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Street-tree census finds 124,000 trees in San Francisco; city maps vacancies for planting and maintenance
Summary
Phase 1 of the Urban Forest Plan mapped about 124,000 street trees, identified roughly 40,000 vacant planting sites and documented ~33,000 sidewalk damages related to roots; staff launched urbanforestmap.org to guide pruning and planting priorities under Proposition E.
Anne Brask, senior planner in the Planning Department, presented the Phase 1 Urban Forest Plan update on June 8, describing a citywide street-tree census completed with DataSF and contractors that found approximately 124,000 street trees and roughly 40,000 vacant planting sites.
"We learned there are about 124,000 street trees total," Brask said, noting the census recorded more than 500 species and identified about 33,000 sidewalk damages directly related to tree roots. She described tools the department has released to the public, including urbanforestmap.org, which allows users to view species, canopy, stormwater benefits and planting opportunities by location.
Brask noted the dataset will help the city implement Proposition E (which transferred street-tree maintenance and sidewalk damage responsibility to the city) by prioritizing pruning and sidewalk repairs and informing where partners such as Friends of the Urban Forest can focus planting. Phase 2 will address parks and open spaces while Phase 3 will scope private-property greening and potential incentives for plantings on private land.
Commissioners praised the data-driven approach and asked about linking the tree dataset to stormwater and biodiversity goals; staff said those analyses are in progress and will inform future outreach and budgeting decisions.
