SF Bus Shelters: More Negatives than Positives

It's much cleaner at Hyde & California shelterless bus stop

A heretofore unnoticed element behind the shabbiness of San Francisco was highlighted by the accidental destruction of a bus shelter.

the shelter at Hyde and California streets had been a dumping site for trash and the frequent scene of drug deals and illegal fires. One unhoused woman lived inside the shelter for months, filling the small space with her belongings, while others camped out behind it, blocking the sidewalk with tents.

But since workers removed the shelter and a nearby trash can after the October crash, the corner has cleared, four nearby business owners told the Chronicle. Years of chaos at the corner have largely disappeared.

The merchants — a cannabis dispensary owner, a hairstylist, a restaurateur and a cafe owner — want the intersection’s northwest corner to remain empty. In a move that rankled some frequent bus riders, they are urging city officials not to replace the shelter.

There's no question that bus shelters provide benefits: protection from the rain, benches that are needed by the elderly and infirm, and maps and schedules. However, when the nearby businesses don't want the shelter rebuilt, an inconvenience to their own customers, then we know that storefront conditions are desperate.

Bus shelters, like other unpatrolled public spaces, attract squatters and/or drug users. Because they provide a modest degree of shielding, they're more attractive than parks or empty sidewalks.

In towns and cities without the City's dysfunction, bus shelters are assets. In San Francisco many are net liabilities and should be removed.