Jane Warner Plaza Redo Debuts

A popular parklet in San Francisco's gay Castro district is sporting a new look as part of a wider streetscape improvement project the city undertook in the area.

The redo of Jane Warner Plaza on a stretch of 17th Street between Hartford and Castro streets wrapped up the night of Wednesday, November 26 on the eve of Thanksgiving Day. Workers repaved the area with chocolate-colored asphalt and installed new metal gates on the plaza's northeastern boundary designed to mimic the historic marquee of the nearby Castro Theater.

"This gives the plaza much more of a finished look," said Andrea Aiello, executive director of the Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District. "I love the pavement. I like it because it is going to hold up over time and it is a rich color."

Daniel Bergerac, president of the Castro Merchants business association, also had praise for the redone plaza.

"I think it is beautiful," said Bergerac, a Castro resident and co-owner of Mudpuppy's Tub and Scrub on Castro Street.

The plaza work was the final piece of the $6 million Castro Street sidewalk-widening project that began in February and disrupted traffic patterns and pedestrian access to the heart of the gay business district for most of the year.

In addition to the increased space for pedestrians, the work included planting new street trees, installation of historical facts about the neighborhood and plaques honoring LGBT luminaries, and the creation of rainbow crosswalks at the intersection at Castro and 18th streets.

The work along Castro Street largely wrapped up prior to Halloween, with city planners and the contractor, Ghilotti Brothers of Marin, then racing to finish the project in time for the holiday shopping season. Although several decorative elements have yet to be installed in Jane Warner Plaza, the majority of the work is now complete.

It is the second time the parklet has been given a makeover since city officials closed off vehicular access to that segment of 17th Street in 2009 to install the first demonstration project under the pavement-to-parks initiative. A year later the city installed more permanent structures and new planting at the site to delineate the space as a public plaza.

It is named after a lesbian San Francisco Patrol Special Police officer who for years provided additional security for area businesses. Warner died in 2010 after a long battle with cancer.

Due to public feedback on what sorts of enhancements residents and merchants wanted to see included in the sidewalk-widening project, city planners set aside funds to pay for the redo of Jane Warner Plaza as part of the streetscape work.

The Market Street entrance to the Chevron adjacent to the plaza also received an upgrade. New pavers, similar to the ones found in the sidewalk in front of the Castro Theatre, were used to demarcate a curved driveway into the gas station. It is a visual element to help both drivers and pedestrians safely navigate the area.

"That driveway was always confusing and dangerous for pedestrians," said Aiello. "This at least helps to define this as a driveway."

A new pedestrian walkway can now be found at the northwestern boundary of the plaza, with a series of bollards installed on the street to protect pedestrians from passing vehicles. Still remaining to be done is restriping the crosswalks in the Castro and Market streets intersection to align with the new layout.

Citing a moratorium on infrastructure work the city imposed during the holiday season, Castro leaders expect to see construction crews back on Market Street sometime in January to finish the work.

Another issue likely not to be settled until after the new year is how to provide a visual cue to mark the tracks for the F-Line trolley, which stops in the middle of Jane Warner Plaza. A number of potted palms had been used in the past but their return has been derailed for now, Aiello said, because officials with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency expressed concerns about the pots being too close to the tracks.

The CBD has returned the tables and chairs it provides back to the plaza but is grappling with how to ensure they are not monopolized by transient groups of homeless people and others who often use the plaza as a resting place.

"We understand it is really important to have seating there and to try to figure out ways to make it a positive space," said Aiello. "That is what we are going to be looking at moving forward on how to encourage the community to use the plaza as much as possible in a variety of different ways."

One idea the CBD is pursuing is inviting community groups and local nonprofits to set up information tables at the plaza or activate the space in some way. Next Friday, December 12, for instance, the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee will wrap up its second annual food and toy drive at the plaza from noon to 4 p.m.

"We want the plaza to be able to be used by everybody: kids, older folks, middle-age folks, and homeless folks," said Aiello. "I just don't want it being taken over by people living on the streets who have dogs and are intimidating others. We want to find a balance and haven't figured that out yet."