More than five months ago, San Francisco’s
shelter-in-place order went into effect,
dramatically changing our City. Businesses shut
down. Schools closed. The way we socialized
and shared in cultural experiences warped. San
Francisco Public Works, like other essential
government agencies, nonprofits and businesses,
quickly pivoted our workforce and daily
operations to meet the challenge.
All 1,600-plus employees at San Francisco Public
Works are designated essential workers. More
than 100 of us have been deployed to the City’s
Emergency Operations Center to work on the
citywide response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some workers temporarily took on different
duties within the department, for example,
cleaning streets instead of paving roads. Some
others had to take a leave to be with their kids
when schools and childcare centers shuttered,
or, unfortunately, to care for themselves or loved
ones stricken by the horrible virus.
Most on our team, however, have been
performing their regular jobs, albeit under very
different circumstances – working remotely
from home, if feasible, or in their offices or in
the field wearing face coverings and keeping
socially distanced. But our work serving the
people of San Francisco continues. Every day.
Around the clock.
This month, for our In the Works newsletter,
we thought we’d showcase just a sliver of
who we are and what we do by featuring a
different San Francisco Public Works’ project,
program, operation or team each day. While we
certainly did not capture the full breadth of our
organization, the examples we came across over
the past 31 days provide a good snapshot of San
Francisco Public Works.