At its meeting on Wednesday, April 8th at the North Beach Branch Library community room, the Friends of Washington Square will discuss a vision for developing a master plan for the park—something that hasn't been done since 1957. The community is invited to attend and provide feedback.

David Fletcher of landscape architecture and urban design firm Fletcher Studio will give a presentation on "how his company organized neighbors, businesses and the city to develop a master plan for South Park, which was also in dire need of infrastructure and help," said Ken Maley of Friends of Washington Square.

Though Washington Square has seen improvements throughout the years, including new restrooms that opened to much fanfare during "First Flush" on March 14th, the Friends would like a master plan to address further infrastructure issues, including lighting and irrigation.

June Fraps and Ken Maley at the First Flush (photo: Friends of Washington Square)

The cost is estimated at $25,000 to $50,000 just for development of the plan, not including improvements. Maley knows this is not a sexy topic for fundraising.

"Foundations don’t want to give money to a plan," he said. "They like capital projects like tree trimming and stuff like that. We’ve approached some of the merchants along the square borders and asked that they work with the Friends on a master plan."

Craig Heckman, another Friends of Washington Square memberwho's also a landscape architect with offices on Stockton Street near the park, also said businesses should chip in.

"We’re hoping we could get some business owners, particularly restaurant owners around the square, more involved in fundraising and perhaps taking responsibility for improvements in the park," he said.

“Unfortunately, the city doesn’t appreciate its 235 parks as much as I think they should" Maley said, "and the result of that is a lack of enough funding to keep parks in good shape.”

Some issues the Friends of Washington Square would like to address include:

• Lighting: Local merchants have expressed a desire for lighting, especially in the center of the park where it's very dark at night and poses safety issues, Maley said.
• Irrigation: "We have an antiquated irrigation system that wastes water like crazy," Maley said.
• Sidewalks: "The walkway designed by [noted landscape architect Lawrence] Halprin that meanders around the park needs to be repaved," Maley said. "You can’t get to one without the other. To tear up the irrigation system means you have to tear up the walkway.”
• Sub-drainage: “Many parts of the park are unusable because they become marsh-like," Maley said.
• Dogs off-leash: "We have an on-leash rule, but dog owners ignore it and run their dogs in the square every single day," Maley said. "Sometimes there are as many as 30 or 40 dogs in the late afternoon, like 4pm to 6pm; sometimes later during daylight savings."

Maley added, "We had a park ranger try to advise people of leash rule; he said, 'I’ve never taken more abuse from anyone on anything I’ve done in the park system.' You can see large patches of the turf that are torn up and completely worn down to the ground where the dog owners stand around and throw their balls."

Photo: Geri Koeppel/Hoodline

Heckman also weighed in on the irrigation concern. “Now that Jerry Brown just announced the state is in dire drought trouble,"  he said, "I think it’s important to use water more efficiently."

“I’m a big proponent of Washington Square because it is one of the most historic squares in the city," Maley said. "I think it deserves more attention and care than it’s getting.”

That's true even if, as he says, legendary columnist Herb Caen noted that North Beach is not a beach and has a square that is not a square that doesn't have a statue of Washington, but of Ben Franklin. 

The park was formerly a farm owned by Juana Briones de Miranda, the first female resident of San Francisco born in the city. She's considered the Mother of San Francisco, Maley said. (More history is on the Friends of Washington Square website.)

Washington Square was one of the first three open spaces in San Francisco, established in 1850, he said, along with Union Square and Portsmouth Square. "Washington Square was the only one of three that survived being turned into a parking garage," Maley said.

Friends of Washington Square is a volunteer advisory group of residents of North Beach who advocate for improvements to the park and act as its stewards. The group as it stands was founded in 1998, but traces its roots to 1991.

To donate or get involved, visit the website or email info {at} friendsofwashingtonsquare {dot} com. The meeting will be held from 6-7:30pm on April 8th at the North Beach Branch Library community room (850 Columbus Ave.).