Department of Public Works

SoMa West Improvement Projects – Phase I : Planning

The SoMa West Improvement – Phase I project team will host a series of community meetings to review and develop open space and streetscape design concepts for the following South of Market Areas: McCoppin Street, McCoppin Garden, Valencia Street, and the Alleys: Pearl, Elgin Park, Stevenson, and Jessie. The purpose of the meetings is to solicit community feedback. Please join us at our next community meeting.

Community Meeting Dates

This series of community meetings has been completed.

SoMa West Improvement Projects - Phase I

The Central Freeway Replacement Ancillary Projects were initiated by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) to fund public improvements enhancing the urban fabric, calming traffic, and improving transportation safety in the vicinity of the Central Freeway/Octavia Boulevard. The SFCTA shall fund the projects with proceeds from the sale of parcels made available by the demolition of the Central Freeway. According to the most recent land value projections, the sale of the vacant parcels will generate approximately $5.75 million in revenue. In 2005, the SFCTA initiated an Ancillary Project Study to identify and prioritize potential projects. The Central Freeway Replacement Ancillary Project Study provided the basis for the Central Freeway Citizen Advisory Committee’s approval of the following projects:

1. McCoppin Street Improvements (McCoppin Streetscape and McCoppin Garden)
2. Alley Traffic Calming Improvements (Stevenson St., Pearl St., Elgin Park)
3. Valencia Street Improvements (street lighting and streetscape between McCoppin St. and Duboce St.)
4. In-Fill Street Tree Planting
5. Bike Lane and Signal Improvements
6. Open Space Development of the Caltrans Right-of-Way Parcels

Please visit the San Francisco City and County Department of Public Works website for more information: SFDPW

Skate park a good use

Editor -- Thank you for Jim Herron Zamora's article on the skate park in Oakland ("Trying to save their skate park," Aug. 3). Here in San Francisco, community members are trying to work with the city to find ways to use the space under the new ramp off Highway 101. Residents would love to have recreational uses -- a dog park, a skate park -- but Caltrans is resistant.A community-initiated park would help maintain safety in the North Mission neighborhood. It's a shame that Caltrans would rather have those spaces fenced in and closed off from the neighborhood.

MICHELLE LAPOINTE
San Francisco

Editor:

I feel the pain of those young people who are trying to save a skate park that enhances the quality of life in their neighborhood. I live one half block from the new, twice as wide, Central Freeway off ramp.  The ramp is not even opened yet and it is covered with graffiti, and its dead spaces are favorite dumping spots for ratty sofas and filthy mattresses.  Homeless are beginning to sleep under it and car boostings on Valencia street, where the ramp is most intrusive, have become epidemic. Neighbors are working with the Mayor’s Office to ensure that the huge dead space under the ramp will be activated.  A skate park has been mentioned, as well as a dog park, retail space and art installations.  Yet working with Caltrans is costly (they want payment to use their “right of way”) and their stance on what is or is not acceptable can be intractable.  Good work Oakland skateboarders for making your neighborhood more alive and welcoming.  Good luck to north Mission neighbors as they try to save their neighborhood from blight.  It is time for Caltrans to work with the communities that they impact instead of dropping a huge structure in the middle of a neighborhood and then walking away.

Lynn Valente
San Francisco

A Neighbor's Letter to Caltrans
you can send one too, just copy and paste into an email:

Jack Gaines
Public Information Officer for San Francisco County
Caltrans
510-286-4454
jack_gaines@dot.ca.gov
 
Dear Mr. Gaines,
 
I am writing to you regarding the restriction of commercial trucks from using the Central Freeway Market Street off ramp and Octavia Blvd.  I would request the following action:
 
REQUEST - That Caltrans establish a “No Commercial Trucking Zone” on the Central Freeway beyond the 9th Street exit to prevent commercial/diesel trucks from using the new Market Street off ramp and Octavia Blvd and install the necessary signage and enforcement tools to create this zone.
 
TRAFFIC IMPACTS – Since the demolition of the Central Freeway, most large commercial/diesel trucks traveling through San Francisco that may have used the Central Freeway, have utilized alternate routes. It appears the traffic impacts of a “No Trucking Zone” to commercial truck traffic will be limited as drivers will simply continue to use their current routes.
 
PUBLIC HEALTH – Despite Caltrans’ position regarding the use of the original Central Freeway EIR from the 1950’s which does not adequately address current population figures in the area, there is no doubt that the number of residential units and the population surrounding the existing and new Central freeway beyond the 9th Street exit have increased.  Studies in California and throughout the world support the findings that large commercial/diesel trucks are one of the major contributing sources of mobile source particulate pollution.  Exposure to particulate pollution is linked to increased frequency and severity of asthma attacks and even premature death in people with pre-existing cardiac or respiratory disease. Those most sensitive to particulate pollution include infants and children, the elderly, and persons with heart and lung disease.  Please visit the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s website for more information about particulate matter at http://www.baaqmd.gov/pln/pm/index.htm.
 
CONCLUSION – The residents and neighborhoods surrounding the Central Freeway and Octavia Blvd are bracing for the return of traffic once the new Market Street off ramp and Octavia Blvd are completed.  Residents remain very concerned about the potential quality of life and health issues that will develop once freeway traffic is reintroduced to our area.  I feel a “No Commercial Trucking Zone” on the Central Freeway is a significant step that Caltrans can take to protect the quality of life and public health in our area with minimal fiscal and traffic impacts for implementation.
 
I have copied various neighborhood leaders, concerned residents and San Francisco officials on this email in the hopes of “rallying the troops” on this issue and asking them to also send you an email asking for the “No Trucking Zone”.
 
If you have any questions, my contact information is below.  Once again, thank you for your attention to this issue.

cc:
Gavin.Newsom@sfgov.org,
Ross.Mirkarimi@sfgov.org
Chris.Daly@sfgov.org,
Bevan.Dufty@sfgov.org,
Tom.Ammiano@sfgov.org,
Assemblymember.Leno@assembly.ca.gov,

The City has worked on some options to address the blight surrounding the neighborhood, with proposals for land use under the freeway that would activate the space and improve the area, and hopefully CalTrans will cooperate. The area under the freeway currently has inadequate lighting and is already a haven for crime, drug dealing, prostitution, car break-ins, etc.

There are concerns about the freeway's impact on the urban fabric including; air quality, noise pollution, and diesel pollution from commercial trucks using the ramp (since diesel emissions are the most dangerous components of highway pollution). There are well-documented health effects of highway-generated pollution, such as asthma and heart disease, especially among the young and elderly. (see environmental studies ).