Pretty much everyone in San Francisco and beyond is constantly hearing about how this place is beset by crises. Among them is the housing shortage, the unsafe streets, the ongoing emergency from overdoses, the meltdown over running our public schools, and there’s one other big issue: the apparent impotence of city leadership in making serious progress on these fronts.
We might be coming out of the COVID pandemic, but our situation isn’t exactly getting better. The climate is burning, so should the Great Highway or JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park become car-free?
Not so fast — first we have to have political battles rife with demagoguing. Fourplexes? Forget about it. The bureaucratic exercise of redistricting, mandated by law every decade? Strap in for appalling displays of public behavior and incompetence.
And yet: SF is full of beautiful, absolutely delightful things that make this place great.
If you’ve had it up to here with everything in the city boiling over, The Frisc offers you this Street Photo Spotlight as a sort of palate cleanser.
Our art director Jeremy LaCroix chronicled last weekend’s revival of the Soapbox Derby by SFMOMA in pictures, featuring art cars flying down the curves of John Shelley Drive in McLaren Park.
Look at these photos and then let us know if you still think we’re living in a hellscape. A free derby or street festival certainly won’t solve all our problems, but they show that it’s not that much of a lift to bring out the best of SF.
See you out there next year!
All photos by Jeremy LaCroix. You can find his photography on Instagram @jerrybusiness or @shootingsmall or at shootingsmall.com.
