SF Civic Center plaza might get a massive remodel, become a skatepark
A San Francisco public square may undergo a massive remodel in the coming months.
United Nations Plaza, located near the Civic Center and bordered by 7th, Market, Hyde and McAllister Streets, may become a new hub for skateboarding if plans proposed by the SF Recreation and Parks department are approved.
Tamara Aparton, a spokesperson for the parks department, told SFGATE that the remodeled plaza would include large skating spaces and other amenities including chess tables, ping pong tables, exercise equipment and tables for Teqball, a sport similar to table tennis.
Aparton added that the department has been exploring a “street skating pilot” since March and has been in discussions with the city’s skating community for months.
“We are drawing inspiration from similar activations in Paris and Madrid and Philadelphia as well as our own successful street skating spaces like the Waller street skatepark,” she said.
Several city leaders have drawn attention to the plaza recently, because the public square is known for its open air drug market.
Mayor London Breed asked the parks department to take over supervision of the plaza, which was previously owned by the San Francisco Department of Public Works, earlier this year.
The department has since implemented several enforcement measures. “We can coordinate with lots of other city departments to ensure illegal vending laws are enforced and power washing is frequent, and there's a law enforcement presence,” Aparton said.
City officials implemented reduced park hours and increased law enforcement in the area last winter to help mitigate “harmful behaviors,” the San Francisco Examiner previously reported.
UN Plaza spans 150,000 square feet with 90,000 square feet of red brick paving. The parks department plans to repurpose about 13,000 square feet of the red brick paving area into skating spaces, according to the project application obtained by SFGATE.
If the project application and environmental review is approved by the San Francisco Planning Agency, construction could begin as early as September, Aparton said. Construction will take up to two months, the planning application indicates.
When asked about the current state of the plaza, Aparton said it’s “not perfect” but there’s still work to do.
“In our experience, an effective way to make a public space safer and healthier is to make it fun,” she said. “We haven't done it before with other spaces, and this is what this pilot project is attempting to do.”
Source: SFGATE
