Human waste a common complaint at San Francisco cable car stop; some visitors say city’s getting ‘bum rap’

SAN FRANCISCO – Neighbors near the end of San Francisco‘s California Street cable car line say someone has been using the wall of a building as a bathroom for months. 

The neighbors complain that they’re frustrated and don’t know what to do to clean up the street corner.

California and Polk Streets mark the end of one of the city’s iconic cable car lines. But, on the wall alongside the cable car stop; a mess, human waste.

Neighbors say the problem has been going on for months. Peter Grassi, wrote an email expressing his frustration, and describing the problem, saying in part: “This is not a one-off situation. We are talking about a building that has become a toilet in the middle of the city for months on end.”

“This was not a rant, in any measure or form,” said Grassi. “I love this city, I think these are issues that all San Franciscans care about, and I kind of wanted to raise my voice in a way that was firm, but yet also open to have a dialog to see what we can do about this.”

Neighbors, who walk these streets daily, say they’ve noticed the same trend. “I wear my mask now every time I walk past here, because I know there is going to be something against this wall,” said Jose Moreno.

Visitors to this tourist destination say they’ve heard a national narrative about San Francisco and human waste, and say despite this example, it is not the whole story. 

“San Francisco is receiving a bum rap across the country by the national media,” said Steven Kovac from Michigan. “Because it’s nowhere as horrible as they make out. In fact, that word doesn’t even apply to this place.”

Neighboring businesses say the issue is frustrating. They say they’ve tried reporting the issue to the city, and so far they haven’t seen any meaningful changes.

The Department of Public Works it prioritizes steam cleaning requests for human waste, and has reported to this location a half dozen times in the last year. 

Grassi, who emailed KTVU about the problem says the issue needs to be addressed and hopes for a solution that can helps the people who use this wall as a bathroom, and helps the neighbors who have walk past it every day. “The issue is not just sweeping people away, maybe they need facilities and other help and care and outreach, I’m fully supportive of that,” said Grassi.

KTVU reached out to Supervisor Aaron Peskin he says his staff received that email, and he is aware of the email. He says at this point his staff are working to learn more about the issue and search for possible solutions.

The city has long struggled with the issue of inadequate public toilets and feces on the streets. Right before the pandemic, one local supervisor made it a point to fight for more 24-hour, staffed ‘Pit Stops‘, which were toilets strategically placed throughout the city. 

More recently, the city became the butt of jokes over the pricey toilet saga, where a public restroom in Noe Valley was originally estimated to cost $2 million. That cost ended up being significantly reduced.