The problem of feces littering the streets of San Francisco keeps getting worse despite the city spending millions of dollars on porta potties.
Per a report from the San Francisco Chronicle, complaints regarding poop on the city’s streets are soaring.
During the pandemic, feces-related calls fell as people stayed home, and the city moved unhoused people indoors. But a Chronicle data analysis found that the number of feces-related calls has crept up past pre-pandemic levels. The calls are about 17% higher than in 2020 and about 7% higher than in 2019. The data, pulled from 311 reports, doesn’t differentiate between human and animal feces, and only reflects reports of feces or requests for street cleaning of feces.
The increase comes despite San Francisco investing in public toilets, doing more frequent street cleanings and getting more homeless people off the street.The vast majority of San Francisco’s more than 280 public restrooms are in parks, community centers, libraries, fire stations and other city buildings. There are also stand-alone staffed toilets run by two different city departments and stand-alone unstaffed toilets run by a private company in partnership with the city.
In a notable moment last November, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis underscored the gravity of the issue by presenting a “poop map” during his debate with California Governor Gavin Newsom.
DeSantis remarked, “This is a map of San Francisco,” while holding up a map of the city marked with brown spots. He explained, “You may be wondering, ‘What are these marks?’ Well, this is an app where they plot the human feces that are found on the streets of San Francisco”
He continued, “and you see how almost the whole thing is covered? Because this is what has happened in one of the previous greatest cities this country has ever had.”
“And you see how almost the whole thing is covered? Because this is what has happened in one of the previous greatest cities this country has ever had.”
Watch:
Ron DeSantis just held up a poop map of San Francisco to show where people are tagging feces from homeless people on all the public streets. Holy shit. Literally. pic.twitter.com/atGEMZ8o6w
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) December 1, 2023
San Francisco, often hailed as one of the most progressive cities in the United States, grapples with various challenges beyond fecal waste on its streets. Homelessness persists as a prominent issue, with a significant portion of the homeless population battling severe addictions to drugs like fentanyl. Moreover, rampant shoplifting has reached alarming levels, prompting numerous businesses to shut down due to unsustainable losses, aggravated by the city’s refusal to prosecute repeat offenders.
