September 1, 2026
Attention SFMTA:
Street conditions for the Hayes Street Farmers Market documented here:
Saturday, August 29, 2026
Week 11 again documented unattended barricades, market-related vehicles occupying curb and loading space on and adjacent to the Hayes Street commercial corridor, and a market vendor setup encroaching into the emergency access area at Octavia.
After eleven weeks of documenting these recurring conditions, we are formally asking SFMTA to relocate the Hayes Valley Farmers Market from the 400 block of Hayes Street.
The record demonstrates that these impacts are not isolated problems that can be corrected through minor operational changes. A farmers market necessarily requires vendor vehicles, loading, unloading, staging and supporting activity. On Hayes Street, those operational demands are being transferred directly onto an existing commercial corridor through reduced customer parking, constrained business loading, diminished access and additional demands on limited corridor space.
Hayes Street businesses can no longer be expected to absorb these impacts every Saturday to accommodate a separately permitted commercial event. The market should be relocated to a venue capable of accommodating its operational requirements without imposing those costs on existing businesses.
We are also again calling attention to the Signature clothing vendor. This non-food commercial vendor has repeatedly operated during the Hayes Street closure, is now repeatedly selling during farmers market operations, and has also been observed on Sundays when the street is open. The activity has been reported to City agencies through an extensive record of correspondence and follow-up, yet it continues. Its recurring presence across these different uses of the corridor further compounds the burden on established Hayes Street businesses and remains unresolved despite repeated notice to the City.
Report submitted for your records.
This correspondence has been edited for clarity and conciseness. Routine greetings and contact details have been omitted; the substance of the communication remains unchanged.