Ever experience the serendipity of discovering a tiny space in San Francisco–all covered with plants, or a bench and trees, or a small community garden? These eye-catching beauties are “spaces between places” and are part of the Street Park program. San Francisco’s Public Works Department partners with San Francisco Park Alliance to help individual stewards to create these great little places. Small pieces of public land–streets, medians, stairways, traffic circles, and bits of land are transformed and maintained by volunteer stewards.
Stewards use a template to work with the SF Parks Alliance and SF Public Works to create the public space that they wish to maintain. They hold a community meeting with nearby residents and collaborate with Public Works on their final plan. Since 2004, over 100 street parks have been built or underway. Check out the video showing some transformed sites at http://www.sfparksalliance.
Find more information about the San Francisco process on the San Francisco Public Works Street Parks website
What San Francisco Street Parks have you found? Send pictures for our Facebook page and website at info@sjparksadvocates.org
San Jose has only a few neighborhood groups that care for a few circles and median strips for the Department of Transportation. Do you think San Jose should work towards a better Street Park system? Where would you put a San Jose street park?