Potrero Gateway Park Could Open This Month

According to the Department of Public Works (DPW), after numerous delays the Potrero Gateway Park (PGP) may finally be finished this month. Spearheaded by the community, the park will provide a green passageway under the freeway overpass along 17th Street from Vermont Street to San Bruno Avenue, and along Vermont Street between 17th and Mariposa streets. 

Construction began in 2022 and was supposed to be completed by May. That didn’t happen; some neighbors see the elongated schedule as an example of bad contract management.

“My problem is the inability of DPW or the contractor, Bauman, or the other government entities such as the Police Department to work together to maintain the integrity of the project site,” said Northwest Potrero Hill resident Libby Dodd. “It hasn’t happened at all and everyone points fingers saying they’re not responsible for the homeless encampments, and they’re not responsible for this, that, and the other. It’s a failure to coordinate.”

The area has been beset with illegal dumping, graffiti, and encampments by those who are unhoused. That’s in addition to the orange barrier and chain-link fence used to protect the passageway, which is repeatedly pulled down, blocking the sidewalk. 

“Our inspectors visit project sites daily even when work is not being performed and notices are sent to the contractor if any issues are identified,” a DPW spokesperson said. “Community members also have alerted us if there are problems with the barricades or fencing, and we work to have these resolved quickly. The project location has been experiencing the noted issues for years prior to the start of construction. During construction, these issues have continued, and it has remained a challenging site requiring coordination with various City and state agencies from the outset to make the site safe to start work and through the course of construction. Encampment resolutions are a complex undertaking, led by services and requiring coordination among multiple departments through the City’s Healthy Streets Operations Center.”

“Neighbors try to take up the slack using standard 311 and Caltrans service requests, but responses are slow and intermittent, which leads to frustration and ill-conceived interventions,” Dodd retorted. “For example, Caltrans from time to time responds by sending out a large crew and dump truck to remove debris from encampments in the project area, but the tents reconstitute the next day, often sheltering the same individuals … My contention is that a social service team needs to be contractually accountable to the project to mitigate the impact of change brought on by the construction.”

PGP presents numerous institutional and social complexities. It’s partially maintained by the California Department of Transportation and DPW, as well as neighborhood groups, and isn’t a traditional park. Roughly 10 years ago, Hill residents organized to address ongoing blight at the site. They hired landscape architects to create a conceptual design and raised approximately $2 million to implement it. After advocates were unable to obtain municipal approval of the original design, DPW offered to work with them to develop an alternative, which became PGP. 

In 2019, neighbors formed the Potrero Gateway Park Steering Committee, currently led by Utah Street resident Jean Bogiages, and continued to meet with DPW to complete a detailed design.

“DPW was working with us, the steering committee,” Bogiages said. “It wasn’t DPW creating the whole plan. It’s a different role that DPW plays than Rec and Park. They aren’t trying to sell this project.” 

When finished, PGP will have corner bulb-outs with retaining walls and native plants, a protected bike lane, widened sidewalk, public art by Dogpatch company FUTUREFORMS, and new pedestrian lighting. The latest postponement was caused by the need for Pacific Gas and Electric Company to remove a streetlight on 17th Street. 

“This, unfortunately, prevented portions of the scope from being completed, delaying the timeline,” the DPW spokesperson said. “This pole was removed the week of June 17, allowing the contractor to proceed and finish the work. The project is currently projected to be completed in early August.”

Bauman’s contract includes clauses for “liquidated damages,” a penalty assessed on a per diem basis if the supplier is at fault for not completing the work on time. 

“In this case, because the delay was outside of the contractor’s control, we extended the project duration to account for this and there is no associated penalty,” DPW said.

“It would be much nicer if things could go faster but this is the way it is and we just have to figure out how to get to the endpoint successfully,” Bogiages said. “We still have a bit more on the project to complete. We are planning a mural to connect the project ideas. Additionally, there needs to be a better connection between [the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing], Caltrans, and SFPD in the neighborhood so that everyone has a home, but not in illegal locations. The end result is going to be a wonderful thing that connects all around the neighborhood.”

_{Top: Crew works on the Potrero Gateway Park. Photo: Rebekah Moan}