A Digital Journal - San Francisco Public Works
In the Works
February 2026
Sidewalk flower stands, once a ubiquitous part of the San Francisco scene, wilted over the years, with only a handful remaining, including florist Valerie Chieng’s vibrant stall downtown. But plans are now in the works to make them blossom again, bringing new life to the City’s streetscape.
FEATURE STORIES
No Horsing Around: Public Works Spruces Up Chinatown for the New Year
Every year, the Public Works team is out in force with a deep-cleaning and beautification operation to create a welcoming experience for the thousands of locals and visitors drawn to Chinatown to shop, eat and enjoy the cultural festivities during the holiday season.
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Valerie Chieng has operated her flower stand at Montgomery and Post streets for the past 26 years.
A Budding Comeback for
San Francisco’s Flower Stands
Not long ago, the streets of San Francisco were bursting with flowers.
Downtown alone had more than 120 outdoor flower stands in the early 1900s — vibrant, fragrant hubs that became part of the City's character and gave countless immigrants and entrepreneurs an entry point into small business ownership.
A vendor sells flowers at a sidewalk stand on Grant Avenue, between Geary and O’Farrell streets, circa 1940.
Today, only four remain.
That's not because San Franciscans stopped loving flowers. It's because outdated regulations — some dating to the 1920s — made it nearly impossible to open a new stand. The rules required permits to pass only between family members, leaving stands vacant when original permit holders retired or passed away without relatives willing to carry on the business.
Now, the City is looking to change that.
Fresh flowers burst with color and fragrance at Valerie Chieng’s flower stand.
Mayor Daniel Lurie introduced legislation on Feb. 11 to modernize the City’s sidewalk flower-vending program, which is managed by San Francisco Public Works.
The proposed ordinance, co-sponsored by Supervisors Danny Sauter, Matt Dorsey and Rafael Mandelman, would open up permitting to any licensed San Francisco business and remove the family-only transfer requirement that left stands empty for years.
It also would update the application process to reflect current City business practices, reducing outdated barriers. Additionally, it would transfer permit approval authority from the Board of Supervisors to the director of Public Works, streamlining the process.
Sidewalk flower stands bring vitality to the San Francisco street scene.
And it would establish a clear succession pathway: In the event of a permit holder's death, the permit would expire and revert to the City. A surviving spouse or domestic partner would receive priority placement at the same location — and if they decline, Public Works would issue a new permit through the City’s Office of Small Business.
Public Works will work with the Office of Small Business to identify qualified vendors and welcome new stands — particularly in the downtown corridor where foot traffic boosts the business’ prospects and a larger economic rebound is most needed to build on the momentum of San Francisco’s post-pandemic comeback. Flower stands now operate in Union Square, the Financial District and the Castro.
Pending legislation would make it easier for flower stand operators to open for business.
The proposed ordinance aims to preserve the core character of what makes flower stands special. At least 75% of goods displayed or sold at any stand must be cut flowers, evergreens, potted plants or wearable flowers — not general retail. The annual permit fee would remain $1,299.
Flower stands may seem like a small thing. But they represent something bigger: the kind of vibrant street life that makes San Francisco welcoming.
Stands like the one Valerie Chieng has operated for more than 26 years at Montgomery and Post streets show what's possible — people stopping mid-commute to say good morning, neighbors building routines around a bouquet, tourists passing by and taking delight in the explosion of red, pink, orange, yellow and purple posies as they explore San Francisco.
Valerie Chieng takes pride in her hand-crafted bouquets.
“When the Super Bowl was here, downtown felt alive again,” said Chieng, known for her personalized arrangements specially designed for each customer. “It reminded me of the days when flower stands lined Market Street. The energy never really left, it’s just been gone for a while. It’s time to bring the flower stands back.”
More flower stands mean more color, more foot traffic and more small business opportunities in downtown pockets and neighborhood commercial corridors that are ready to bloom again.
For Valerie Chieng, selling flowers isn’t only about earning a living, it’s also about people-to-people connections.
The proposed ordinance will head to the Board of Supervisors in the coming months for consideration. If adopted, Public Works will coordinate with the Office of Small Business to begin accepting applications.
Interested entrepreneurs should watch for updates at sfpublicworks.org and the Office of Small Business newsletter.
Flower bouquets not only bring joy to people who receive them, but also to the people who make them.
BY THE NUM83R5
PUBLIC WORKS
2026 YTD (through the end of January)
612
POTHOLES
FILLED
404
TREES
PRUNED
40
CURB RAMPS
CONSTRUCTED
40
NUMBER OF BLOCKS RESURFACED
2,064
TONS OF DEBRIS COLLECTED
Outer Sunset “Arborista” Lillian Howard with a tree-condition checklist in hand.
Growing Community, Growing Trees
A rainy Wednesday didn’t dampen spirits in the Tenderloin. In fact, it made the moment feel even more hopeful.
