Overview
A clean and safe downtown is the foundation for everything else. When streets feel neglected or unsafe, businesses close, foot traffic falls, and disinvestment compounds.
Our Clean & Safe work supports daily cleaning crews and safety ambassadors across downtown’s highest-traffic corridors, delivering improved conditions and building confidence.
On cleaning: we fund daily pressure washing and enhanced cleaning in the Hospitality Zone: Union Square and the Convention Corridor. In Union Square, an expanded program adds more than 120 hours of weekly power-washing on approximately 97 block-face cleanings. In Yerba Buena, crews cover the intersection at 4th and Mission streets — the gateway to Yerba Buena Gardens and the Metreon — and pedestrian paths surrounding hotels and the Moscone Center.
On public safety: the DDC funds hospitality and safety ambassadors across the Hospitality Zone. Working in partnership with the Union Square Alliance and Yerba Buena Partnership, ambassadors conduct wellness checks, respond to incidents, support local businesses, and welcome the visitors and residents who make downtown run.
Clean & Safe is an essential first step. Secure, well-maintained streets create the conditions for businesses to succeed, visitors to return, and residents to thrive.
Criteria
The DDC concentrates Clean & Safe investments in the highest-impact areas downtown. We are focused on:
- Market Street
- Union Square
- Yerba Buena and Convention Corridor
- We measure success through regular reporting on safety incidents, cleanliness data, commuter and visitor satisfaction scores and total individuals served.
Impact
Safety ambassadors deployed 7 days a week in the Hospitality Zone.
Powerwashing expanded from twice monthly to Monday-Friday in the Convention Corridor.
97 block-face cleanings per week in Union Square, up from a few hours weekly.
13,900 cleaning tasks completed in February 2026 alone in Yerba Buena.
Partners
Help make downtown safer and cleaner
Your support funds safety ambassadors, cleaning crews, and recruitment campaigns that are already changing how people experience downtown San Francisco.
A cleaner, safer downtown benefits residents, businesses, and the whole city — and your investment makes it possible.
