'We can't have nice things': S.F. keeps adding public spaces in the Tenderloin - then axing them

"Just months after their installation, the city plans to remove a series of benches and planters it placed along Taylor Street in the Tenderloin, "due to budgetary constraints around the costs of future maintenance," according to Municipal Transportation Agency spokesperson Michael Roccaforte. Though the project is not fully complete, Roccaforte said in a statement that the city could not fund the cleaning, repairs, and other maintenance of the benches and planters. Much of it will be dismantled, though Roccaforte did not confirm when."

"For now, the soon-to-be-removed public space remains. Walk down Taylor Street and you'll see the evidence of "Safer Taylor Street," a $20 million project that, in addition to traffic calming and pedestrian safety improvements, added bright red barrel-like planters and a series of benches along the street's newly widened sidewalks in December. In addition to planning and design costs, the city spent some $183,000 on the seating and planter materials and installation."

"Today, the planters are mostly empty bins of gravel - only a few plants remain. The red paint on the planters is, for the most part, covered with layers of graffiti. Groups of people sit and socialize, but others lie slumped over on the pavement. Bags and shopping carts with piles of clothing sometimes crowd the wide sidewalk. And so, the new seating and most of the planters will soon be gone. Only a few planters will remain, along with decorative elements like trees, new streetlights and crosswalks."

City installed benches and bright red barrel-like planters along Taylor Street as part of a $20 million Safer Taylor Street project that widened sidewalks and added traffic calming and pedestrian safety improvements. The city spent about $183,000 on seating and planter materials and installation. Within months the planters and benches fell into disrepair, with gravel-filled bins, graffiti-covered paint, and limited plantings. Municipal Transportation Agency says future cleaning, repairs, and maintenance cannot be funded, so much of the seating and planters will be dismantled. Some decorative elements like trees, streetlights, and crosswalks will remain.

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