For more than three months, commuters headed downtown on weekday mornings have emerged at the Embarcadero and Montgomery BART stations to see uniformed people at mint-green kiosks.
These “ambassadors” — who have set up between 6:30 and 9:30 a.m. at all six Embarcadero station exits since late July and Montgomery exits since September — are the latest initiative aimed at helping downtown San Francisco get its groove back.
During a six-week period, the ambassador program reduced safety-related 911 calls at the stations by 53%, from 55 to 26, according to Robbie Silver, executive director of the Downtown SF Partnership, which spearheaded the pilot. The number of calls related to violent incidents such as fights, assaults, and robberies decreased by 67%.
Silver attributes the 53% decline in large part to ambassadors addressing visible signs of the homelessness crisis…