North Panhandle Eyesore Remains, City Renews Permits for Fire Escape That’s Never Completed

Scaffolding has become an unwelcome fixture on NOPA street

On Lyon street towering over Golden Gate Avenue for years

Wire strung through structure to utility pole

Scaffolding leans against exterior but not secured

The extent of secured footing for scaffolding on Lyon street

Although the structure on Lyon Street at Golden Gate Avenue re-purposes parking spaces and attracts attention to the sidewalk, no one would point to it as one of the new parklets sprouting all over the city with the spring rain. Instead the barely-secured scaffolding meant for temporary use remains as a persistent blight in the North Panhandle neighborhood that the city continues to allow year after year. City staff suggest there’s nothing to be done.

According to a Department of Public Works inspector who most recently verified the permit for the scaffolding at 800 Lyon Street, “There’s not anyone who can do anything about it.” She added, “They have a legal right to be there as long as they’re doing work there.” She mentioned in January of this year that on her last visit she “saw someone scraping paint.” But after years of no apparent, substantial work or improvements, the series of six-month renewals appear to reflect inertia and permit gridlock rather than effective inspection, oversight or resolution.

The scaffolding is in place as the result of a long struggle between building tenants, the property owner, and city agencies. The three story structure was installed to serve as a fire escape for a tenant who resides in an illegal unit at the top of the building. In October 2010 the city approved plans to allow the addition of new fire escapes on the Golden Gate and Lyon street sides of the corner apartment building. Presumably these would be standard installations that would not obstruct the parking lane or the sidewalk.

When BIKE NOPA first reported on the Lyon structure in January 2010, the building owner’s attorney, Andrew Zacks of Zacks & Utrecht, said his client was sympathetic to neighbors’ concerns. “The owner understands this is a blight on the neighborhood,” he told us. In January of this year Zacks said he would provide an update on the situation but no information was forthcoming, and he stopped responded to inquiries.

A close look at the scaffolding reveals a structure barely secured to the building exterior, loose footings, and electrical wires strung through the apparatus to a nearby utility pole. The 800 block of Lyon features a steep grade with head-in parking on the same side of the street as the scaffolding. Residents in the building told BIKE NOPA that they worried about a vehicle hitting the scaffolding and bringing it all down on the sidewalk and street, disconnecting electrical wires in the process. Beyond the safety issues and blight, the structure also occupies two to three parking spaces around the clock in a neighborhood where many residents complain about the lack of available parking.

After several years of the status quo, might the city finally resolve the issue at 800 Lyon and make the block safer and more attractive? Several neighbors have indicated they are ready to petition the city for resolution of the eyesore they've lived with much too long.

Lyon Street Scaffolding Stats
800 Lyon Street at Golden Gate, 40 feet of curb space
DPW permit for scaffolding: # 1227100
Permit type: major encroachment
DPW permit office: 415 554 5810
Online Permit and Complaint Tracking for this address

Next NOPA VELO Ride Sunday Feb. 27: Think World's Fairs, Maidens and Lions

NOPA VELO riders ready to roll

NOPA VELO, the North Panhandle's own neighborhood biking group, will spin off on its first ride of 2011 on Sunday February 27th. For newcomers to NOPA VELO: we started last year with monthly rides for neighbors and friends from all over. We meet mid-morning on the last Sunday of every other month at a local cafe to power-up and then head out for a special theme ride, pursuing an eclectic mix of tall tales, histories, and haunts -- we call it "NOPA lore." And sometimes we do it in costume.

Last year saw riders re-enact the deadly duel between a U.S. Senator and a Supreme Court Judge at Lake Merced with a nod to our NOPA street named for Senator Broderick. We stopped by the NOPA building where Patty Hearst was held captive, toured the tall trees of the Panhandle and Presidio, and scarily spotted the ghostly maiden of Stowe Lake for our Halloween Ride. Cyclists can expect even more surprises this year as we tour the city's World's Fairs, honor this year's California Woman Suffrage centennial, and much more.

NOPA VELO welcome all level riders, and most outings are easy to moderate. Kids on their own bikes are encouraged if with a guardian. Pets on leash or on partner's bike join us all the time. Only heavy rain deters us.

NOPA VELO encourages all riders with a romance-seeking bent, to check out the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's fave party Love on Wheels Feb. 9th (sfbike.org/love) . If all works out well for you and someone new, join us for our Feb. 27th ride. (And if not, maybe someone special with NOPA VELO is waiting to meet you). Thanks for the nod to BIKE NOPA this morning, Michael Tanner of SF Chronicle.

For more information: Lenore@ 415-300-6744, lmcjunker@gmail.com

Join the NOPA VELO Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/nopa-velo

Check here for pics and stories of previous NOPA VELO rides.

Please do visit BIKE NOPA regularly for ride announcements and more about biking and livability in San Francisco.

