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Day 86 at the 16th St. Plaza: No trash cans = trash on the street

Mission Local · last updated

You can see all 16th Street posts here.

The equation would seem simple here. If a huge number of people descend on a major commercial corridor, a fair amount of trash will be left behind. Minus trash bins, it will land on the sidewalk. 

That is what happens on the weekend —  but, really, weekdays too —   along the Mission Street corridor. That’s especially so on the west side from 14th to 16th streets, where more than three dozen unpermitted vendors often sell their wares on Saturday and Sunday. Nevertheless, only 1950 Mission St., the housing development La Fenix, has a dumpster in front of it.

Otherwise, there are no trash cans, private or public, on the west side of the street. Adding to the pain of local businesses and nonprofits, San Francisco Public Works does not send street sweepers to that location on Sunday nights or Monday mornings. 

“So all the mess is on us,” said Paul O’Driscoll, who owns the apartment building at 15th and Mission streets and has had an office in the area for 22 years. 

It was so bad this Monday that his wife decided to send a video of the trash to Public Works. While taking the video, she was mugged. In fairness, O’Driscoll said, Public Works subsequently came out to clean, but, generally, its sweepers are not there on Mondays. That’s problematic because of heavy vendor activity in the area on Sunday nights. 

Mayor Daniel Lurie, O’Driscoll said, dropped by his block last week, but O’Driscoll never got to ask the question that’s been eating at him: “Why does DPW not work on Mondays? At least you can get out here on Sunday night.” 

We are trying to get an answer.  Rachel Gordon, communications director for the Department of Public Works, said the sweepers do work on Mondays. It’s unclear why so much trash remains on the street on Monday mornings after a big vending scene on Sunday.

Sam Moss, the executive director of Mission Housing, which developed La Fenix, adds, “We don’t control the state of the street. We have no jurisdiction on public ground. We’ve been begging and we are getting help but there is a long way to go.”

Would trash cans help? Possibly:  But there is not one city trash can on the block from the northwest corner of 15th to 16th street, around to Julian Avenue and back to 16th Street. Not one. 

Oddly, when we first started doing these posts, one bin sat on that northwest corner. It’s no longer there. Gordon from the Department of Public Works, said that can was removed “because it was regularly abused – illegal dumping, unbolted, etc.”

At the time, we pointed out there were no trash cans at the northeast plaza and Public Works then added two.

In other news from 16th Street: Three BART staffers today worked on the northeast plaza today to clean out furniture and other detritus, including what appeared to be a large reclining chair that had been deposited there over the last 24 hours. And, on Julian Avenue, three outreach workers from the Gubbio Project were out talking to anyone on the street, reminding people of Gubbio’s Good Neighbor Policy, which calls for people to not overtly use.

And, it appears that the city may be trying a new strategy to discourage weekend vending. By this morning, DPW – at the request of the SFPD – had set up barriers along the west side of Mission Street below 15th Street. 

Northeast plaza and east side of Mission Street

  • People are gathered and sitting on a sidewalk in an urban area with graffiti on the wall, some debris on the ground, and buildings and palm trees in the background.
    9:23 a.m. 6/04, east side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • Urban plaza with wet pavement, scattered street art on background walls, metal benches, blue lamp posts, trees, and a payphone. Sunlight reflects off the ground.
    9:23 a.m. 6/04, northeast plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Southwest plaza and west side of Mission Street

  • A city intersection with police cars, a large white truck, and people standing on the sidewalks under a clear sky. Traffic lights and overhead wires are visible.
    9:37 a.m. 6/04, southwest plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city sidewalk with wet pavement, soap suds, yellow caution signs, dumpsters covered in graffiti, and parked cars along the street.
    9:08 a.m. 6/04, Dumpster in front of La Fenix, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • Metal barricades line a city sidewalk with palm trees; trash bags are piled against a nearby wall, and parked cars are visible on the street.
    9:08 a.m 6/4 Barriers on west side of Mission below 15th Street Photo by Lydia Chavez
  • A city sidewalk with utility covers, a streetlight, and a building with graffiti; the street runs parallel with red transit lanes and distant pedestrians visible.
    9:23 a.m. 6/04, west side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Caledonia Street

  • Narrow urban alley with graffiti-covered walls, a person sitting on a bench at the far end, and chain-link fencing on the right side.
    9:04 a.m. 6/04, Caledonia Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A worker in a safety vest loads shovels onto a Public Works truck parked in an alley with colorful graffiti on the walls.
    9:15 a.m. 6/04, northend of Caledonia, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Julian Avenue

  • A city sidewalk with tire marks, parked cars on the right, and buildings lining both sides. A few people are visible in the distance near a tree.
    9:04 a.m. 6/04, Julian Avenue, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city sidewalk with parked cars on the left, a person walking away in the distance, and buildings lining the right side of the street.
    9:04 a.m. 6/04, Julian Avenue, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Wiese Street

A narrow urban alley lined with metal barricades on both sides, graffiti on the walls, and a single person visible in the distance.
9:05 a.m. 6/04, Wiese St, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Capp Street

  • A city sidewalk with graffiti on a building, parked cars, a crosswalk button, and a mix of commercial and residential buildings in the background.
    9:35 a.m. 6/04,Capp Street looking north, Photo by Lydia Cháve
  • Street intersection in an urban area with a white utility truck, parked cars, crosswalk, buildings, and a large mural on the wall. Power lines and streetlights are visible.
    9:36 a.m. 6/04,Capp Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez

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