Drawings almost completed

At the last meeting with DPW and PUC they required new landscape architect produced drawings of the water flow on the site, and a structural engineer drawing of the supportive structure.

We managed to connect with Katherine Smith for the landscape drawings, and Bryce Neuman for the structural engineer drawings. Only one drawing edit remains to be done, and we'll be sending those images in for approval.

Once they're approved, we have requested that DPW waive their permit fees, since a permit was not previously required and so we didn't budget for one. If that goes through, we can start work. Fingers crossed...

Healthy People 2020 Community Innovations Project

Our project has just received a Healthy People 2020 Community Innovations Project grant in the amount of $10,000!
We're delighted, needless to say. Thanks go to Emily for writing up that grant.

In the meantime, we have been hard at work, getting rounds of landscape architect drawings drawn and accompanying narratives written for PUC approval, and researching structural engineers and permits for DPW.

If anyone knows a structural engineer who can do a drawing for us, please let us know.

As those of you on the street will know, the area has never looked worse in terms of dumping and vandalism. Hopefully on day soon we can start work on cleaning it up for good.

March update

View north: Before

Following an on site meeting with Mohammed Nuru and Sandra Zuniga of DPW the design for the SPUR project has been approved.

As the landowners, DPW has veto power on all designs of course, which overrides any community input, and also the power to add or alter features. In this instance DPW was very pleased with the plans but has stated we must reduce the number of bio-retention cells (BRCs) to 3, and double their individual size. Their placement along the street is to be determined, but you can see before and after pictures of these features in the images accompanying this article.

View north: BRC locations

This results in 3 fewer parking spots on the street and as a result we're reducing the plantings in some areas to mitigate that.

Prior to that meeting we also met with Ken Kortcamp and Rachel Kraai from the PUC who recommended we add a bulb-out at the top of the street to prevent traffic cutting the corner and running into cars parked on the east side of the street. We added that feature to the plans too.

Lastly we met with our construction engineer, Mike Glynn, today. he has secured the steel beams for the project and is working on another project nearby, so we hope he can do his part at the SPUR project while his machinery is in the area. We tentatively set an April 1st start date, as a joke!

View north: BRC plantings

We are getting firm quotes on the materials we need for Phase 1 of the project, such as boulders, trees, plants and so on.  Do you want to be involved? We need help! Please contact us right away if you're interested in being a part of this project.

February update

Last November we received word that the grants we worked so hard to apply for in July had been announced, and we'd received a total of $85k from the PUC and Community Challenge Grants.

Following several meetings with the PUC and a great deal of additional evidence which was requested from us to justify our need for the supportive structure, last week the PUC have however, applied additional conditions to the spending of their grant monies. Basically, they cannot fund the supportive structure. This critical element in reducing crime and creating community space on the street is also the most costly element in the entire project - we were lucky to get a quote for "just" $60k for this.

As a result we are currently $15k short of the funds needed to complete the project. We will be looking for additional sources of grant income to fill the budget and welcome your suggestions and help with how to get the $15k from you all.

In the meantime we're grateful for the continued strong support of DPW and SFPT who have continually shown their approval of our plan to the CCG and PUC, and have encouraged us along the way. We're looking forward to meeting with Mohammed Nuru (Deputy Director of DPW) to discuss our plans and fine tune the details.

Once again anyone interested in being part of the process is always welcome to contact us and join in: as some of you know this has been a significant amount of work that has fallen mainly to a very small group. If anyone is interested in getting involved, please send us an email. In particular we need help with fundraising and grant writing, quotes and suppliers, meeting with members of the granting bodies, writing narratives, briefs and project descriptions, laying out and printing materials.

Community Meeting: Please attend!

We are holding a progress report and meeting on Tuesday November 9th from 6-8pm at Fregosi Paints, 150 Pennsylvania Avenue.

If you live in the neighborhood, please attend this meeting where you can:

• Learn what grants we received and how we plan to spend them
• Find out what tree species Friends of the Urban Forest recommends for our spot
• Meet the team who has been working so hard to make this project happen for almost a year!
• Find out how you can join in - our tree planting day is coming up soon! We need your help!

Fregosi Paints are generously providing water and sodas for the meeting, and Brickley Production Services is providing chairs.

Watch KPIX tonight, 6pm

Emily and I just met with a photojournalist from KPIX-TV (Channel 5) and if you tune in tonight at 6pm, you’ll see the SPUR project on TV!


All this press is the result of the Community Challenge grant awardees being announced today. The excitement is mounting – we should be able to start work soon. Go team!

Examiner article

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Replacing-blight-with-beauty-105156064.html

Replacing blight with beauty
By: Erin Sherbert
Examiner Staff Writer
October 18, 2010

The short stretch of 17th Street at the edge of Potrero Hill has long been known for its homeless encampments, illegal dumping, hypodermic needles and petty crimes.

The street is one of many right of ways in San Francisco that is not formally “accepted” by The City, meaning officials have no obligation to take care of it with street cleaning, sidewalk repairs and everyday maintenance.

Yet, one neighbor is working to clean up the street — one grant at a time.

Annie Shaw, who lives on 17th Street, initiated the Seventeenth and Pennsylvania Urban Renewal project, a plan to give her street a complete makeover.

She is using $45,000 from the Community Challenge Grant program, which provides matching grants to local residents, businesses, nonprofits and other community groups to make neighborhood improvements such as litter abatement, landscaping and adding public artwork.

“Nobody looks after it, so it’s a disaster,” Shaw said of her street. “Nobody had any intent to take care of it.”

Shaw is one of 28 community members who are receiving a piece of a $577,000 grant to embark improvements, which include rain gardens at San Francisco State University and community art at the Tenderloin Housing Clinic.

Companies give 1 percent of their business taxes annually to the grant fund.

Mayor Gavin Newsom is expected to announce the recipients today.

“Clean and green neighborhoods are essential to the quality of life of all San Franciscans, and these innovative community projects help to beautify our neighborhoods and get communities working together,” Newsom said.

Shaw’s project started more than a year ago with a small garden she planted at the off ramp at Mariposa Street. She caught the attention of Caltrans, which owns the land, along with her neighbors, who appreciated the small touch of beauty in the neighborhood.

With the grant money, Shaw plans to start work on building new sidewalks this spring with the help of some professionals. She will plant trees and “spiky” plants that will both be beautiful and create an uncomfortable spot for transients to sleep, Shaw said.

Once the street is brought up to code with Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant sidewalks and acceptable pavement conditions, The City will officially take over maintenance, said Christine Falvey, spokeswoman for the Public Works Department.

In the past six months, The City has accepted more than 200 streets that were not officially maintained by San Francisco.