The pedestrian-only Ridge Lane sits between Caine and San Miguel streets in San Francisco’s Ingleside neighborhood. It’s technically an unaccepted street, meaning the city never took it over, so for a long time nobody was responsible for it. That was a problem because, for residents of the Caine Avenue cul-de-sac, Ridge Lane was the shortest route to the Balboa Park BART station. Steep, poorly maintained, hard to walk in the dark or the rain. It made an ordinary commute feel risky.
Barbara VanderBorght felt something should be done, but didn’t know who was responsible for the lane. She reached out to Ed Lee about the lane’s condition, back when he was heading DPW — still years away from becoming mayor. He said the City wasn’t responsible, and nothing happened immediately. But a few years later, neighbors Lynn Yuan and Warren Longmire approached the District 11 supervisor, and that was the starting point for a volunteer effort that’s now been going for well over a decade.
From Idea to Green Space
Progress started small. Then Supervisor John Avalos put some discretionary funding toward the lane, and a Community Challenge Grant followed. With that, Ridge Lane Neighbors brought in the Department of Public Works and students from the Academy of Art College’s landscape architecture program to work on the first section of the lane, between Josiah and Lewisburg streets. It was finished in 2013.
That first stretch set the pattern the group has followed ever since: apply for grants, find volunteers and professionals willing to help, build what you can, repeat.
Funding the Vision
The money side of this has never been simple. A $100,000 Community Challenge Grant came in 2017. A much bigger one followed in 2018: $301,000 from the Mayor’s Office of Housing. A smaller $5,000 grant arrived in 2022.
None of it came easy. Prevailing wage rules pushed construction costs up. Grants that required 25% of the funding upfront were hard for a group with no paid staff and no budget cushion. ADA requirements added more steps, and the pandemic further slowed things down. At one point, money held by a partner organization that ran into financial trouble had to be recovered. Mary Beth D’Alonzo worked with the Community Partners Network, whose efforts led to the recoupment of most of the funds.
Where the Project Stands Today
Ridge Lane’s improvements cover five parcels. Two are done: the first section between Josiah and Lewisburg, and the stretch running from Caine to San Miguel, which is probably the most walked section of the whole lane, as it’s an easy walk from there to BART. The rest is a work in progress. One parcel is partway there. Another has been the slowest of all: steep, rocky ground, made worse by construction on the next-door property.
Topophyla, the landscaping firm founded by then-Academy of Art students Nahal Sobahti and Eric Arneson, has led the design work on the project, including the Caine to San Miguel section. You can see photos of that work at topophyla.com/ridge-lane-parcel-4.
What’s Next
Jaxson Pippin, a local Eagle Scout candidate, has a native plant landscaping project planned for one of the unfinished sections. The group is also looking into placing some of the solar light posts already installed along the finished parts of the lane on the unfinished parts, though several have been stolen, which complicates that plan.
There’s a smaller, more practical win too: trash cans were removed from the first parcel after they became a magnet for illegal dumping.
Every month, neighbor volunteers meet for a couple of hours on a Sunday to weed, trim, and do general maintenance. Anyone is invited to join, and you can find information on our website here.
Beyond the physical work, a lot of what’s happened here doesn’t show up in a progress report. Grant cycles stall. Permits take a while. Progress isn’t always visible from month to month. But the people who keep showing up have gotten to know neighbors from other blocks they might never have met otherwise. That’s one thing that’s kept people involved in the project this long — building community is key.
When the new houses at the top of Caine are completed, the group would like to push to develop the section of the lane between Caine and Majestic. Finding funding will be the first big step.\
The People Behind the Project
Nick Lattner, Barbara VanderBorght, and Mary Beth D’Alonzo lead Ridge Lane Neighbors with regular appearances by a cast of neighbors like Maurice Rivers, Bill Rupel, Lynn Yuan, and Joel Winter. Over the years, they’ve had steady help from Danielle and Kristin Casey Callaghan, Moneka Urbansky Muehlbauer, Robert Muehlbauer, Warren Longmire, Scott Kaufman, Patricia Ris, and others.
Join Us for the Bernal Heights Pop-Up Town Square Bench Painting!
Bring your creativity and help add some color to the Bernal Heights Rec Center! We are hosting a community bench painting day to spruce up our neighborhood space, and everyone is invited to take part.
Event Details
Date & Time: Saturday, September 12 | 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Bernal Heights Rec Center (Moultrie St between Cortland Ave & Jarboe Ave)
What to Expect: Paint, supplies, coffee, and pastries are all provided. Just bring yourself, your family, and your neighborhood spirit!
Brought to you with love by Civic Joy Fund, San Francisco Recreation & Parks, Greening Projects, and Friends of Bernal Heights Rec Center.
Birdhouse Painting at Ogden Avenue Gardens
Date: September 12, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Ogden Avenue Gardens
Grab the family and join us at Ogden for a relaxing, creative morning in the garden! We are hosting a community birdhouse painting session designed for kids and the young at heart.
We’ll supply all the wooden birdhouses, brushes, and colorful paints—all you need to bring is your imagination. While the artists get to work, parents can kick back and enjoy a fresh cup of coffee.
Spend a couple of hours connecting with neighbors, enjoying the outdoors, and building a cozy new home for our local feathered friends.
No registration required – drop by and paint with us!
About Ogden Ave Gardens
It is inspiring to see how a neglected stretch of asphalt can be transformed into a vibrant neighborhood asset. Reclaiming an unaccepted street on Ogden Avenue between Folsom and Gates into the future home of Ogden Avenue Gardens is a powerful testament to community-led urban renewal. Bernal Heights will undoubtedly benefit from having another dedicated green space that prioritizes native plantings, pedestrian walkability, and local environmental stewardship.
A COMMUNITY PROJECT BY GREENING PROJECTS – BERNAL HEIGHTS, SAN FRANCISCO
We are neighbors working to transform a neglected, weed-strewn street into a children’s playground, a community gathering place, and a safe, comfortable place to wait for the bus.
The 400 block of Ogden Avenue (between Folsom and Gates) is an “unaccepted street”, meaning the city does not maintain it. It has no sidewalk. Yet it is a much-traveled pathway to the bus stop for local parents walking their toddlers to Ana’s Childcare and for neighbors walking their dogs.