San Francisco Streetscape Improvements

Owner: City of San Francisco

Contractor: Various

Facilitator: Cinda Bond

Budget: Various

Project Description

OrgMetrics provided partnering session design and facilitation for more than 20 small streetscape projects throughout the City of San Francisco. Each project included paving, utility renovations, replacement of curbs/gutters for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, landscaping, and other improvements. As part of each session, OrgMetrics used “partnering points” to educate teams on the principles of partnering, including collaboration, transparency, and trust, with the goal of creating a culture shift that would benefit current and future projects.

Challenges for these projects include coordinating the support of multiple City departments and utility companies involved in each project. The following are representative projects.

PARKING GUIDANCE SYSTEMS AND PAVEMENT RENOVATION
Contractor: Ghilotti Bros. Inc.
This $4.5 million, 270-day project included base repair and full-width reconstruction of the roadway; adaptation of all curbs and gutters to make them Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant; and installation of variable message boards to help drivers locate parking in downtown garages. Key issues on this project included a congested work zone and numerous third-party stakeholders (such as local businesses and residents) and scheduling conflicts with other contractors working in the area. The team actively involved these entities in the construction process to develop a work plan that overcame project challenges, met the needs of stakeholders and was coordinated with other ongoing
projects. The most notable solution, developed in collaboration with neighborhood stakeholders obtained by door-to-door canvassing and petition signatures, resulted in City approval for a truncated schedule that performed all
roadway work at night in three weeks rather than the originally planned 1-week, daytime work plan. This revised
schedule resulted in completing the work six weeks early (at no additional cost) and prior to the Bay to Breakers race.
This project was awarded the International Partnering Institutes Sapphire Award.

DELORES STREET WATER, SEWER AND PAVEMENT PROJECT
Contractor: A.Ruiz Construction Company & Associates
This project includes sewer main replacement, water main installation, traffic signal work, Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant curb ramp installations and roadway resurfacing. The sewer main and water main construction work increased reliability and minimized the potential for flooding in the area. Work was performed at night to minimize disruptions to service.

MCALLISTER STREET PAVEMENT RENOVATION AND SEWER REPLACEMENT
Contractor: Esquivel Grading and Paving
Including work on McAllister Street from Divisadero to Polk streets, this project included sewer main replacement, traffic signal work, Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant curb ramp installations and roadway resurfacing. The sewer main construction work increased service reliability and minimized potential flooding in the area.

CESAR CHAVEZ STREETSCAPE
Contractor: NTK Construction
The project included work on Cesar Chavez between Hampshire and Guerrero streets to align the street with the community’s vision to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety, enhance greening, promote ecology function and make the street work better for all. The project widened the existing median to allow for many more street trees and landscaping; provided left-turn pockets for turning vehicles; widened the sidewalk at the corners; installed stormwater planters to add green landscaping pockets and provide for stormwater management; and upgraded the street lighting along the corridor to LED to provide brighter, whiter light and reduce energy consumption. Low impact development features, such as permeable paving and bioretention, were integrated into the street design. This strategy fused infrastructure with urban design, allowing the streetscape to become part of the solution to drainage problems.