San Francisco Public Works

Today, we pause to honor those who have served. 🇺🇸

On behalf of the City and County of San Francisco, thank you to all veterans, and to those who continue to serve our communities with care, courage, and dedication.

Your service inspires us every day. 🙌

@sfgov.sf.gov

A Public Works staffer, assisted by community volunteers, pounds stakes into the ground to support the young street tree.

Working together, volunteers and Public Works urban forestry crews pound stakes after the sapling goes in the ground.

Once a tree is planted and staked, it gets water to help it thrive.

New street trees took root today at Leavenworth and Clay on Russian Hill, thanks to the efforts of our arborist crews and community volunteers working together to get them planted. Have a good life trees! Welcome to our urban forest. #LoveOurCity

Since then, crews have replaced sewer main infrastructure, poured new bus pads and repaved roads in various locations in Pacific Heights, Anza Vista, the Western Addition, Cathedral Hill, Telegraph Hill and the Sunset.

Learn more about the far-reaching project: sfpublicworks.org/VL60

Construction crews grinding and hauling away asphalt on Presidio Avenue.

This afternoon they'll apply a fresh layer of asphalt. Previously, crews did the same work on several blocks of Presidio Avenue, from Pacific Avenue to Sacramento Street.

Today's work marks the end of the project, which started in May 2024.

Earlier today, Public Works contractor crews were grinding away old asphalt on Presidio Avenue, from Bush Street to Geary Boulevard, as part of our Various Locations Pavement Renovation and Sewer Replacement No. 60 project.

A Public Works arborist, up high in a bucket truck, works on a storm-damaged street tree at Fell and Baker streets.

A Public Works Bureau of Urban Forestry worker feeds downed branches into a chipper truck.

A Public Works tree crew member clears felled branches from the roadway.

Today’s high winds damaged or knocked down a handful of street trees around town, like this one at Fell and Baker. Our pro arborists took quick action to make the impacted locations safe. Please report storm-related tree concerns to @sf311 so we can address.

YouTube video by San Francisco Public Works Key to the City - Public Works TV Episode No. 80

Join our locksmiths behind the scenes to see how they keep civic buildings and public spaces safe, functional and secure. From cutting keys to maintaining century-old locks, learn about the skill, creativity and teamwork of the professionals who hold the keys to the City.

📺 youtu.be/oyV_Sgr3Xf0?...

Pedestrians safely navigate the new streetscape outside West Portal Station. (SFMTA photo)

Public Works locksmith Vincent Vou carefully reassembles a lock after cleaning its parts.

Public Works landscape crews plant new street trees on Junipero Serra Boulevard in the Balboa Terrace neighborhood.

San Francisco firefighters demonstrate the Emergency Firefighting Water System.

🗣️ Our latest newsletter is out:

🗝️ Unlocking the story behind our locksmiths
🌳 New street trees take root
🚒 Emergency system upgraded
🚉 A safer West Portal streetscape
🚸 Inner Richmond crosswalks earn their stripes
🛳️ A crucial Port project
💚 Volunteer workday

🔗 www.sfpublicworkstv.org/october2025

Crews install a new decorative crosswalk at Clement Street and Sixth Avenue.  

The decorative stripes are fashioned out of thermoplastic: Crews use heat to melt the material and then essentially fuse it onto the pavement.

Decorative crosswalks with distinct designs can be found in different neighborhoods throughout SF: the Castro, Richmond, Noe Valley, North Beach and more.

A pedestrian uses a new decorative crosswalk at Clement Street and Sixth Avenue. 

Spearheaded by District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan and the Clement Street Merchants Association, the streetscape beautification project was overseen by Public Works project management and construction management teams. Our landscape architects turned the community-driven concept into a final design.

Pedestrians use a new decorative crosswalk at Clement Street and Sixth Avenue. 

A splash of color and delight has arrived at the Clement Street and Sixth Avenue intersection with the recent installation of new decorative crosswalks.