Under gray skies, workforce development participants carefully planted five new street trees along the neighborhood’s bustling corridors. Nearby, Esther Lee, from the Public Works communications team, moved from tree basin to tree basin, chatting with merchants and residents about how they can help care for these young trees during their critical first three years of establishment.
Braces are installed around trees for protection and stability.
Meet the Arboristas
In the Tenderloin, volunteer stewards – affectionately called Arboristas – will begin by caring for 16 newly planted trees, among them London plane, Saratoga laurel and Santa Cruz Island ironwood. As the program grows, so will the number of trees and volunteers.
The pilot Arborista tree stewardship initiative launched in October in the Outer Sunset with 12 newly planted saplings on Irving Street. That was followed a month later with the planting of 15 young trees along narrow streets and alleys in the South of Market. In each neighborhood, volunteers check on young street trees a minimum of once a week – and at least daily in the Tenderloin – making sure watering bags are filled, stakes are secure, protective screening is intact and the trees are thriving.
This isn’t the first time Public Works worked with community members to look after new street trees. The removal of more than two dozen hazardous ficus trees along the 24th Street corridor in the Mission District gave birth to the Mission Verde initiative in 2021, a partnership between Calle 24 Latino Cultural District and the Public Works Bureau of Urban Forestry. Neighborhood volunteers helped care for the replacement trees, watering them by hand weekly, demonstrating just how powerful community stewardship can be.
Workers loosen a tree’s compacted roots before planting it in the ground.
Planting for the Future
Today, that same force is alive in the Outer Sunset, South of Market and Tenderloin with the Arboristas. The young trees already are rooted in more than soil – they’re rooted in community, as demonstrated most recently in the Tenderloin.
Planted with care by workforce development participants in Public Works’ New Roots program, each tree represents hands-on investment in San Francisco’s future. Working alongside Gerali Diaz – planting manager with Friends of the Urban Forest, a nonprofit partner of Public Works – the team brought expertise, teamwork and dedication to every site.
Outfitted in rain gear and safety equipment, and led by New Roots coordinator Taylor Collins, the crew dug deep into sidewalk basins, rejuvenated the soil, carefully set root balls into place and secured each tree with stakes, watering bags and protective metal screening.
Every step was intentional. Every detail mattered.
Now that the trees are in the ground, the Arborista community volunteers have stepped forward to help these trees thrive long after the planting crews have packed up their tools.
“There’s strong interest from Tenderloin residents and volunteers ready to help with watering and monitoring,” said Esan Looper of the Tenderloin Community Benefit District, a nonprofit funded by neighborhood property owners focused on greening, cleaning, beautification and safety initiatives. “We’re starting with 16 trees so volunteers can ease into the process. We want to build something sustainable.”
It takes muscle to prepare street trees for planting.
Why It Matters
Young street trees need regular attention to survive. In neighborhoods with fewer trees, new plantings help create shade, cool our streets, improve air quality and beautify commercial corridors. But young trees are also vulnerable. Damage from vandalism, dumped trash or broken branches can set them back – sometimes permanently.
To support this effort, Public Works’ Bureau of Urban Forestry is partnering with Friends of the Urban Forest, the Tenderloin Community Benefit District, the Tenderloin Merchant and Property Owner’s Association, and the nonprofit SFLuv, which promotes community improvements and civic engagement.
The goal is simple: respond quickly – often within 24 to 48 hours – when a tree needs help. With volunteers communicating directly with Public Works staff, young trees have a far better chance of growing healthy and strong over the long haul.
And just as importantly, the program strengthens neighborhood connections.
“By bringing residents, business owners and workers together around shared care for their streets, the initiative builds a sense of collective ownership and pride – creating greener, safer, more welcoming corridors for everyone,” Lee said. “It only takes one person to make a difference for a young tree.”
Tenderloin neighbor Narayan Neupane didn’t hesitate when asked to join.
“I like trees. They’re beautiful. They give me good oxygen,” he said. “I will take care of the trees in my area.”
Once a young tree is in the ground, the next challenge is to help it thrive.
Join Us
If you’d like to become a San Francisco Public Works street tree steward, email streettreenursery@sfdpw.org and help us grow a greener San Francisco – one block at a time.
Titled “Arrival,” the artwork is made up of 25 glass panels. Photo by Ethan Kaplan, courtesy of the San Francisco Arts Commission.
A Glass Act
Just in time for the 2026 Lunar New Year season came the installation of the latest public art at the Muni Metro’s Rose Pak Station in Chinatown.
Displayed on the train platform level, the pieces, by artist Tomie Arai and titled “Arrival,” dynamically capture elements of the historic neighborhood’s past and present.
The artist’s medium for this project is architectural glass with color interlayer. The artwork is made up of 50 panels, 25 on each side of the platform.