Sunday Streets Brings Skating Rink, Kids Bike Rodeo, 'Quake Shake Shack, Con Brio Band, Yoga, Dog Massage, Bike Repair & So Much More to NOPA

We hope the funcycle will return to NOPA: seven on board, get pedaling

Bike NOPA with no traffic, take on the Baker hill and the Golden Gate slalom

Sunday Streets in the Mission; now it's our turn

Sunday Streets is coming to the North Panhandle in a very big way. Neighbors will have one problem: how to indulge in all the fun and good times on the street in just five hours. From the Panhandle to Central, Grove, Baker, and Golden Gate, the route through NOPA will delight and dazzle with activities you won't want to miss, including these:

In the Panhandle between Baker and Central

• Free bike maintenance by REI
• Free chair massage by CPMC
• Kiss FM Radio broadcast
• A furry round-up of dog treats from Happy Hounds Massage, PAWS, SF Chihuahua Meetup, SPCA, No. California Dog Rescue and more

In NOPA along Central, Grove, and Baker

• Live Music with Con Brio band at Baker and McAllister
• Free test rides on PUBLIC bikes at Baker and McAllister
• Freedom From Training Wheels course by SF Bike Coalition
• Kids' Bike Safety Rodeo by Presidio YMCA Bike Program (the very popular kids bike course from last year's BIKE THE BLOCK party in NOPA)
• How to load a bike on the bus demo
• Music and dancing and DIY art presented by the Wigg Party at Central near Hayes
• Kids' face painting & bike decorating by St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church
• Mobile "Command Van One" from Dept. of Emergency Preparedness on Grove
• Shake shack earthquake simulator (then you'll know why to get ready)
• Magic and cooking shows at Divisadero Farmers Market

On Golden Gate Avenue

• Free roller skating rink, with lessons & skates near Baker Street
• Slumdog Millionaire skate dance (12:30 to 2:30)
• Thriller skate dance (12:45 to 2:45)

And lots of wide open spaces for strolling, biking, dancing, and people-watching. The streets have never been this open in the North Panhandle. Be sure to be here for all of this. Add your own events: front porch parties, garage sales, lemonade stands.

There's More? NOPA's eleven open blocks are just the east end of the Sunday Streets route. Check BIKE NOPA tomorrow for everything planned to the west for Alamo Square, the Fillmore, and Japantown. (A few teasers: Hawaiian Dance and Lion Dance Troupes, free batting cages, open mural painting, Rock the Bike pedal powered stage and live music).

The full program will be available in Wednesday's San Francisco Examiner and will be posted along the Sunday Streets route.

Final note: with everyone coming to NOPA, post Welcome to the North Panhandle window signs along the route and through the neighborhood. Copies available at the NOPNA meeting this Thursday night or download and print your own.

B2B at 100: AEG Manager Says 2011 Last Year to Get It Right; Announces Major Marketing Campaigns

AEG race director George Ridgely and B2B manager Angela Fang at NOPNA meeting

B2B at 100: An ongoing series about neighborhood efforts to reclaim Bay to Breakers as a foot race and party that San Franciscans can support and celebrate for all the edgy, quirky, and zany things it has represented for most of its 99 year history.

AEG fully intends to make the 2011 Bay to Breakers footrace a successful celebration for everyone involved, but if this year's disruptive after-party on neighborhood streets repeats itself, there may be no 2012 race. Angela Fang, general manager of the Bay to Breakers for corporate giant AEG, expects next year's centennial race to be a safer, less troubled event, but if it's not, she expects AEG to abandon the race in the future. "If we have another bad year next year, I think AEG will close it down," Fang told members of the North of the Panhandle Neighborhood Association (NOPNA) Thursday night. AEG has already begun its outreach to city departments and neighborhood associations, and the NOPNA meeting was one of its first stops. (In a message Fang sent today, she emphasized AEG's plans for 2011, "Our intentions are to work with the city and the neighborhoods and help to provide the resources necessary to bring this event back to it's original roots.")

Fang also announced plans for two major marketing efforts to promote the race and curtail the mayhem of the alcohol-fueled street parties. One campaign will focus on everything good about the city's iconic footrace across town, including its historical background and zany fun. The other will emphasize new restrictions on the event: no open containers of alcohol, no public intoxication, a limit on participants in the race, no floats, and a specific time for ending the race (and opening the streets to traffic).

Fang addressed the major concerns of neighbors voiced at a May meeting of NOPNA.

• AEG will pay for more police officers on the course, including adjacent neighborhood blocks
• Registration will likely be capped at 50,000 participants
• The number of porta-potties will be doubled and will be placed on NOPA and Alamo Square streets as well as in the Panhandle and on the course
• AEG won't allow floats and that will help meet their goal of opening the streets by noon. Fang noted that 96% of registrants in the race reach the top of the Hayes street hill by 10:30 a.m., allowing for closing the race by noon
• AEG will have its own clean-up crews in addition to paying the Department of Public Works to clear the area of trash which this year totaled 47 tons

Fang acknowledged that in previous years "the message has been unclear." She intends to correct that for 2011. "We'll take our message to the major media, including SFWeekly and the Bay Guardian. We'll inform colleges and we'll use Facebook."

