Freeway Commemoration SF Parks Alliance

June 6, 2025 Update:
The collapse of SF Parks Alliance confirms what many communities long suspected: a nonprofit shell used to launder influence, sidestep transparency, and funnel money behind closed doors.

It also means the Hayes Valley Freeway Commemoration Project pushed by HVNA in lockstep with Parks Alliance is officially dead. We fought that project because we saw what it really was: a pretext for expanding control over public space and laying the groundwork for today’s contested street closure.

This isn’t isolated. It’s part of a pattern—nonprofits acting as proxies for permanent changes, with no real community consensus.

You’ll find pertinent information regarding the history of this project listed here.

The Freeway Commemoration Project: part 1

December 16, 2025August 11, 2021

San Francisco Parks Alliance Project Project Background The Freeway Commemoration Project has been a topic of discussion over the last couple of years. The idea of a project to commemorate the historic and activist nature of the event has been well received by residents and merchants of Hayes Valley. While there are many moving parts to this story and the situation remains fluid, we thought it would be a good idea to provide a bit of background… Since the passing …

Hayes Valley Freeway Commemoration Project

July 26, 2023July 15, 2021

Flying Low Under the Radar A project to commemorate the removal of the Central Freeway has for the most part flown under the radar. We have been prompted of shenanigans pertaining to the process, selection of committee and panel members, and several conflicts of interests. Resources We have a chock-full of information on our blog and podcasts that shed light on what has transpired to date. For a walk through on the history of the freeway removal listen to the …

HVSafe Meets with IDEO

July 26, 2023July 9, 2021

IDEO is an AGENCY that is preparing a proposal for the Hayes Valley Freeway Commemoration Project. We met with them to give background on the both the history and current state of the neighborhood. We feel their team has a solid handle on the key dynamics of the past and present Hayes Valley. To date we have not been contacted by the other design team which is also working on a proposal for this project. Update August 10th: : HVSafe …