Poop problems still rising on San Francisco streets. Can a holiday cleanup blitz help?
An analysis of calls to a San Francisco tip line shows the city is still awash in complaints about human and animal waste on streets and sidewalks, RentHop.com reports.
Calls to the city’s 311 line rose 35 percent in 2018 over 2017, the site says. The city has received 25,000 complaints since January 2019, a 7 percent increase over the same period in 2018.
Most of the complaints center on the Tenderloin neighborhood, where a high percentage of San Francisco’s homeless population dwells, RentHop.com says. There have been 6,888 complaints per square mile in the neighborhood so far in 2019.
“Tenderloin has been on a winning streak for the ‘poopiest neighborhood’ contest for the past three years,” the site says.
The analysis found the Glen Park neighborhood had the largest percentage increase in complaints in 2018 over 2017, though the numbers remained small, RentHop.com says.
“I personally in 12 years I’ve been here have not really ever noticed human poop,” said business owner Zoel Fages, KRON reported.
“I take dance classes in the Mission and I see that there and it’s creeping into Glen Park,” said resident Judy Jones, KGO reported. “It’s going to be everywhere unless we do something.”
Complaints about poop and urine on San Francisco sidewalks, which most attribute to the homeless but also can include animal waste, have made headlines for months, McClatchy previously reported.
In August 2018, the city unveiled a special “poop patrol” dedicated to cleaning waste off streets and sidewalks, sparking national mockery, McClatchy reported.
Mayor London Breed has announced a “Love Our City Holiday Eco Blitz” that will have city workers cleaning streets and sidewalks in business neighborhoods every day, KGO reported.
“I don’t know about you but I’m tired of people talking trash about our city,” Breed said, according to the station. “It is time that we continue to do what’s necessary to create a different environment.”
This story was originally published November 21, 2019 at 3:10 PM with the headline "Poop problems still rising on San Francisco streets. Can a holiday cleanup blitz help?."