SAN FRANCISCO NEEDS a unifying plan to bring together a patchwork of policies aimed at revitalizing the downtown Market Street corridor, starting with more investment to the Mid-Market neighborhood west of Powell Street.
Those were two of the central conclusions reached at a meeting of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Land Use and Transportation Committee on Monday. The hearing brought together stakeholders in the community with some city departments responsible for creating and implementing various plans that have been created over the years.
The hearing was called by District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood — whose district includes Mid-Market, the Tenderloin, and the Civic Center — to get a clearer picture of how the city is supporting the greater downtown area after an economic downturn spurred largely by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The downturn caused less foot traffic to the area’s theaters and businesses. Lower ridership on public transit caused the city to cut three bus lines on Market Street.
Getting those visitors, businesses and residents back, and supporting the transit and public safety conditions to do so, has been a priority of the city for several years.
District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar also pointed out that drastic changes in the retail industry also played a significant role in the downturn in shopping areas around Union Square and the now-shuttered San Francisco Centre mall on Market Street, which she said coincided with a global change in the retail industry influenced by changing shopping habits.
The city made multiple attempts to spur targeted support to the area even before the pandemic, including a “Better Market Street Project” that dates back to 2015 and was advanced in 2019. Ultimately that plan was scaled back following the pandemic, according to Mahmood, who said it resulted mostly in repaving and street improvements on a three-block stretch of Market Street.
But despite that plan and a range of policies pursued more recently by Mayor Daniel Lurie, including a series of permit reforms to encourage more nightlife and public entertainment zones, there is no comprehensive plan governing the city planning of the area.
Some city department heads presented progress and plans for their departments’ work on the downtown segment of the iconic thoroughfare, which was defined as the corridor on Market Street from Octavia Street to the Embarcadero in the city’s 2015 plan.
The Planning Department, Public Works Department, Office of Economic Workforce Development, and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency made presentations at the meeting. Representatives for each detailed their investments in streetscape work such as improved bikeways and lighting, along with tax incentives and grants for businesses, and tax credits to spur conversions of office buildings into housing.
Some of the largest investments in the area are being made in the Powell Street and Embarcadero Muni stations, at a cost of about $20 million and $32 million, respectively.
No single agency in charge
But following Planning Department representative Jeremy Shaw’s presentation, Mahmood said he was still unclear which department, or what plan, was guiding the overall work.
“I’m still not really comprehending, though, what is the prioritization framework? You have half a dozen to a dozen different plans telling you what to do, how are you deciding along that corridor what to prioritize above one thing or another?” Mahmood asked.
Shaw responded that it was a joint effort involving several different agencies, each with its own capital improvement spending plans. He said it was not the responsibility of the Planning Department to create a comprehensive strategy to unify improvements.
But Melgar disagreed and said that she thought it was indeed the role of the Planning Department to do so.
“What is the plan? What is the overall plan? What is the vision that we have for Market Street?” she asked. “All of these, you know, subordinate plans that the departments have a capital planning process have feed into it, but, I still haven’t heard what it is the overall–what are we trying to achieve with anything that touches Market Street?”
Without an answer, the presentations proceeded by department, with the SFMTA spending some of its time discussing the lack of metrics available to gage the impact of allowing rideshare vehicles onto Market Street, which were previously banned until a proposal by Lurie to allow them was approved last year.
Public weighs in on street access
Public commenters disagreed about keeping or lifting what many called a “loophole” to allow Uber and Lyft onto Market Street, with several street safety advocates arguing that allowing any private vehicles onto the corridor made it impossible to decipher which were actually rideshare trips and which were just ordinary drivers taking advantage of the lack of oversight.
Others called for the ban on vehicles to be lifted completely, arguing it would improve visitor traffic and spur businesses returning.
Jamie Budgett, general manager of ATG Entertainment, which hosts live entertainment and operates BroadwaySF, and Tracy Everwine, executive director of the Mid-Market Community Benefit District, said separately during the public comment period that they supported creating a comprehensive plan to unify the various efforts to improve the corridor and adjacent neighborhoods.
“You have illuminated, even for us, how much more collaboration is needed amongst the city departments,” Everwine told members of the committee.