George Ridgely, race director for B2B, reminded NOPNA members that the race was a remarkable event. "It's one of the top ten races in the country, and one of the oldest foot races in the world." He commented that the serious racers "have a great time in the race and experience none of the problems. We want everyone to have that experience."

As reported earlier this week, NOPNA participated in the first meeting of stakeholders concerned about the future of Bay to Breakers. Jarie Bolander, NOPNA's president, reported Thursday night that everyone agreed at that gathering that the race itself was the responsibility of AEG. "Who is responsible for the accompanying street party was not so clear, at least no one has been ready to step forward and assume that role." No decisions were reached among the group, and another gathering is expected in six to eight weeks. The Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services convened the meeting of neighborhood associations, merchants groups, and B2B preservation alliances. No public officials or city department heads attended.

See previous artilces in the B2B at 100 series here.

Seen While Biking #2

Great Architecture. Sidewalk Gardens. Blooming Street Trees. NOPA looks pretty good, but sometimes while riding I also see something like this building to the left. Intervention, somebody, please.

NOPA's Bumpy Streets, Part One

Bicyclists and motorists know our city streets are mostly in a sorry state with potholes, cracks, utility cuts, and all sorts of surface hazards. San Francisco streets average a score of 64 on a scale of 1 to 100. That 64 hovers between pavement that requires a preventative treatment (filling cracks and seams and repairing potholes) and those surfaces that are so degraded from wear that they sorely need resurfacing or more fundamental reconstruction.

How do the 30 square blocks* of NOPA fare in the distressed pavement world? Our street surfaces are worse than you might expect:

• 24% of our blocks require major repair or reconstruction now.
• 43% of our blocks need resurfacing before they worsen.
• 20% of our blocks need preventative repairs before they degrade further.
• 13% of our blocks are fine for now (due to recent re-surfacing mostly)

With the first two categories combined, fully two-thirds of our blocks need basic and extensive make-overs.

How does your NOPA block rate?

Check the three basic categories below. Note that blocks on the San Francisco Paving Database map (scroll to page 31 for the map) are grouped by color and correspond to the degree of wear and tear of the surfaces (aka Pavement Condition Index scores):

• Red = 0 - 49 These blocks need reconstruction and/or major repairs.
• Blue = 50 - 63 These blocks can get by with resurfacing.
• Green = 64 - 84 Preventative work can extend the life of these surfaces.

NOPA's RED Blocks: 24% of total 71 blocks need reconstruction or other major repair

Divisadero All 6 blocks, Fell to Turk, seriously degraded condition.

Broderick Fulton to McAllister

Central Grove to McAllister

Masonic Fell to Hayes and Grove to McAllister

Hayes Central to Baker and Broderick to Divisadero

Fulton Masonic to Central and Broderick to Divisadero

NOPA's BLUE Blocks: 43% of total 71 blocks need resurfacing

Masonic Hayes to Grove and McAllister to Turk

Central Hayes to Grove and Golden Gate to Turk

Lyon Fell to Golden Gate

Baker Grove to Turk

Broderick Fell to Grove and McAllister to Turk

Hayes Masonic to Central and Baker to Broderick

Grove Central to Baker

Fulton Central to Broderick

McAllister Masonic to Baker

Golden Gate Masonic to Baker

NOPA's Green Blocks: 14% of total 71 blocks need preventative treatments

Central Fell to Hayes and McAllister to Golden Gate

Lyon Golden Gate to Turk

Baker Fell to Hayes

Fell Lyon to Divisadero

Grove Masonic to Central and Baker to Broderick

McAllister Baker to Divisadero

Golden Gate Central to Lyon

Turk Baker to Divisadero

What does this mean?

NOPA streets are not in imminent danger of catastrophe -- although we get occasional sinkholes. But NOPA has a signficant number of blocks that are more rapidly deteriorating due to delayed maintenance, and the cost of repairing these increases exponentially if delayed too long. For example, a block with a score of 50 can be repaved for about $95,000, but allow that block to deteriorate to below 25, and the cost could soar to $430,000, according to the SF Department of Public Works.

How do NOPA streets compare with those in other neighborhoods?

Check the city paving map to view NOPA blocks and those of other neighborhoods.

Please post your own observations here about NOPA's streets or comparisons with other neighborhoods.

If you check the site for the map, you might notice it is part of a report on a Safe Streets Bond measure that the city is expected to place on the ballot in November. More on that in an upcoming post.

Remember: potholes can be reported to 311 online or call 311. All you need to provide is the street and the cross street and, if possible, the nearby address.

* For this analysis, I'm looking at the area defined by Masonic and Divisadero, Fell and Turk; this is a 30 block area with 71 separate blocks.

Coming up in Part Two: Which NOPA streets are scheduled for repaving and when?