Make Pathway Surface Information Available for San Francisco's Parks

2021-2022 Civil Grand Jury Publishes "Safe and Accessible Parks for All"

SAN FRANCISCO, June 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2021-2022 San Francisco Civil Grand Jury today released a report titled "Safe and Accessible Parks for All," which addresses shortcomings in how the Recreation and Park Department (RPD) evaluates pathway surface conditions of its 220 parks in the City, and how the RPD makes accessibility information available to the public.

The RPD routinely assesses its 220 parks and computes overall park scores for each. These assessments score twelve features such as lawn, trees, restroom, and hardscapes etc. These assessments, however, are not disclosed on each park's description on RPD's website. Moreover, the Jury found that these assessments omit scores for pathway surface conditions in a park. Such omissions adversely inform maintenance schedules, which can lead to unsafe situations. Therefore, the Jury recommends a new scoring feature called Pathway Condition to be included in RPD's routine assessments and other City audits.

"Carving out a specific scoring feature that looks just at pathway conditions will help identify parks with poor surface conditions," said Michael N. Hofman, the jury foreperson. "Then our Parks team can fix them in a timely manner to ensure everyone is able to safely enjoy a park in the City, regardless of their physical conditions or limitations."

"Separately, we'd like to see our city parks adopt an accessibility communication standard similar to that one on the California State Parks website," said Hofman. "Adding pictorial symbols to their website in addition to text descriptions, means our parks would provide information, such as disability access, easily available to help park-goers choose a park that best suits their needs."

About the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury
The Civil Grand Jury is a government oversight panel of volunteers who serve for a period of one year. It makes findings and recommendations based on its investigations. Civil Grand Jury reports may be viewed online at https://civilgrandjury.sfgov.org/report.html

SOURCE San Francisco Civil Grand Jury