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Comment by wuunderbar | Hacker News Reader

I wonder how much this has to do with an increase in people knowing that there exists a system to complain about poop, versus the actual increase of poop itself.

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I just got back from SF, last time was 2006. Nonexistent problem then, and when I arrived, I was unaware. It was a whole day before I realized it wasn't dog shit. I thought to myself,"I havven't seen this much dog shit since Buenos Aires, but man they must have a lot of big dogs in SF, kinda strange." Then it clicked. The homeless crisis in SF is like nothing I have seen anywhere, not India, not South America. Felt very unsafe, I'd rather not return.

I just got back from SF, last time was 2006. Nonexistent problem then

No, it was definitely a problem then. I was working in mid-market around then and we definitely noticed when the mechanical sidewalk sweepers missed a shift. Impressively it's gotten worse.

I've lived here 10 years, and its everywhere now. You can see this with your eyes, or if you don't trust what you see, you can see it in the city provided data of homeless living on the streets. Its up 17% over the last 2 years (measured every 2 years)

The only place I’ve ever seen human feces on a public street is in SF and I’ve been to every major US city.

The only place I’ve ever seen human feces on a public street is in SF and I’ve been to every major US city.

Are you not looking then? SF isn't even the only place in the Bay Area I've seen shit on the sidewalk.

I don't think I'd consider any other city in the Bay Area a major US city. Maybe it's just California then? I've literally never seen this on the east coast, mid-west or south.

San Francisco is worse than any city I've been to but it's hardly the only one (major or not) with shit on the sidewalks. On the East Coast I've run into shit in Brooklyn, for instance.

You've not been looking down then. I used to play "Human or Canine" while walking from the train to my office in Miami. I like to think I got pretty good at telling the difference after a while.

Why would such a system be created in SF, let alone receive attention from the public, if not for the perception that it was already a problem?

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