Clean-up sought for downtown footbridge

City seeks to boost upkeep to five times weekly

Concerns have been raised about graffiti, trash and the homeless presence on the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge in downtown San Diego. A city spokesman said more clean-up could be on the way. U-T San Diego file photo.

Concerns have been raised about graffiti, trash and the homeless presence on the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge in downtown San Diego. A city spokesman said more clean-up could be on the way. U-T San Diego file photo.

Following recent complaints that downtown’s landmark pedestrian bridge is becoming a hub for the homeless, trash and graffiti, a San Diego official said Thursday that the city is seeking to boost cleanup efforts along the $26.8 million structure.

The city’s streets division, which is responsible for upkeep on most of the bridge property, hopes to increase cleanings from twice to five times a week, said Bill Harris, a city spokesman.

“We are going to make every effort to keep it clean, to keep it graffiti- and trash-free,” he added.

The bridge, which opened in 2011, spans Harbor Drive at Park Boulevard. It allows pedestrians and cyclists to cross over the rail tracks separating Petco Park and the East Village from the San Diego Convention Center and bayfront.

Several regular users of the bridge said this week that they felt safe near the structure but wished more was done to keep the area clean.

The homeless “are always here,” said Jim Holt of Poway, a retiree who walks across the bridge as part of his exercise routine. “It gives (the site) a bad look.”

On Wednesday, a discarded can of baked beans, razors, toothbrushes and clothing were strewn near the bridge’s east landing and elevator. Several homeless residents camped on a dirt lot several dozen yards from the bridge, near the rail tracks.

“We have had a lot of problems with graffiti and trash and keeping the bridge clean,” Jeff Graham, president of Civic San Diego, said Thursday. “It’s sad.”

Civic San Diego is the city-owned nonprofit group that succeeded the bridge’s now-defunct owner, Centre City Development Corp. It is charged with continuing revitalization efforts in downtown San Diego and nearby neighborhoods.

This month, U-T San Diego received two letters to the editor detailing several concerns about the bridge.

In one, Bob Davies of the Marina District wrote that “the transient problem has grown out of control.” He said he helps clear weeds from the succulent garden under the span, but won’t return there alone.

San Diego Police Department officials didn’t respond Thursday to questions about what they’re doing to keep the area safe.

Two security guards, or “safety ambassadors,” with the nonprofit Downtown San Diego Partnership bicycled through the area Wednesday. One guard said the area attracts a lot of homeless residents and can get “pretty rough” at night. The site is part of the guards’ regular patrols, they said without providing their names.

Pausing on the bayside steps of the bridge this week, homeless resident Tari Harkonen, 52, said she doesn’t see what the fuss is about.

Most of the homeless people who camp in the dirt lot just north of the bridge don’t cause problems, she said.

“I think homelessness is part of San Diego,” said Harkonen, a former accountant and San Diego native. “I think people are more important than a bridge.”

It’s unclear whether officials who oversaw the bridge project’s design and construction had discussed the possibility of trash, graffiti, homeless encampments and related issues — and how to deal with them.

This isn’t the first challenge for the bridge: It ran nearly a year and a half beyond the scheduled completion date and cost $14 million more than the original estimate.