Background
San Francisco’s Charter requires the Controller’s Office (CON) to work with San Francisco Public Works (Public Works) to develop and implement street and sidewalk maintenance standards and report out on the City’s condition under the standards. CON’s City Performance group manages the collection of cleanliness data from evaluations of a representative sample of San Francisco’s streets and sidewalks.
These evaluations collect data on a number of characteristics, including street litter, sidewalk litter, larger dumped items, graffiti, and several other markers of cleanliness or street conditions. The following dashboards show citywide and neighborhood-level results.
Citywide trends
Average scores
The following measures show citywide averages, per route, for instances of attributes or levels of attributes on a five point scale. Filter the data by selecting a measure from the drop down menu below.
Percent of routes with attribute present
The following measures show the percent of routes citywide with a particular attribute present. Filter the data by selecting a measure from the drop down menu below.
Street and Sidewalk Standards by neighborhood
Use the following map to view the scores of each neighborhood by time period. Filter the data by selecting a measure from the drop down menu below.
Data notes and sources
Data notes and sources
Survey methodology
San Francisco has approximately 930 miles of streets, around three-quarters of which are residential and one-quarter of which are commercial or mixed use. In July 2023, we modified our sampling methodology and routes evaluated to improve our ability to report at a neighborhood level. The representative sample is selected randomly from the total population of San Francisco street segments, stratifying by type of street (residential or commercial and mixed use) and neighborhood groups. Each street segment is approximately one block.
Click here to view the full 2024 Street and Sidewalk Maintenance Standards.
Measures from the Citywide Average Scores and Street and Sidewalk Standards by Neighborhood dashboards above are defined as follows:
- Average street litter levels: Street litter rated on a scale of 1-5. 1 = None, 2 = A few traces, 3 = More than a few traces, but no accumulation, 4 = Distributed litter with some accumulation, 5 = Widespread litter with significant accumulation.
- Average sidewalk litter levels: Sidewalk litter rated on a scale of 1-5. 1 = None, 2 = A few traces, 3 = More than a few traces, but no accumulation, 4 = Distributed litter with some accumulation, 5 = Widespread litter with significant accumulation.
- Average feces count per route: The average count of feces instances.
- Average dumped item count per route: The average count of abandoned items represents instances of illegal dumping.
- Average graffiti count per route: The average number of instances of graffiti per route.
- Average graffiti count on San Francisco government property per route: The average number of instances of graffiti on San Francisco Government property per route.
- Average graffiti count on private property per route: The average number of instances of private on other property.
- Average graffiti count on other property per route: The average number of instances of graffiti on other property.
- Average glass count per route: The average count of broken glass instances/clusters per route.
- Average glass amount and distribution levels: Measured on a scale of 1-5. 1 = None, 2 = A few traces, 3 = More than a few traces but no concentration, 4 = Glass is concentrated in a single line or spot, 5 = Glass is concentrated in multiple lines or spots.
- Average syringe count per route: The average count of syringe instances per route.
- Percent of routes with sidewalk clearance issues: Issues are represented by Yes and No. 0 = "No" and 1 = "Yes".
- Average pavement condition levels: Sidewalk pavement defect severity is measured on a scale of 1-3. 1 = Minor, 2 = Moderate, 3 = Severe.
Measures from the Percent of Routes With Attribute Present dashboard above are defined as follows:
- Feces: Percent of routes with feces present.
- Graffiti: Percent of routes with graffiti present.
- Illegal dumping: Percent of routes with illegal dumping present.
- Syringes: Percent of routes with syringes present.
Find out more
- 311 Data: Click here to see a comparison of how frequently reported issues to 311 compare with a few survey categories at the Citywide and neighborhood levels.
Streets and Sidewalks Program
This page is part of the Street and Sidewalk Maintenance Standards Program.
Click here to return to the Street and Sidewalk Maintenance Standards Program homepage.