Sophie Wallace, a resident near 15th and Caledonia, expresses concern over increased litter and the presence of unhoused individuals in her neighborhood after recent city measures against drug use. The crackdown led to a visible migration of troubled individuals to her block, contrasting with the improved conditions at the nearby 16th Street Plaza. Despite witnessing a city cleanup response via her numerous 311 requests, Wallace notes her frustrations with the unregulated conditions on side streets and advocates for equitable enforcement across the neighborhood.
"Be careful where you walk," said Sophie Wallace, 55, as she stood near the corner of Caledonia and 15th streets, just off of Valencia. "Someone comes here every day and poops." Someone human, she meant, and partial to that specific bit of the sidewalk. Nobody picks it up, Wallace added.
When Wallace moved a few blocks north of 16th and Mission in 2019, she knew that she'd be living near more unhoused people than in some other parts of the city. One unhoused man lived quietly on her street for a few years, and she did what she could to help him, Wallace said.
In contrast to the sidestreets, Wallace said, the 16th Street Plaza is the best she's ever seen it. Around 2 p.m., the plaza was full of people coming and going about their days. But, Wallace added, if police are going to stop people from doing certain things in the plaza, then they need to enforce similar rules in the rest of the neighborhood.
Wallace has submitted about a hundred 311 requests to the city in the past year. Most are to get the garbage along the streets cleaned up. The city is generally responsive, she said.
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