Steel posts may become Capp’s newest barriers. Did blocking the street work?

A new set of barriers may be coming to Capp Street soon, after a trial period of blocking traffic to deter sex work in the area has seen success.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency plans to replace the concrete barriers currently on Capp with collapsible steel bollards, said Stephen Chun, a spokesperson with the department. The department has been working with the police, Fire Department, and the San Francisco Public Works on the plan, Chun said, with a focus to find a solution “that meets policing needs, as well as emergency access.”

Though some sex workers have reportedly moved to other nearby blocks, residents and workers interviewed said the number of sex workers soliciting at night on Capp itself — and the associated traffic from would-be customers — has decreased drastically.

“Look, I think there’s many, many, many fewer” of them, said Christopher Basso, a piano teacher at the Community Music Center on Capp. “At night, it’s very nice. On the street, it’s quiet because very few cars come.” 

Basso, who regularly parks his car on Capp Street, did say that some sex workers had moved to nearby areas, such as Shotwell Street, Folsom Street or as far away as Harrison Street. 

“I was kind of surprised, because there were a lot of police around, and they were just down a block,” Basso said. 

Calvin, a security guard for the Bethany Center senior housing building at 21st and Capp streets, who usually works night shifts and declined to give his last name, said he no longer sees sex workers on Capp Street. 

Instead, he saw “a decent amount” on nearby Shotwell Street, whom he suspects moved from Capp. One night two weeks ago, he encountered seven sex workers on Shotwell. “I just saw three of them walking down because cops came by, and then four just stayed at the corner.”

Another denizen said the barricades had made “an exponential quality-of-life improvement for me and all the residents.” He never sees sex work anymore, he said, and driving is “100 times better.”

“Pulling out of garages at any point is easier, because the ridiculous amount of traffic is gone,” he added. 

These bollards will be the third iteration of blockades on Capp Street between 19th and 22nd streets. First came “Road Closed” signs, which drivers disregarded and drove over or moved aside. Next came concrete “k-rail” barriers which were installed in mid-February. The Fire Department deemed those dangerous, expressing concern that the concrete barriers would block their access in case of an emergency. 

“They can’t get their ladder trucks onto Capp Street,” said Mission Station Police Captain Gavin McEachern at a community meeting last week. Plus, he said, “they’re unsightly.” 

Fire Captain Jonathan Baxter said that the Fire Department has agreed to the new bollards as a temporary solution. Emergency workers who need access to the street can lower the yellow carbon-steel bollards as needed.

Overall, though, McEachern said he had heard “overwhelming support for the barricades.” At a community meeting with the police chief in late March, many residents said Capp Street is much improved since the barriers were put in place, though others said the sex work had shifted onto their surrounding blocks. 

Even on Capp itself, there was no consensus. Many people who use the street said that the barriers had created additional problems. 

“It’s annoying doing U-turns every time when I go home,” said Calvin, the security guard. 

One problem with the barricades seems to be their unsightly appearance. 

“They are very drastic,” said a female pedestrian walking down Capp Street on Friday morning. “It’s kind of big stuff in the middle of the road.”

And some businesses around Capp have seen a decrease in customers, too, partly from the lack of traffic, and partly from fewer sex workers. 

All Seasons Market at 19^th and Capp streets may be the greatest loser from the barricades. “Before, it was busier, and now we’ve been losing some clients,” said Ghan Berry, an employee at the convenience store, which stays open until 2 a.m. The market was a go-to for sex workers for supplies during the night.

“There are less and less people coming to the streets,” he said.

Ride-hailing app drivers for Uber and Lyft have also had difficulty picking up riders, Mission Station’s McEachern said.  

Months since the barriers first went up, Google Maps does not recognize their existence. Driving directions in the area sometimes avoid Capp and reroute motorists to parallel South Van Ness Avenue, but just as often can send a driver up the blocks of Capp, where barriers block their way at the north end of each intersection. 

How long the new bollards will remain in place is still uncertain. Though they will involve concrete work on the road to install, SFMTA said discussions on the details are ongoing. 

Alongside the installation of the barriers this spring, police have concentrated enforcement efforts on the blocks in question. 

A spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office, Randy Quezada, said that police have issued 24 citations to “johns” soliciting sex workers since the city erected the initial barricades in early February. Of those, 18 were on Capp Street. The johns who received citations were not arrested, but instead sent to Neighborhood Court, a criminal justice alternative for low-level crimes. 

No sex workers were cited, Quezada said. 

“My officers make a lot of encounters with them,” McEachern said, adding that they attempt to connect sex workers with supplies, shelter, or financial support. “My officers drive around, they have backpacks in their cars that they give to the girls.” 

Chun said the timeline for installation of the new bollards is still being discussed, and is awaiting a cost estimate from the Department of Public Works, plus an assessment of the concrete work required.