Public Works crews, with help from a resident, plant new street trees at Ocean Avenue and Junipero Serra Boulevard in the Stonestown neighborhood.

Gardener Sean Robinson led the crew during a morning of strenuous digging and planting, alongside Balboa Terrace Homes Association board member Robert Mann who has been a lead planner of the planting project.

Learn more about the City's 125,000+ street trees: sfpublicworks.org/services/trees

Public Works crews plant new street trees at Ocean Avenue and Junipero Serra Boulevard in the Stonestown neighborhood.

Public Works crews plant new street trees at Ocean Avenue and Junipero Serra Boulevard in the Stonestown neighborhood.

Public Works crews plant new street trees at Ocean Avenue and Junipero Serra Boulevard in the Stonestown neighborhood.

Public Works crews plant new street trees at Ocean Avenue and Junipero Serra Boulevard in the Stonestown neighborhood.

Yesterday, crews from our Bureau of Urban Forestry landscape shop – led by Manager Douglas Reed and Acting Supervisor Sabrina Soto – began planting more than 40 new street trees at Ocean Ave & Junipero Serra Blvd in the Stonestown neighborhood, a prime gateway to SF for visitors and residents alike.

Public Works crews clean up a huge pile of illegally dumped garbage left on Gilman Street in the Bayview.

The illegal dumping extended down the sidewalk.

Public Works crews removed 23,080 pounds of trash left behind by an illegal dumping culprit.

Our crews today responded to one of the largest illegal dumping messes in recent times — on Gilman Street in the Bayview — and removed 23,080 pounds of rubbish. We found evidence left behind that we believe will lead us to the culprit so we can take full enforcement action to hold them accountable.

Our investigators are still trying to track down the culprits, but you can help us keep our streets and sidewalks clean by reporting illegal dumping activity here: www.sf.gov/report-illeg...

Or by calling 311 or using the 311 app.

With the help of a front-end loader, Public Works crews clean up an illegally dumped wooden box with 1,000 pounds of dirt in it at 39th Avenue and Taraval Street.

With the help of a front-end loader, Public Works crews clean up an illegally dumped wooden box with 1,000 pounds of dirt in it at 39th Avenue and Taraval Street.

Our crews are always looking for illegal dumping across SF. Sometimes we even have to bring out heavy machinery to deal with it. Like last week in the Outer Sunset.

Using a front-end loader, our crews cleaned up an illegally dumped wooden box with 1,000 lbs of dirt in it at 39th Ave and Taraval St.

SF has been making seismic upgrades to the critical system through the Emergency Response Earthquake Safety (ESER) bond program. Public Works manages the program and provides hydraulic engineering support for the emergency water system improvements. Learn more about ESER here: sfpublicworks.org/eser

The system consists of 1,500 dedicated fire hydrants, a 135-mile pipeline network, a high-elevation reservoir, two large capacity tanks, two Bay water pumping stations and Bay water intakes.

This @mysfpuc.bsky.social facility at the northern tip of Van Ness Avenue pumps water from the Bay into San Francisco’s Emergency Firefighting Water System. Firefighters can tap into the resilient, standalone high-pressure system should the regular water system be knocked offline during a quake.

A group photo of City officials at a joint drill to fully test the newly seismically upgraded Pump Station No. 2, an SFPUC facility at the northern tip of Van Ness Avenue that pumps water from the nearby Bay into San Francisco’s Emergency Fighting Water System.

During the drill, the pump station pumped Bay water into an isolated portion of the Emergency Firefighting Water System. The water then flowed from a high-pressure hydrant into Fire Department hoses to the top of an extended ladder from a Fire Department ladder truck, where it was sprayed back into San Francisco Bay.

With Friday marking the anniversary of the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, City officials today conducted a joint drill to fully test the newly seismically upgraded Pump Station No. 2 near Fort Mason.

Our crews have been hustling during today’s rains, responding to 2 dozen-plus storm-related incidents — lots of blocked storm drains, like this one at Arguello & Anza. Please sweep up leaves in front of your homes & businesses to help keep the storm drains clear. And contact 311 to report flooding.

