On April 16, the city of San Francisco barricaded the 16th Street/Mission and 24th Street/Mission BART Plazas except for walkways into the stations. The walkway at the 24th Street plaza is exactly six feet wide, making it physically impossible for people passing each other to maintain proper physical distance. San Francisco has only closed the public spaces around these two Mission District stations, not at any of the other six San Francisco BART stations. Neighborhood media reports that the Mission District Police Captain demanded the closures.

These two plazas are some of the only public spaces available to homeless and poor people, many of whom live in tiny SRO rooms. The reason given for closing the plazas was to enforce physical distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. However, by closing the plazas, San Francisco has forced people to hang out in an even smaller area, most notably on the sidewalks near the plazas, making it more difficult to maintain six feet of separation among each other. Neighborhood residents have observed a greater police presence and increased harassment of people in the areas adjacent to the shuttered plazas.

San Francisco Arbitrarily Closes 16th Street and 24th Street BART Plazas with No Public Process

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