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Public Works reports 110 trees planted, 300 parklet permits and process-improvement push
Summary
Director Carla Short told the San Francisco Public Works Commission that nearly 200 volunteers planted 110 street trees on Arbor Day, the commercial-permits team has approved its 300th legalized shared-spaces permit, and the department is applying Lean Six Sigma methods to speed project delivery.
Director Carla Short told the San Francisco Public Works Commission on March 13 that the department hosted a large Arbor Day effort and is moving to streamline project delivery across bureaus.
Short said the department and community volunteers planted 110 new street trees in the Tenderloin, Western Addition and South of Market neighborhoods, and nearly 200 people took part in planting and the accompanying Arbor Day Fair. "It was, an amazing Arbor Day, 1 of our best," Short said during her director's report.
Short also noted an operational milestone: the commercial-permits team approved its 300th legalized shared-spaces (parklet) permit since the legislative framework expanded parklets after the COVID-era temporary program. She credited staff leads including Gregory Slocum, Kelly Albers and Mariel Abella for their work on the permitting effort.
On internal reforms, Short described process-improvement training using Lean Six Sigma and Kaizen methods with external trainers Jody Sobel and Matt Smith to reduce bottlenecks and improve project delivery across bureaus, from architecture to building repair trades. Short said the initiative has already identified duplicative steps and is producing clearer roles, schedules and data-driven success measures.
Short also announced upcoming neighborhood beautification events (kickoff April 5 at 9 a.m. at Alamo Elementary, 243 22nd Avenue) and reminded commissioners about Public Works Week (April 28–May 2). She tied the department's tree-planting and parklet work to bond-funded capital upgrades, including ongoing renovations at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.
The report prompted a commissioner question about employee safety during coordinated city enforcement and cleanup operations. Short said crews do not go out without public-safety personnel present but acknowledged that "any big city has risks."
The commission did not take action on the director's report; Short said she will return with further updates as the department implements process changes and follows up on permitting and outreach work.
