. 

The Yard will consist of a three-story bus storage and maintenance transit facility, replacing SFMTA’s existing two-story depot, and accommodating electric vehicles. It’ll have up to 513 affordable residences, a mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, designed for seniors, families, and transportation workers. 

The Yard will include such amenities as laundry facilities, community rooms and retail shops. Last year SFMTA named Potrero Neighborhood Collective (PNC) as lead developer. PNC is led by Plenary Americas, an international infrastructure developer. SFMTA met with neighborhood groups to craft the Yard’s design, including businesses on Hampshire Street, the Dogpatch/Potrero Boosters Joint Livable Streets Committee, and the Potrero Boosters Design and Development Committee. 

Two restrooms are planned at the Potrero Yard. One will be a public facility located at Bryant and 17th streets, near Franklin Square Park. The restroom is a community requested public benefit developed due to Friends of Franklin Square and community member input. 

The second will be in a retail space at the corner of Hampshire and 17th streets. 

“It has not been decided what type of retail will be located there, but ideas like a coffee shop or café have been suggested. The retailer will have a restroom for customers,” said Stephen Chun, SFMTA spokesperson. 

Chun said SFMTA will implement pedestrian safety measures between Franklin Square and the Potrero Yard, with planned bulb-outs, or curb extensions, which extend the sidewalk into the parking lane to narrow the roadway and reduce street crossing distances. SFMTA will also update crosswalks, including a proposed raised crosswalk, and directional curb ramps. 

“These improvements will benefit those traveling between the Yard and the park, especially families using the public restroom and other amenities (at the Yard),” said Chun. 

^{Image, top: Rendering of proposed 17th and Bryant streets building. IMAGE: Courtesy of Arcadis IBI Group}