SFMTA and Community Name Ocean Avenue Plaza, “Unity Plaza”

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) today announced “Unity Plaza” as the official name for the public plaza on Ocean Avenue next to City College.

In September a contest was held to name the plaza and nearly a hundred entries were received. To choose a name, a group of citizens representing the various communities surrounding the plaza met and reviewed the submissions. After a thorough multi-step process, they chose Unity Plaza as the name for the new public space. The Unity Plaza name was submitted by Ms. Chaeneice Evans.

“Unity Plaza will serve as a hub for connecting residents, businesses, schools and Muni,” said Ed Reiskin, SFMTA Director of Transportation. “It will provide a safer and more convenient pedestrian passage between the Ocean Avenue small business corridor and the City College campus.”

“We wanted a name for the plaza that would bring communities and city leaders together under one roof,” said Maria Picar, Director of Oceanview Merced Ingleside Cultural Participation Project.

“The plaza will be a community gathering place for farmer’s markets, music and art festivals; it really brings all the work we’ve done together,” said Kate Favetti, President of Westwood Park Association.

Unity Plaza will be sixty-five feet wide and two hundred-ten feet in length and will include a row of trees, benches, pedestrian level lighting, a domed play structure, and photography displays depicting the history of the area. It will serve as an attractive pedestrian link between Muni’s K Ingleside Line on Ocean Avenue, the City College campus, the reconfigured Phelan Loop bus terminal and an affordable housing development sponsored by the Mayor’s Office of Housing.

The Unity Plaza Project is a key component of the Balboa Park Station Area Plan. The plan was the result of more than 10 years of neighborhood-driven planning that involved significant community and stakeholder input. Construction is expected to start in early 2015 and be completed about 9 months later.

The funding for the plaza is provided by Federal and local sources. Construction for the plaza will begin early next year.