San Francisco and LA softball teams show unity for a joint photo but become friendly rivals on the field once the game starts.

In a high-scoring softball game, San Francisco Public Works beat LA 26-22.

Beat LA! Oh yes we did! Team San Francisco Public Works engineers+ bested our Los Angeles counterparts 26-22 in our annual softball game, played this year in the City by the Bay. Congrats SF!

Public Works staff during a training exercise at the department's Operations Yard.

The collaborative exercise involved 63 Public Works staffers from across all divisions. The more we train, the better prepared we are to serve the people of San Francisco when they need us most.

Public Works staff during a training exercise at the department's Operations Yard.

Public Works staff during a training exercise at the department's Operations Yard.

Our primary jobs in the citywide response: clearing roads, inspecting structures and conducting search-and-rescue operations, as well as acquiring resources to shore up damaged infrastructure and deploying staff to the field to do the work.

Public Works staff during a training exercise at the department's Operations Yard.

Public Works staff during a training exercise at the department's Operations Yard.

When disaster strikes, the Public Works team will be at the forefront of the City's response.

Today, we participated in a training exercise to help us prepare for a real-life incident. The scenario: a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake on the San Andreas Fault, causing widespread damage across SF.

Washington High School student Aiden Liu, our first Neighborhood Beautification Day All Star, and Public Works Director Carla Short.

Community volunteers work on the schoolyard garden at Sunset Elementary School.

Every month, scores of volunteers join us for our #LoveOurCity Neighborhood Beautification Day greening & cleaning event. Today, while in the Sunset, we honored Washington HS student Aiden Liu as our first NBD All Star for volunteering at his 6th workday this year. Thank you, Aiden, for stepping up!

Thank you for supporting our crews, Supervisor Mahmood!

Want to know when our special deep-cleaning operation is coming to your neighborhood? Check out the CleanCorridorsSF schedule here: sfpublicworks.org/services/cle...

Public Works flyer for the Oct. 4 Neighborhood Beautification Day in District 4. Come and join us for Neighborhood Beautification Day this weekend! We are cleaning and greening the Sunset, Parkside and other District 4 neighborhoods. There will be 7-10 worksites where volunteers will garden, mulch, pick up litter, plant trees or abate graffiti. The projects and tasks will be different, depending on the site and community group's requests. Date: Saturday, Oct. 4 Time: 8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. PST Location: Sunset Elementary School, 41st Avenue and Ortega Street, San Francisco, CA 94122 Sign up here: https://www.mobilize.us/sanfrancisco/event/570625/

📢 Come and join us for Neighborhood Beautification Day this weekend!

We are cleaning and greening the Sunset, Parkside and other District 4 neighborhoods.

📅 Saturday, Oct. 4
⏰ 8:30 a.m. - noon
📍 Sunset Elementary School, 41st Avenue & Ortega Street
📋 Sign up: www.mobilize.us/sanfrancisco...

Towering climbing structures, evoking tree houses, stand as the centerpiece of the new Stern Grove Playground.

Crews smooth out fresh concrete on a new block of East Clementina Street.

Mom and daughter, in safety vests and wielding rakes, work as a team during our September volunteer workday.

A member of the Outreach and Enforcement Team sifts through garbage looking for identifying information to catch an illegal dumping culprit.

🗣️ Our latest newsletter is out:

🏙️ Block Party: Building a new block
🕵 New operation to combat illegal dumping
🧹 Ramping up for a cleaner SF
🚶 Busy corridor gets pedestrian safety overhaul
🛝 Stern Grove Playground renovation
💚 Neighborhood Beautification Day

🔗 www.sfpublicworkstv.org/september2025

@sfpublicworks.bsky.social can even help you plan and organize a community cleanup. So whether you’re an individual, business, merchant group, or neighborhood group, join the Watch and let’s clean up our streets together!