Joint commissions approve $1.375 million for Union Square ADA access upgrades

The San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission and the Planning Commission voted to allocate up to $1,375,000 from the Downtown Park Fund to fund Americans with Disabilities Act access improvements at Union Square.

The funding, described during a joint meeting, splits into $524,000 to complete remediation required by a previous settlement and $851,000 for additional accessibility enhancements. Planning Department staff said the Downtown Park Fund balance is $3,100,000. "The Planning Commissioners have before them a proposed resolution that would allocate $1,375,000 from the Downtown Park Fund for Americans with Disability Act accessibility improvements for Union Square," said Sue Exline of the Planning Department.

Joy Buress of the Recreation and Park Department told commissioners the project was divided into two parts to preserve a clear record that the settlement work was completed. "The cost of the two phases for the combined ADA improvement project include $524,000 for the settlement work, which would remediate specific barriers identified in the lawsuit, and $851,000 for the enhancement work," Buress said. Buress described the enhancement scope as edge protection near the stage, filling concrete steps between the main plaza and the Geary Street access, improved lighting and added handrails, and said the work should take about eight months once authorized.

Paulina Reika, the project's park project manager, explained the technical cause behind the earlier noncompliance: "The three ramps that were remediated during the phase 1, the settlement work, they had running slopes and cross slopes that were maybe less than 1% difference on the required slopes," she said, adding those minor variances were not on the earlier project's punch list and that a 2009 lawsuit prompted the subsequent remediation.

Vice President Wu said she supported the allocation but urged the commissions to consider prioritization across downtown projects. "It would have been better if it had come in 2011," Wu said, and asked staff to confirm the remaining Downtown Park Fund balance after the allocation. Commissioner Moore called Union Square "one of the most frequented parts of our city" and said the project would make the city's commitment to ADA compliance visible downtown.

After discussion the joint commission moved, seconded and carried the resolution to authorize the allocation. The motion was made during the meeting and approved by voice vote.

The commissions did not record named roll-call votes in the transcript; staff will proceed with coordination of the enhancement work and with scheduling pending the usual contracting process and coordination with the Central Subway-related work in the vicinity.