Last week, San Francisco's Mayor Gavin Newsom announced $68.5 million in new infrastructure and streetscape projects for the current fiscal year 2010-11, leveraging Certificates of Participation (COPs), federal, state and local grants to fund improvements to San Francisco's public realm.

Of the total funds, $50.6 million will go into street resurfacing, $5.9 million will go into Great Streets projects and other public realm improvements, $4.7 million will go into sidewalk inspection and repair and street structure improvements, and $7.3 million will go to building curb ramps. The projects together will create at least 450 construction-related jobs.

The city also received nine multi-year Transportation for Livable Communities (TLC) Grants. San Francisco was awarded $7.4 million with local matching funds to total $18.7 million from the region and $11.7 million with local matching funds to total $15.4 million from the county that will go toward transportation, pedestrian, and related infrastructure improvements to the following projects over the next five years. These are funded by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and administered by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority.

Projects to be completed with the TLC Grants and city matching funds include the Marina Green Bicycle Trail, the SF Port's Cargo Way Bicycle Project, Bay Area Rapid Transit District's (BART) 24th Street/Mission BART Plaza and Pedestrian Improvements, Municipal Transportation Agency's (MTA) Market and Haight Street Transit and Pedestrian Improvements, Phelan Loop Public Plaza and Transit-Oriented Development and San Francisco Redevelopment Agency's (SFRA), and South of Market (SoMa) Alleyways Improvements

In addition to resurfacing 320 blocks and providing a slurry seal to an additional 150 blocks, the city will provide other infrastructure improvements, including building curb ramps, inspecting and repairing sidewalks, and repairing street structures citywide. Under Mayor Newsom, the city has more than quadruped annual spending on street repaving since 2004.

This $4.1 million project was funded through a combination of two Transportation for Livable Communities (TLC) federal grants with state and local matching funds. This was a collaboration between the Office of Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, the Mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), the Department of Public Works, the Planning Department, the SF Public Utilities Commission, SF Municipal Transportation Agency, the SF Arts Commission and Visitacion Valley community.