Once dubbed "by far the most expensive homeless response intervention” in SF history, the Bayview RV Triage Center is being shut down today, after a three-year run of pricey logistical snafus and frankly very little usage.

It was a little over three years ago, during the very dark January 2022 days of the pandemic, that San Francisco opened the Bayview RV Triage Center in hopes of providing safe accommodations for the homeless population. It was not a success right out of the gate, nor really at any point after leaving the gate. RV dwellers initially refused to move there, for its lack of electricity and a ban on propane tanks. And a 2023 Chronicle exposé dubbed the facility SF’s “‘most expensive homeless response’ ever” for its $15 million price tag on a place that only hosted about 30 vehicles at a time.

So we learned in December that the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (DHS) that operates the facility was planning to pull the plug on the Bayview Vehicle Triage Center sometime by March 2025. And something is actually happening on time with this project, as NBC Bay Area reports that the RV center is demanding everyone be out by the end of today.

"I think that that's what government is supposed to do," DHS deputy director Emily Cohen told KPIX. "If something's not working, you're supposed to end it and move on. Like, we don't want to just keep doing something that is demonstrating that it's not working."

Per NBC Bay Area, everyone staying at the site has been offered housing, alternative shelter, relocation assistance, or some form of rental subsidies. A few stragglers will be allowed to stay a bit longer if their housing deals are still being finalized. But obviously, many of these people may not have the means to get their vehicles out of there, so there may be quite a mess left behind.

"I'm going to have to find a place for the vehicle in the interim," resident Aaron Wilson told KPIX. "I have to get it registered and then I can have it for sale, right? And in that time I have to hope it doesn't get broken into. That's why they call this safe parking, break-ins to RVs is very common in San Francisco, it's almost assured. If you leave and they've been watching it you open yourself up."

Still, the costs for this facility were staggering. A 2024 Chronicle analysis found the city was spending $275 a night per RV there. Meanwhile, the cost of a one-night stay at the Candlestick RV Park right next door costs only $145 per night.

Related: The Bayview Vehicle Triage Center Will Close Up for Good In March [SFist]

Image: Carol E via Yelp