Glen Park won more than $65,000 in Avenue Greenlight grant money this year, making way for projects that improve the neighborhood and bring people together.
What Slow Street?
Slow Streets were born during the pandemic to make streets more welcoming to pedestrians, and as any big family knows, some children get more attention than others.
Arlington Slow Street seemed to be a neglected child, its four-block length characterized by whizzing traffic, battered signs and bent bollards; pedestrians stick to the sidewalk. When the Glen Park Association asked District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman if the Slow Street could be removed, he said there is no political will to remove Slow Streets that were codified into the city’s transportation code in December 2022.
So we decided to do something about it. The GPA reached out to members and former members along Arlington to gauge interest in making the street more visibly Slow. Several neighbors not only expressed interest but immediately volunteered to help, enlisting their neighbors, brainstorming ideas, spreading the word about the possibilities and engaging more neighbors for both positive and critical feedback.
About 30 neighbors came out May 31 to create signs and planters they set next to the existing Slow Street signs, some of which have been repaired by SFMTA thanks to persistent nudging. Parents from Dolores Huerta and Glen Park elementary schools were especially enthusiastic, as the street is a “bike bus” route to school.
Now, thanks to a $25,000 grant from Avenue Greenlight, neighbors will be able to take advantage of SFMTA’s new Community Corners program, approved by the SFMTA board in June.
The initiative does not remove parking or change traffic patterns. Instead, state-mandated “daylighted” corners, where parking is not allowed, become the canvas for murals and planters. The effect is to remind drivers that the Slow Streets are also for pedestrians and bicyclists.
“This grant will really help us expand who feels comfortable using the Slow Street,” said John Francis, one of the lead organizers of the project.
Kris Romasanta’s two children learned to ride their bikes on the Arlington Slow Street, and she loved how it afforded her family the opportunity to connect with neighbors.
“The grant gives us the opportunity to activate the space with more community events and bring our neighbors together,” she said.
Glen Park More Beautiful?
Renee Berger, Libby Reder and Beth O’Leary, the three musketeers behind Glen Park Beautiful, have already shown a knack for finding ugly and making it pretty: their latest project was to paint the grey concrete Bosworth pedestrian overpass blue and turn its formidable pillars into colorful tile mosaics based on indigenous patterns, working closely with students of the blue Glen Park Elementary school to complete the project.
With a grant from the Civic Joy Fund, they were able to add murals to utility boxes at the BART station as well. Berger previously led efforts to transform the two-story concrete wall at the foot of Burnside into a mural with tiled steps as well as the two-block low concrete wall running along the bottom of Elk Street into an illustration of Glen Canyon Park, the latter painted by neighbors under the guidance of artist Sirron Norris.
Thanks to $25,000 in Avenue Greenlight funds, the trio will now set to work on three projects: refresh the Welcome to Glen Park sign on Bosworth at Diamond, paint a mural on the adjacent fence, and host a scavenger hunt at the September Night Market. Their definition of beautiful includes involving the community, so keep an eye on the blog for opportunities to provide input.
Our Mission Bernal Sibling
Sophie Constantinou, the driving force behind the green overhaul of both sides of the Bernal Cut, won a $20,000 grant for a series of banners along Mission Street from Appleton to Bosworth.
“Our grant will be a gateway to Glen Park,” said Constantinou, who applied for the grant on behalf of the College Hill Neighborhood Association. “The banners will represent the community and spirit of this borderlands strip that is both at the edge of Bernal, Glen Park and Mission.”
CHNA is working in conjunction with EvolvedSF, the screenprinting company at 3922 Mission Street run by Thalia Leon and Fernando Ramirez. EvolvedSF has been working with Constantinou on a mural on the freeway overpass at Lyell and Bosworth
“They will bring their community organizing and design expertise to the project,” she said.