Central Market Kiosk
With a vision of renewing San Francisco’s Central Market neighborhood through a series of small “actionable, scalable and sustainable” steps, on Wednesday the public was invited to a presentation of one such idea: the adaptive reuse of kiosks that dot the neighborhood.
Central Market Map
With concepts ranging from cycle stations, to artist stations, to pop-up cafes, the thought is that the kiosks would serve to put more feet and eyes on the street while leveraging an asset that’s already in place.
Kiosk Cycle Station
We’ll keep you plugged-in.
Designing A Better Central Market Meeting This Afternoon [SocketSite]

26 thoughts on “One Small Step For San Francisco’s Central Market District…”
  1. It’ll be interesting to see if any bicycle mechanics take them up on this.
    I personally can’t see someone whose trying to make money doing this (on the other hand, I don’t know anything about the economics of bike service and haven’t talked to anyone who does about it) paying rent on one of these kiosks unless it’s super cheap. But the volunteer mechanics, the bike kitchen type people might go for it, but they tend to need a lot of space given their mode of operation, no?
    “serve to put more feet and eyes on the street” to do what exactly? Keep an eye on the untreated schizophrenics wondering the area?

  2. I am not one to live in fear, but the idea of being trapped working with cash customers in a kiosk in this location is my idea of hell. These merchants would be easy targets for various crimes and you would have to be very unique to put up with the constant chaos of the street people in this area.

  3. I imagine it’d be the green stuff he’d be selling for green (hidden under the counter in the photo) that would interest the mech in the green kiosk.
    Imagine a spleef logo atop not the bike logo. Or maybe a trompe d’oeil alluding a bit of both.

  4. Why aren’t the kiosks being used now?
    I remember them being used for selling newspapers, but nobody buys those anymore, especially in the TL. I bet you could find one like the guy at Sansome (?) & Market during rush hour.

  5. “actionable, scalable and sustainable” —
    Three words which are so overused that they’re like meaningless corporate speak. What does sustainable mean viv Mid Market? Something that won’t close? Scalable? Actionable? Does MM have time for such au courant platitudes? No.
    Notwithstanding the cute bicycle shack — nothing wrong with kiosks, but, let’s rezone and create a needed vibrant ‘hood with more market-rate housing opportunities — so that MM will be come more of a place than just a tedious passageway (where traversing quickly is rarely quickly enough).
    Rezoned well, this important ‘hood will stand on its own vibrancy — smack in the interesting intersection of Tenderloin, SOMA, Civic Center, Upper Market, and on…
    Imo.

  6. Uh…. I don’t think there are more than two kiosks in that stretch of Market. I just Google-mapped it and only found one, but I was in a bit of a hurry. Next time I walk down, I’ll check.

  7. Two words: Chain stores. Start nullifying the anti-business, anti-chain stores regulations, and eliminate the long bureacratic nightmare permitting system, and then watch developers and retailers fight to get into this area. This isn’t rocket science, just economics 101.
    Of course, the local “progressive” politicians lack the brains, the guts, the vision, to see this. I trust them as much as I trust a janitor to do brain surgery.

  8. The kiosks are currently vacant because they were designed to be used as newspaper stands before the newspaper industry tanked. There are a number of these vacant kiosks in Central Market and parts of Union Square and downtown. On Market Street itself – in Central Market – there are around 6 that are vacant.
    The ideas presented here were not meant to be a cure-all for the problems of Central Market; it takes more than just utilizing vacant kiosks to improve the conditions of this stretch of Market Street. However, this project – combined with many other efforts like business attraction, cleaning/maintenance of the public space, a stronger police presence, homeless outreach workers, public space programming, facade improvements, etc. – is a step in the right direction toward improvement of this neighborhood. These ideas are easily implementable, and will help activate the public space, attract positive pedestrian activity, and add more eyes and ears to the street while making use of existing spaces for micro-retail. There are many positive projects happening in Central Market…too many to list here…and efforts to improve the area…this is just one of them.

  9. Off topic history buff question – is there a holocaust exhibition going on right now? Or is that an old picture?

  10. Bayview.
    Stockton.
    East Oakland.
    Why have a ghetto in the center of San Francisco when you can have it someplace else?

  11. And how are you going to finance the construction of low income housing in Stockton, given the current political situation?
    Bayview might happen, in fact the new plans for the region include 30% low income housing, if I am not mistaken. It would make some sense to include some SROs and social services with that construction.

  12. Was there ever a time when this section of Market Street was not so horrible?
    I always have this fantasy of Market becoming more like Michigan Avenue in Chicago or Fifth Avenue in NYC, but with our small population, I would be willing to settle for at least developing it to be more like Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles.
    I just cannot understand how what should be the premier street in this city could become such a host to urban problems.

  13. ^^
    Confluence of events made this section of Market this way:
    • BART/MUNI subway tunneling
    • Concurrent 70s recession
    • Suburban mall expansion
    I recall when the last “real” business for “real ” San Franciscans closed in the late 80s: Hittenberger’s Foundation Garments for Men and Women. Anyone else remember that funny little relic of a store?

  14. “Was there ever a time when this section of Market Street was not so horrible?”
    Yes, when skid row was 3rd St instead of 6th St, back in the day.
    Chain stores are the best idea yet, but good luck getting that past the Board of Stupidvisors. Generally speaking, we need more business on Market, and there are plenty of people who work in this area to create foot traffic. In some ways it’s a chicken or egg issue.
    I wouldn’t necessarily blame BART/Muni tunneling either. For example, the Fox Theatre was already gone before that. Market St was already in decline when that was happening.
    Check it out this great pre-1906 video of Market Street that has been restored:
    http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_162-20019755-10391709.html

  15. Sorry, that shoudl say: “Check it out this great pre-1906 *quake* video of Market Street that has been restored”
    The video is believed to be from April 1906.

  16. I saw another article that mentioned that they got the horseless carriagesautomobiles in the video to make u-turns, drive around the trolley, and drive back in front of it to make it look like there was more traffic and the scene was more lively. That’s why you see Car #4867 and the others more often than even the green Beetle in Bullitt.

  17. Yes, great little film The most recent story around that film is that it was shot just days before the huge quake and fire of 1906. Here you see street life humming along with a whiff of prosperity and no ominous foreboding of imminent destruction. Kind of like SF today.
    The takeaway is that though things have been fine for years, it will happen again. Though a disaster of this scale has left our direct memories as there are no oldsters around to relate what happened, it doesn’t mean that the risk has also disappeared.
    When the Big One returns for an encore it need not be the end of the world. Take a moment to consider whether there’s anything should be done to ensure that your home is safe. Create a disaster plan with your family. Have a stockpile of supplies ready (especially drinking water) because it may be weeks before anything can get in or out of the city on something other than helicopter, military landing craft, or burro. Learn basic first aid skills because the pros will have their hands more than full for the first 24 hours. Discuss and coordinate with your neighbors.

  18. Now that the Redevelopment Agency has pulled a snow job on the South of Marklet Project Advory Committee (SOMPAC)by informing the PAC that the Redevelopment Agency Commissioners have approved project before these project are presented to the PAC. The PAC rubber stamp approval and the Project Manager states that these projects are priorities that serves the will of the community. For example, rating the need for a hamberger place over the need to have a legal cross walk for the Bessie Carmichael School, security cameras for the SRO’s tenants safety, midwalk crossing for pedestrial safety and the need to prioritize other much needed improvement nesessary for creating a sustainable community for the South of Market Area. I ask the question, “Does this sound like one of those idea that comes from Urban Solution and the Redevelopment Agency in order to tell another community what they need?”

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