By Thomas K. Pendergast

When asked why it takes a full decade to fix up one ragged block of Ninth Avenue between Kirkham and Lawton streets, the City’s response could be summed up as something akin to “it’s complicated.”

This bumpy stretch of roadway was originally scheduled for repaving in 2021 but, after numerous delays, the new target date is now 2031.

There are certainly complications, like the fact that four Muni bus lines – the 66-Quintara, 6-Parnassus, 43-Masonic and 44-O’Shaughnessy – all share that road along their respective routes.

Plus, a block further north, the light-rail N-Judah line rides along Ninth Avenue for a couple of blocks before turning onto Judah Street.

The intersection with Kirkham also sees traffic coming to and going from the Roxie Market & Delicatessen on one corner, as well as the Sunshine Cleaners on the other side.

“It’s horrible. Several folks that I know just don’t even drive on that block,” said Inner Sunset resident Paul Dravis. “I drive, and I bicycle. I avoid that block now at all cost, just because it’s so hard to navigate.

“All the blocks around the neighborhood have been maintained and that block has been neglected for years; there were many emails that went back and forth between myself (and the) Department of Public Works. The road is far worse than any other block in the neighborhood.”

“The biggest challenge for us with this block is that this is a resource-intensive project,” said Patrick Riley, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Works, in an emailed statement. “Because high-voltage overhead electrical lines power Muni buses along Ninth Avenue, they must be turned off (de-energized) before we can bring in the heavy equipment needed for paving and any necessary street repairs. It takes specialized personnel to de-energize those lines safely and we are working closely with our partners at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversee that work.”

“We certainly would like to see the changes made to it as rapidly as possible. It’s not like it’s a new situation,” said Frank Noto, who lives one street over.

Noto is a member of Sunset Heights Association of Responsible People (SHARP) and has been advocating on their behalf to get this issue addressed by the City.

“It’s consequential because a lot of people use it. It’s the entrance into Golden Gate Park. And it’s also an entrance to the Irving Street/Ninth Avenue merchant district, which is already clogged,” Noto said. “And Muni buses are on that strip of street.

“This is just one continuous block of extra speed bumps. I understand there may be other impediments; there may be other things under the street that may impact it,” he said. “We’d like to see it repaired as soon as possible and on behalf of the neighborhood, we’ve reached out to some of the appropriate agencies.”

Riley said this particular project is “considerably more complex than it may seem on the surface. The scope of work for this block of Ninth Avenue, as of now, includes: extensive concrete street base repair work; two bus pad installations at two bus stops; overhead wire de-energization; full block grind-and-pave.

“That stretch of Ninth Avenue is currently slated for paving in 2031 as part of a larger street resurfacing operation,” he explained. “However, we are actively looking at ways to get the work done sooner, including … exploring the option of paving the road via a ‘Job Order Contract (JOC).’ What that would mean is that we bypass our usual lowest-cost bid advertising process and tap a contractor under an existing contract to see if they can add the scope. Instead of having the paving done as part of a larger scheduled project, it becomes a one-off.

“While this could enable earlier construction, we would not benefit from the economics of scale provided by a larger project, which means it would likely be more expensive. Larger projects help spread costs out for the mobilization and work of the contractor, but we do take the JOC route from time to time in certain circumstances.”

Riley mentioned that while extending the life of a block in San Francisco that is in good condition can cost as little as $50,000, completely reconstructing a block in very poor condition can cost more than half a million dollars.

This roadway, however, is in such poor shape that even bicycling on it is a rough ride.

“It’s so rutted, so scarred, that it’s hard riding,” said Inner Sunset resident Jeremy Freidlander. “It’s harder work to ride on a rutted surface. It’s much easier to ride on a neighboring street.”

Friedlander said he mostly rides along Eighth Avenue but Ninth Avenue would be better because it’s not as steep.

“If you don’t want it to be steep, you can ride on Seventh Avenue, which has a bike lane and is less steep even than Ninth Avenue between Kirkham and Lawton. Some people don’t like Seventh because there’s more traffic there. That’s a busy street.”

There is yet another catch, as the budgetary path to repaving a street is always shifting from year to year.

“All (DPW) street resurfacing program candidates are subject to substitution and schedule changes pending available funding, visual confirmation, utility clearances and coordination with other agencies and are not guaranteed to be moved forward to construction,” Riley explained. “Unforeseen challenges, such as increased work scope, changing priorities, cost increases or declining revenue may arise, causing the (resurfacing) candidates to be postponed or dropped from consideration.

“That said, this stretch of roadway on Ninth Avenue is on our radar and we’re trying to find a mechanism to have it paved sooner than we’re currently projecting,” Riley said. “In the very near-term, we will dispatch an in-house crew to fix any potholes along that stretch.”