As described by the San Francisco Arts Commission, the “historic images are framed within a circle and a square, the traditional Chinese symbols for heaven and earth. This harmonized world view is set against a backdrop of waves suggesting journey, movement and change. The north wall acknowledges the ancestral homelands of the original stewards of the land, the Ramaytush Ohlone, and presents images of early regional settlements, the California Gold Rush, and San Francisco harbor – a port of entry for immigrants from across the globe."
The art piece uses historic photos to help tell Chinatown’s story. Photo by Ethan Kaplan, courtesy of the San Francisco Arts Commission.
“The south wall celebrates the resiliency of Chinatown and the City of San Francisco through a montage of images that span from historic 20th-century events to the present, including the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the Angel Island Detention Center and the landmark fight to preserve the I-Hotel, a low-income single-room-occupancy residence in San Francisco’s Manilatown.”
Public Works provided contract services needed to deliver the project on behalf of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Svala Construction installed the artwork, primarily working overnight when the trains weren’t running. The San Francisco Arts Commission commissioned the pieces, which are now part of the City’s public art collection.
Artist Tomie Arai uses historic photos in her narrative artwork. Photo by Ethan Kaplan, courtesy of the San Francisco Arts Commission.
A Public Works painter touches up a decorative lamp post on Grant Avenue.
No Horsing Around:
Public Works
Spruces Up Chinatown
for the New Year
Public Works crews saddled up this month to ready Chinatown for the Lunar New Year.
Feb. 17 marked the start of the new year, which runs through Feb. 5, 2027. This is the Year of the Fire Horse in the Chinese zodiac, symbolizing a powerful period of transformation and bold action.
Every year, the Public Works team is out in force with a deep-cleaning and beautification operation to create a welcoming experience for the thousands of locals and visitors drawn to Chinatown to shop, eat and enjoy the cultural festivities during the holiday season.
Our special projects crew scoured the Broadway Tunnel, a well-traveled portal to the historic neighborhood. They used a specialized truck equipped with a high-power brush to remove soot from the ceiling. They tackled the rest of the tunnel with hand-held power washing equipment.
A specialized truck, left, scours the wall of the Broadway Tunnel, while a worker, right, uses a shovel to get at the roadway’s caked-on dirt.
Crews also power washed the eye-catching Dragon Gate at Grant Avenue and Bush Street that marks the southern entrance to Chinatown. The gate, with three portals, is festooned with green tile and adorned with carvings of lions, fish and dragons.
Just past dawn, a Public Works crew power washes the Dragon Gate at Bush Street and Grant Avenue.
Public Works painters performed their annual touch up of the decorative lamp posts along Grant Avenue, using shades of green, red and gold paint.
Detail work is required for the annual painting refresh of the Grant Avenue lamp posts in Chinatown.
To cap off the work, our street repair crews will be running a special pothole-repair operation along the route of the Chinese New Year Parade, which stretches 1.3 miles from the South of Market to Chinatown, to keep the path of travel safe for participants and spectators. The parade, which organizers say is the largest celebration of its kind in the United States, will take place on March 7 this year.
While Public Works is on the ground in Chinatown every day of the year, we give the historic neighborhood some extra tender loving care during the new year when the crowds swell and the celebrations are in full swing.
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Volunteers at the Valentine’s Day Neighborhood Beautification Day event add their own “I love our city because” messages.
#LoveOurCity
Scores of volunteers made our hearts skip a beat with the love they showed greening and cleaning the Bayview, Visitacion Valley and Potrero neighborhoods on Valentine’s Day.
The Feb. 14 workday brought together Public Works crews and some 75 community volunteers to plant street trees, spruce up a park, pick up litter and repaint a motley retaining wall.
Volunteers work with a Public Works staffer to plant a young street tree on Carroll Avenue.
The group kicked off the day’s activities at the Bayview K.C. Jones Playground with a brief speaking program featuring District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton and an opportunity for participants to add their valentines’ messages to an “I love our city because” banner. Among the reasons, written on colorful heart-shaped cutouts: the City’s biodiversity, public transit options, arts and culture, trees, weather, diversity and one of our favorites — Public Works.
The Love Our City: Neighborhood Beautification Day workday rotates through a different supervisorial district once a month, January through November.
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A Public Works gardener weeds the median on the 1300 block of Newcomb Avenue.
Next month, on March 14, we’ll be celebrating Arbor Day, planting 100 trees in Chinatown, North Beach and other District 3 neighborhoods.
We’ll also be hosting our annual Arbor Day Fair, offering free family-fun activities, including sky-high bucket truck rides and planter box building with our carpenters. Our gardeners then will help you fill the boxes with flowers and herbs for you to take home.
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Neighborhood Beautification Day volunteers add new plants to the Newcomb Avenue median.
The day will get started at 9 a.m. at the Francisco Middle School yard, 361 Francisco St. We hope to see you there!
