Broadway Streetscape Improvement Project Phase II

The Broadway Streetscape Improvement Project presented a practical solution to this overcrowded corridor that connects Chinatown and North Beach communities. The project was completed in two phases. The first phase, which created streetscape improvements on Broadway between Montgomery and Battery Streets, was completed in 2005 and the second phase on Broadway between Kearny Street and Grant Avenue was completed in 2008.

The project included the installation of a myriad of traffic calming and pedestrian enhancements that provide safety for the community and a vision of a better pedestrian environment.  Additional elements of the project that improved pedestrian safety and enhanced the aesthetic value of the corridor included sidewalk widening, pedestrian crosswalk enhancements, new benches, street lights, traffic and pedestrian signal lights, irrigation systems, installation of storm drains and curb ramps, repaving of the street and new art plaza.  The project’s crown jewel is the new art plaza at Columbus and Broadway. This intersection serves as a gateway between Chinatown and North Beach. One component of the plaza installation is a public art display entitled “Language of the Birds.” The artwork consists of 23 illuminated faux books suspended over a plaza of embedded text (representing languages from around the world). They appear to have tumbled to the ground from the pages of the open books.

This project was a collaboration between city agencies and neighborhood groups such as the Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC) and neighborhood merchants and residents.