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PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
September 3, 2009
Tel: (415) 554-6931
STREET PARKS PROGRAM TRIPLES IN SAN FRANCISCO
Public Works, SF Parks Trust and Broadway Gardens Open City’s 100th Garden
San Francisco, Ca – The Department of Public Works (DPW) will celebrate the completion of its 100th Street Park today with the opening of a community garden at the corner of Broadway and Himmelman streets in the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown. The department also announced today that its Street Parks program has nearly tripled in the last year, up from 35 to 100.
The Broadway Gardens transforms a small piece of city-owned property into a garden where children and seniors have planted food and flowers and will work collaboratively with nearby schools to provide educational opportunities in gardening. DPW installed irrigation, retaining walls, tiered planter boxes, a widened sidewalk with pressed leaf and flower designs, and a picket-style fence around the garden.
Established in 2004, the Street Parks Program is a partnership between DPW, the San Francisco Parks Trust, community groups and residents to manage open public spaces in their neighborhoods. The Program supports Mayor Newsom’s Executive Directive issued this summer that encourages the use of publicly-owned open spaces to be used as community gardens or farms that benefit residents.
“DPW is proud to support Mayor Newsom’s vision of providing not only sustainable food production on public lands, but his vision of community partnerships with the City that improve our neighborhoods,” said Ed Reiskin, Public Works Director.
Russian Hill Neighbors is the project sponsor for the community and is providing financial support along with the San Francisco Parks Trust, San Francisco Beautiful and private donors.
Through the Street Parks Program, San Francisco residents have adopted 100 unaccepted streets, medians and city-owned public rights-of-way. DPW allows community volunteers to borrow tools for gardening, provides resources such as grant application information, permits, street closure information, horticulture advice, workshops on community gardening, supplies and support with planning and planting. The San Francisco Parks Trust provides outreach, permit assistance, volunteer coordination, fundraising, education, insurance, and in-kind donations.
The Street Parks program coordinates with neighborhood groups from all over the city to help them landscape public open spaces that otherwise are subject to illegal dumping, loitering and other activities harmful to their communities.
“DPW’s Street Parks Program is adding much-needed green spaces to our urban environment for recreation, gardening, or simply sitting and enjoying the natural beauty that results from a well-maintained Street Park,” said Mohammed Nuru, Deputy Director for Operations for DPW. “Our goal is to ensure public rights-of-way are clean, safe and welcoming and this program helps us achieve that.”
The next Street Park project is in the Outer Sunset neighborhood on a center median on La Playa Street between Judah and Kirkham streets, where residents are removing dead plants and debris and creating a gathering space that includes seating areas, a petanque court and a small food production garden.
Some community groups have received funding from the Community Challenge Grant (CCG) to help build and maintain street parks in their neighborhood. To apply for the Fall/Winter grant cycle, call (415) 554-4830 or visit www.sfgov.org/ccg.
DPW is responsible for the care and maintenance of San Francisco’s streets and much of its infrastructure. The department cleans and resurfaces streets; plants and maintains City street trees; designs, constructs and maintains city-owned facilities; inspects streets and sidewalks; constructs curb ramps; removes graffiti from public property; and partners with the diverse neighborhoods in San Francisco to provide stellar cleaning and greening services.
WHO: DPW, SF Parks Trust, Broadway Gardens
WHAT: Community Celebration for the Opening of the Broadway Gardens
WHEN: Thursday, September 3, 2009 from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
WHERE: Broadway & Himmelman between Mason and Taylor
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