Workers from San Francisco Public Works labored nearly 10 hours Wednesday to cut back a top-heavy ficus tree threatening the roof of McDonald’s at 24th and Mission streets. The work started at 6 a.m.
“See how those are straight up and down?” said Calvin from Public Works, pointing to several palm trees a few feet away. “This one’s almost on the McDonald’s,” he added, referring to the ficus.
He pointed to the base of the tree, where its roots were starting to push up through the sidewalk. “See there? The concrete has already buckled,” posing a huge danger, he said.
Should another storm with high winds hit San Francisco, the tree would almost certainly injure passersby and diners enjoying their Big Macs. A record 662 trees fell across the city following March’s major storm, and the city is taking steps to prevent the same level of damage in the future.
Another worker said the city got “too many complaints from people tripping” where the sidewalk bent. “This is San Francisco. People sue for anything,” he said.
Public Works has long contended that ficus trees pose a hazard to walkers and residents. In 2021, Mission Local covered the controversial removal of 70-odd ficuses lining 24th Street. The trees were planted in the ‘80s, but aren’t ideal for urban settings, as they’re susceptible to infestation, and their limbs fall easily.
Before the 10-hour haircut, the McDonald’s ficus towered at around 30 feet, offering shade for vendors and people camping out. By 5 p.m., it was just a stark trunk and limbs.
“Tomorrow, we come back to take it up by its roots,” said Calvin. “It’ll probably take the whole day.”
Isn’t it the responsibility of the property owner at the site of buckled sidewalk to do and pay for the repair to buckled sidewalks? Couldn’t McDonald’s have paid to smooth the edges of sidewalk so as to cure the tripping problem? Also, the tree had every reason to be blown over like all those others in the recent storm, but it wasn’t. It held its ground. So shouldn’t it be given credit for that showing how strong it was, instead of being marked for removal because other trees went down in the winds? Couldn’t it have been pruned so as to make it more street-worthy?
I wish they’d take the McDonald’s away as well.
What a mess of an intersection — not that McD’s is causing it, but the rampant piss, shit, vomit, trash, fighting, and nudity (sometimes all at once) that I see on a daily basis passing by their lovely restaurant is intense to say the least.
Seeing the tree come down made me think of how nice that corner would be with a modestly scaled residential building atop it.
It might have been a blessing for the tree to crush the McDonald’s (with no one inside of course). It’ s a shame that prime corner is occupied by a garbage fast food franchise, although I understand that it has a lot of fans in the neighborhood