It looks like they're starting to address outdoor public seating in San Francisco, at least to a degree. In Sunday's New York Times article called A Renewed Public Push for Somewhere to Sit Outdoors, the issue is raised in relation to the emergence of miniparks, called "parklets," which have started to appear in various places throughout the city. They are often found, for instance, near areas where foodtrucks congregate and contain either permanent or removable furniture.
According to the article, "This resurgence has reignited the debate over public space and homelessness. Scott Wiener, a supervisor who represents the Castro, has introduced legislation to prohibit people from smoking, camping or parking shopping carts in Jane Warner Plaza and nearby Harvey Milk Plaza. The legislation, which Mr. Wiener said could be expanded to cover parklets across the city, has been met by an outcry from some old-time Castro leaders and advocates for the homeless."
So they're trotting out the well-worn homeless argument, and it's quite a shame - parklets seem a lot like what's been happening in our new pedestrian plazas along Broadway, both in Midtown and north of Union Square. Hopefully SF can figure out a solution, because “there is a pretty broad agreement that depriving the public of seating is not going to solve the problem of who has access to public spaces.” Hear hear!
