Voters would support bond to fix seawall

Nearly three-quarters of San Francisco voters would support a bond measure of up to $500 million to improve the city’s disintegrating seawall, a piece of infrastructure that is largely unseen but that experts say is of vital importance in protecting the city against major earthquakes as well as sea level rise.

A citywide voter survey, conducted in mid-January for the Port of San Francisco, found that 73 percent of voters would vote yes on a seawall improvement general obligation bond, which is headed to the ballot in November.

The bond measure, which would require two-thirds voter approval and

would not raise taxes, would come in between $350 million and $500 million, depending on the city’s bonding capacity and other projects in the pipeline that would require bond financing. A decision on the exact size of the bond will be made in March.

The century-old seawall, which runs along 3 miles of waterfront from Fisherman’s Wharf to AT&T Park on the banks of Mission Creek, provides the foundation for the Embarcadero roadway as well as flood protection for more than 500 acres of land near the waterfront, including where Muni Metro Embarcadero tunnel is located.

The seawall rests on unstable bay mud and is “vulnerable to lateral spreading and settlement in a major earthquake, which could destroy or seriously damage utilities, light rail and buildings along the Embarcadero,” according to the Port of San Francisco.

Port Executive Director Elaine Forbes said the survey shows that San Francisco voters are sophisticated when it comes to both earthquakes and sea level rise. Still, she said the level of support is pleasing, given that a seawall is hardly as easy a sell as a renovated playground or sparkling new library.

“I was surprised, to be honest,” Forbes said of the level of support. “It’s unseen infrastructure — it’s rewarding that 73 percent are leaning ‘yes’ to strengthening the wall.”

The survey showed that San Francisco voters don’t know much about the seawall, even if they walk along it with some frequency. More than half of voters say they go to the waterfront multiple times a month, but only 1 in 3 is aware that the wall provides the underpinning for the Embarcadero, which over the past 20 years has become a major destination with the creation of the Ferry Building marketplace, the construction of AT&T Park, and the new Exploratorium at Pier 15.

“The seawall supports critical regional transportation, utilities and emergency response infrastructure, and we are glad to know that San Francisco voters understand the urgency of protecting our city by strengthening the seawall,” City Administrator Naomi Kelly said.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who sits on both the Coastal Commission and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission and is the lead sponsor of the bond measure, called the bond a “down payment on a multibillion-dollar investment.”

“The good news is that San Francisco voters get it and are willing to put their money where their mouth is,” Peskin said. “It’s heartwarming to know that everyone loves the waterfront and wants to preserve it. This is not a city of climate change deniers.”

While the entire seawall project will cost several billion dollars, Forbes said she doesn’t think a second bond will be needed for at least a decade. Meanwhile, the city will look at state and federal money, as well as a special tax district that would include contributions from waterfront mega-projects like Pier 70 and the Giants’ development at Mission Rock.

And with President Trump’s $1.5 trillion infrastructure program in its planning stages, Forbes said she will be taking a trip next month to Washington, D.C., with Port Commission President Kimberly Brandon. “If there is room for us in the infrastructure bill, we will certainly make a pitch,” she said.

On Tuesday, port staff will present the survey, as well as the broader San Francisco Seawall Earthquake Safety and Disaster Protection Program, to the Port Commission. “The Embarcadero seawall is vital to our transportation networks — nearly a million people arrive daily via ferries and BART and Muni — and that means we need to act quickly,” Brandon said.