A Digital Journal - San Francisco Public Works
In the Works
December 2024
2024: Looking Back and Moving Forward
Our mission at San Francisco Public Works is to make the City cleaner, safer and more beautiful – morning, noon and night.
It’s an ambitious undertaking and one we embrace with pride. This end-of-year, retrospective issue of In the Works provides just a snapshot of the work we did in 2024 – from delivering shelter for the unhoused and seismically retrofitting a towering peace pagoda to planting trees and cleaning the streets. Plus so much more.
As a 24/7 operation that touches every neighborhood, Public Works is on the front lines of tackling some of San Francisco’s biggest challenges and working with sister agencies and community partners to advance the City’s post-pandemic comeback.
From the entire team at Public Works, we hope 2025 brings you a bounty of joy, good health and passion for working together to make San Francisco an even better place to live, work and visit.
January
Neighborhood Beautification Day
More than 125 community volunteers helped us kick off the 2024 season of Love Our City: Neighborhood Beautification Day in the Richmond District.
From the industrial reaches of the Bayview to a sprawling government campus on the Peninsula and a public golf course clubhouse on the western end of Golden Gate Park, a mass timber construction renaissance is taking root in the Bay Area – and San Francisco Public Works architects are helping drive the revival. Architects are tapping into a building technique that promises quicker turnarounds, produces more welcoming facilities and, perhaps most importantly, uses emission-storing materials to help combat global warming.
Green Infrastructure
Partnering
We hosted the Sixth annual Collaborative Partnering Awards ceremony, which recognized nine City and County of San Francisco building and infrastructure projects that demonstrated collaborative partnering.
February
Chinatown Spruce Up
Public Works crews were out in force in Chinatown throughout the month of February for annual deep-cleaning and beautification operations during the Lunar New Year holiday season.
Golden Gate Park Golf Course Clubhouse
City officials, community leaders and golf enthusiasts gathered for the grand opening of the new Golden Gate Golf Course Clubhouse.
Storm Response!
The 6-plus inches of rain that fell in San Francisco kept our Operations teams busy handling storm-related incidents.
March
Arbor Day 2024
In just one day, hundreds of volunteers working alongside Public Works Bureau of Urban Forestry crews planted 100 new street trees in the City’s Tenderloin, Hayes Valley, Western Addition and NoPa neighborhoods in celebration of Arbor Day. We also held a community Arbor Day fair with plenty of hands-on activities, including building planter boxes and filling them with flowers and herbs.
Third Street Bridge Repaired
For the first time in a year, pedestrians regained full access to the historic Third Street Bridge after our trades workers completed critical repairs to the storm-battered span in time for the Giants pre-season home opener.
Upper Market Project Wins State Award
The streetscape changes along the stretch of Market Street between Octavia Boulevard and Castro Street brought welcome and meaningful improvements to this well-traveled corridor. They also landed a well-deserved recognition from the California State Association of Counties.
April
Public Works Week 2024
Public Works Week, an annual event where our department celebrates and showcases our employees and the work they do throughout the year, didn’t disappoint this year, with packed open houses, project tours, a recognition awards ceremony and more.
Mission Cabins
San Francisco opened an addition to its homeless shelter program – a small campus in the Mission District with 60 private cabins and onsite support services.
911 Call Center
In partnership with the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, one of the busiest dispatch centers in the country received a Public Works-led makeover.
May
Bay to Breakers Race Cleanup
As runners labored through the Bay to Breakers race, a contingent of Public Works street cleaners – clad in neon vests and armed with push brooms, shovels and rakes – stood at the ready to get the streets and sidewalks back in shape after the event.
Glass Shop
The department’s Glass Shop – a small but mighty operation – handles a variety of repair and installation jobs for a broad swath of City departments, from replacing mirrors at the San Francisco International Airport to adding anti-graffiti film to Rec and Park facilities. They gave us a glimpse into their work portfolio.
Folsom Street Makeover
Construction got underway on the Folsom Street Improvements Project, focused on making the busy South of Market corridor safer and more inviting for residents and visitors, with a reimagined roadway design, fresh landscaping and new street furniture.
June
Ocean Beach Sand Relocation
Public Works crews conducted the annual sand-moving operation at Ocean Beach involving massive excavators and bulldozers.
Pride Parade
Inspired by this year’s in-house theme, “Sowing the Seeds of Love,” Public Works got into the spirit of Pride Month, an annual tradition celebrated throughout June to highlight the contributions and history of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Neat Street
To promote neighborhood stewardship and boost civic pride, we launched our very own internet-based video game – capturing the spirit of maintaining, cleaning and greening San Francisco’s streets and sidewalks.
July
Mission Branch Library Renovation
Public Works is leading a project, delivered on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library, that will help restore the beloved Mission Branch Library – more than 100 years old – to some of its original glory. Work will add much-needed upgrades to transform the facility into a less cramped, more accommodating and more climate-resilient space for staff and patrons.
August
High Pressure Upgrades to Vital Firefighting Network
For the first time in nearly a century, San Francisco is overhauling a crucial part of its emergency firefighting apparatus – with the help of some Public Works engineering and design know-how.
SFPD Gun Range
Four times a year, Public Works engineer Alfonso Aguilera grabs a hammer and heads to the San Francisco Police Department’s firearms range for inspections, setting up a work plan for our trades workers to make needed repairs.
Paving
With the stars aligned, Public Works’ in-house street repair crews jumped into action and made quick work of an expedited roadway paving project in the Marina – earning praise from neighbors.
September
Harvesting Community at a Bayview Garden
Mary and Joel McClure, working with neighbors, transformed a derelict City-owned parcel in the Bayview into a flourishing community garden. This month’s Neighborhood Beautification Day volunteer workday brought them extra hands to help with weeding and pruning.
Golden Gate Park Gateway
When Public Works landscape architect Nicholas Ancel was working on the design for the new Golden Gate Park gateway at Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way, he found inspiration among ancient giants in the woods.
October
Graffiti Wipeout!
Scores of volunteers, armed with paint, rollers, brushes and a spirited determination, went to battle against the pervasive graffiti tags marring the Tenderloin.
Lightning Rod Project
Strapped into harnesses and attached to safety lines, Public Works electricians installed new lightning rods on the sloped metal roof of the City’s 911 Call Center.
Glen Park Staircase
A mundane, utilitarian public staircase connecting a quiet cul-de-sac with a busy street in the Glen Park neighborhood metamorphosed into a community treasure packed with beauty and meaning.
Polk Street Paving
Public Works crews kicked paving efforts into high gear, revamping City Hall’s front porch by putting down a fresh layer of smooth asphalt on Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place and making the roadway safer for people who bike.
November
Japantown Peace Plaza
Work got underway to shore up Japantown’s venerable, five-tier pagoda and help protect it from the ravages of a major earthquake.
10 Years of Pit Stop
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San Francisco’s innovative Pit Stop public toilet program, launched by Public Works 10 years ago, has averaged one flush a minute. The program started with three locations in the Tenderloin and has since expanded to 30 locations in 13 neighborhoods.
December
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Storm Season Starts
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