Sidewalk is sinking in San Francisco's Mission Bay

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - The sinking sidewalk stretches from one end of the block, around the corner and to the other end of the block. The entire section under 1201 4th street in San Francisco's mission bay is separating from the buildings. 

“The sidewalk is sinking due to the fact that we're in unclaimed land,” said Paul Taube, shipping store employee.

These newer mixed use buildings are sitting on soil that can turn to liquid during an earthquake.
Like quicksand, it sinks bringing everything else down with it. 

“It is pretty concerning that this is sinking, rapidly sinking sidewalk similar to Millennium Tower,” said Simi Verma of San Francisco. 

Millennium tower has sunk 18 inches since it opened in 2009. We’re told these sidewalks were sunken in about an inch six years ago, now you'll find several inches of separation. 

In July of 2017, permits were pulled to temporarily fix the sidewalk, due to sinking. These Ramps were put in to level the ground so in order to be ADA compliant. 

In December, permits were pulled for the permanent work to begin.

KTVU spoke with an employee knowledgeable of the future repairs to learn more. 

“They’re getting ready to knock all of this out, back fill it and then put something down so it will be level with the building,” said Taube. 

All this construction is bad for business. Sale signs can be seen in the window of a handmade furniture store trying to entice potential shoppers. The owner says no sidewalk  means no shoppers and he'll be forced to move soon for the sake of saving his business. 

The city owns the sidewalk, but according to city code, the developer or property owner is responsible for any sidewalk repairs. 

Sares Regis Group out of Irvine, CA is the property management company. No word on when those repairs will start.