Castro Benefits District Developing Streetscape Improvement Plan

By Kyla Calvert

Standing in front of one of the Castro’s triple intersections, it is tempting to dream of a less confusing and dangerous experience for drivers and pedestrians. Fortunately, the time has arrived for residents to discuss neighborhood trouble spots and offer specific visions for the community’s public spaces.

The Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District (CBD), an organization made up of neighborhood residents, community activists, business representatives and property owners, is developing a streetscape improvement plan with Urban Ecology, an urban planning firm.

The first community meeting for business and property owners was held at the LGBT Community Center on March 18. A second meeting open to all community residents will be held at the center on April 9 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

“Community participation in these workshops is important for showing the City that there is a desire among residents and business owners to see the completion of the projects we propose,” explained Winston Dong, community planner with Urban Ecology.

“With the streetscape plan resulting from these meetings we can tell the City ‘This is what community members have been saying about what they want to see in their neighborhood.’”

The street design plan resulting from these community meetings will contribute to fulfilling the more general goals of the CBD. The organization’s mission includes supporting existing and new economic vitality in the area; maintaining and further developing the community’s unique character as a world-renowned LGBT neighborhood; improving accessibility for drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists as well as the physically disabled; improving public spaces; encouraging community engagement and diversity through the creation of spaces for a variety of needs and uses; and coordinating efforts with the City and other agencies working to improve and develop the area.

“The streetscape plan is something that we’ll be able to use in working with city agencies,” said Andrea Aiello, executive director of the CBD since September. “We will be able to present ideas and recommendations directly from the community while contributing input to projects like the MTA’s (Metro Transportation Authority) upcoming redesign of the transit hub at Church and Market Streets.”

Those who attended any of the community workshops for the development of the City’s Upper Market Community Plan will be familiar with the structure of the meetings for the streetscape project. At the March 18 meeting, business and property owners and representatives were given an overview of the goals of the CBD project by Dong, then broke into small groups to discuss the area to be covered in the resulting plan.

Once participants identified streetscape components across the neighborhood based on whether they were functional or not, they came back together for a presentation on the specific types of developments to be addressed in the plan.

Dong provided examples of how some San Francisco neighborhoods and other cities have addressed issues similar to those present in the Castro streetscape. These included using wide sidewalks to promote vibrant community life and contributing to neighborhood character with sculpture and creative landscaping in wide medians.

“It was good to see that there was a lot of unanimity here tonight,” said Joe Curtin who attended the March 18 meeting and is a member of Castro Area Planning plus Action (CAPA), a member-supported community organization.

“The merchants and CBD board members here tonight seem to be interested in the same things we are: pedestrian space, access to transit and for bicyclists, and safety for those in the community,” Curtin said. “If we have these kinds of things the community thrives.”

Following the meeting for all community residents on April 9, the CBD and Urban Ecology will draft an initial streetscape plan. The document will outline specific plans for improvements to the Castro’s intersections and sidewalks.

Additional community meetings will be scheduled to gather feedback on their proposals. While the CBD’s budget covers the creation of the streetscape plan, the construction projects resulting from the plan will require funding from state and federal agencies. The CBD gets its budget from a special property tax assessment.

“Funding and implementing the projects in the streetscape plan will take years,” explained Aiello. “This project is about the long-term health and improvement of our community.”

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 9 from 6:30 – 8 p.m. at the LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market St., Room 301-Gallery. For more information, visit the Web site for Castro Area and Planning (CAPA) at capasf.org.

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