On a sunny Saturday, over 60 neighbors met to discuss safety.  After a brief intro, folks organized by their block safety groups and talked about their specific safety concerns and suggestions.  Following these 30-minute small group discussions, they reconvened to hear the key takeaways.  

Here’s what each group’s leader reported:

• 19th Street – Church to Noe and down Noe to Hancock (Russ Kellites) – discussed the wide range of low-cost safety devices to help folks monitor safety on their property and to prevent crimes such as garage door break-ins 
• Lower 20th – Church to Sanchez (Celeste Oberfest – DHICsafe) – reminded neighbors of services available including DPW street/sidewalk cleaning.  They also distributed Dave Burke’s contact info (listed at end of this article.) 
• Upper 20th – Sanchez to Noe (Sheri Harris & Patrick Crisp) – talked about lighting as a safety measure – where, when, and types of illumination
• 20th & Noe Streets (David Dea) – focused on natural disasters (such as the “big one”) and preventative measures (like automatic gas shut-off) to reduce fires, harm, or damage
• Liberty Street – Church to Rayburn (Jennifer Bury & John O’Duinn) – shared a number of safety/security tips such as securing the garage, general household safety tips, awareness when walking at night and/or in Dolores Park
• 21st /Hill /Sanchez Streets (Hans Kolbe) – discussed recent safety issues; discussed sharing info via an incident tracker.    

If you’d like to join any of these block safety groups, contact the lead listed above or simply email info@doloresheights.org   And for those wanting a deeper dive on block safety, Dave Burke is D8’s Public Safety Liaison.  You can contact him at dave.burke@sfgov.org