A CAMPAIGN TO KEEP San Francisco sidewalks clean was launched this week with a new public-private partnership that will deploy power washers around the city’s most heavily trafficked neighborhoods.
The program will focus on power washing sidewalks and alleyways on a more frequent basis. It will supplement existing city street and sidewalk cleanings by San Francisco’s Public Works department and focus on providing more flexible, tailored plans for different neighborhoods that will make cleanings available at different times throughout the day.
The initiative launched with $3 million in funding from the nonprofit organization Avenue Greenlight.
Areas targeted for the program are the Mission, Sunset, Tenderloin, Richmond, Chinatown, North Beach, and Fillmore districts, according to Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office.
Lurie appeared at a news conference in the Mission District on Thursday to announce the program, along with Avenue Greenlight founder Chris Larsen, who also founded the crypto payment company Ripple, and Michael Moritz, founder of Crankstart, a non-profit foundation focused on families, who also made financial contributions to the program.
Lurie said the city needed to live up to its reputation as a global tourist destination.
“We have to take care of the basics,” he said. “That means clean and safe streets. If our neighborhoods feel dirty or neglected, people spend less time there. But when our streets are clean, when they are vibrant and cared for, people come out, they stay, they shop. They believe in the city again.”
Larsen said the program will not replace the Public Works street and sidewalk cleaning but would enhance those efforts.
“This helps the city recover faster, to get the city streets cleaner, faster, so that we can compete with the other cities that are trying to take our tourists and our businesses,” he said.
Avenue Greenlight board president Maryo Mogannam said the program had already started and would continue to roll out as neighborhood groups and merchant associations make custom plans for their neighborhoods.
In addition to power washing, the program will include deep steam sanitation, ongoing maintenance, and real-time community reporting to monitor neighborhood needs.
Cleaning plans and schedules will be created by a company called Civic Method, which advertises itself as a startup focused on using technology to help cities implement various policies. Schedules will include afternoon and evening cleanings, which the mayor’s office said are frequently requested.
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