Shared Spaces public service announcements

Shared Spaces have transformed San Francisco’s streets and sidewalks. Local business communities are more resilient, and our neighborhood centers are more vibrant and lively. Sidewalks and parking lanes can be used for outdoor seating, dining, merchandising, and other community activities. We’re counting on operators of Shared Spaces to ensure their sites are safe and accessible for all.

People with disabilities enjoy all types of spaces. Please provide at least 8 feet of open, uninterrupted sidewalk so everyone can get through. 

Sidewalk diverters let people who are blind or have low vision navigate through dining and other activity areas on the sidewalk. These devices are rectangular planters or boxes that are placed on the sidewalk at the ends of each shared space and need to be at least 12 inches wide, 24 inches long and 30 inches tall. They can be on wheels to make it easy to bring in and out at the start and end of each day. But during business hours they should be stationary and secure. 

Please provide at least one wheelchair accessible dining table in your Shared Space so that disabled people can patronize your business. To ensure wheelchair users can get to the wheelchair-accessible table in the parklet area, provide an adequate ramp or ensure that parklet decks are even with the curb. 

Nobody wants to trip or get stuck!  ‘Cable covers’ or ‘cable ramps can create tripping hazards and difficulties for wheelchair users, so they are not permitted on sidewalks. Instead, electrical cables should run overhead, at least 10 feet above the sidewalk.

These updates to the Shared Spaces program will help to ensure safety and accessibility for everyone, so we can all enjoy these public spaces. More information is available at sf.gov/sharedspaces.

Shared Spaces have transformed San Francisco’s streets and sidewalks. Local business communities are more resilient, and our neighborhood centers are more vibrant and lively. Sidewalks and parking lanes can be used for outdoor seating, dining, merchandising, and other community activities. We’re counting on operators of Shared Spaces to ensure their sites are safe and accessible for all.

Hello, San Francisco! I love it when I can cross the street in our beautiful city and not have to worry whether cars can see me.

And … I want me and my grandma to be safe when we do! We all want to be safe.  

That’s why our city is making sure curb areas near street corners are clear of parked cars and any other structures, so that people driving vehicles, people walking, and people biking can all see each other at the intersection.

If cars or parklets are too close to the crosswalk, drivers can’t see who is about to cross the street. It’s a proven way to prevent traffic crashes. We have way too many crashes—and fatalities in our city.

These updates to the Shared Spaces program will help to ensure safety and accessibility for everyone, so we can all enjoy these public spaces. More information is available at sf.gov/sharedspaces.

Shared Spaces have transformed San Francisco’s streets and sidewalks. Local business communities are more resilient, and our neighborhood centers are more vibrant and lively. Sidewalks and parking lanes can be used for outdoor seating, dining, merchandising, and other community activities. We’re counting on operators of Shared Spaces to ensure their sites are safe and accessible for all. 

When Paramedics, firefighters, and other first responders arrive at a scene, they need clear visual access to see the building entrances, exits, and storefront windows from the street. That means, parklets should be transparent in the areas above 42” above the sidewalk level.

It’s best if these areas are totally unobstructed, but transparent materials may be ok. You can check with Fire Department staff to make sure your site meets visibility requirements. 

Emergency response crews and their equipment also need to move easily between street, sidewalk, and buildings, especially when they are using medical gurneys, ladders, and other firefighting tools. That means that parklet structures need a 3-foot-wide emergency access gap every 20 feet, as well as a setback of 3 feet from the ends of marked parking spaces.

Emergency access gaps need to be open to the sky; without obstructions like canopies, roofs or cables and should always be clear of tables, chairs, planters and other furnishings. 

Emergency responders need to use ladders to reach to reach windows and roofs of buildings and the ladders need unobstructed overhead clearance and room to be placed at a 72-degree angle against the building. Clearance is also needed around these ladders to move equipment and people safely up and down. So, not all parklets can have roofs and canopies, depending on the width of the sidewalk in your area.

Please make sure that your electrical cables are hung so they don’t get in our way and if strung from the building to the Shared Space structure they can be easily pulled down by firefighters. Cable connections need to be powered from an outdoor-rated receptacle on the building façade because hardwired connections are much more difficult to disconnect quickly. 

These updates to the Shared Spaces program will help to ensure safety and accessibility for everyone so we can all truly share public spaces. More information is available at sf.gov/sharedspaces.