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San Francisco disability council backs conceptual redesign to make Holiday Plaza accessible
Summary
Deputy Director Debbie Kaplan and architect Bill Leddy presented a conceptual plan to replace the long-out-of-service Holiday Plaza elevator with a universal-design ramp; MOD seeks capital planning funds and community input if the Capital Planning Commission prioritizes the project on March 24.
Deputy Director Debbie Kaplan of the Mayor's Office on Disability (MOD) and architect Bill Leddy presented a conceptual plan on March 20 to make Holiday Plaza — the Market Street plaza near the Powell cable car turnaround — accessible after the site's elevator has been out of service for roughly 20 years.
Kaplan told the Mayor's Disability Council that the plaza was specifically called out in the 2024 "Healthy, Safe and Vibrant San Francisco" bond measure and that MOD submitted a capital planning request to modernize and restore the space. She said the funding decision will be taken up by the Capital Planning Commission on Monday, March 24 in City Hall.
Architect Bill Leddy described a universal-design, helical ramp inspired by the Ed Roberts campus as an alternative to a high-maintenance elevator. "The maximum slope is 1 inch for every 12 inches of uptravel," Leddy explained when asked about ADA slope requirements, and he added that the design would in many places use an even gentler slope to improve usability. Leddy said the conceptual price estimate from general contractors was roughly "$6,500,000 for the construction, around $9,000,000 total project cost," which he contrasted with a city estimate of about $20 million to revitalize the existing elevator.
Community members and disability advocates who spoke during public comment urged the council to prioritize the project. Eileen Norman of the San Francisco IHSS Public Authority told the council that Walgreens recently closed multiple branches in the city and that pharmacy closures intensify access barriers for older adults and people with disabilities; other commenters from the Independent Living Resource Center and local disability groups expressed support for the ramp concept and urged community-led design.
MOD and the presenters emphasized this is an early concept: if capital planning approves funding, the city'led design process would include stakeholders from the disability community. The next immediate step is the Capital Planning Commission hearing on March 24; there are no guarantees that the project will be funded or built, MOD said.
If funded, presenters said the design phase would refine accessibility features, handrails, tactile cues and evacuation considerations so the plaza provides a non-powered path between street level, BART/Muni and the sidewalk.
