The 16th Street BART plazas are getting a redesign. Again.

If you've spent any time at the 16th and Mission BART station, you already know the deal. The plazas flanking the station entrance have been a persistent trouble spot — a magnet for open drug use, petty crime, and the kind of disorder that makes commuters clutch their bags a little tighter and walk a little faster. City leaders have tried to fix this before. Clearly, it didn't stick.

Now the question on the table is whether we can "design trouble out" of the plazas. It's an interesting premise, and not a totally crazy one. Urban design does matter. Well-lit spaces with clear sightlines, active storefronts, and natural foot traffic discourage the kind of activity that thrives in neglected, shadowy corners. There's real evidence that thoughtful design can make public spaces safer and more inviting.

But here's the thing: design alone won't solve a problem that's fundamentally about enforcement and political will.

You can install the most beautiful planters, the sleekest benches, and the brightest LED lighting money can buy — and San Francisco has a long track record of buying very expensive things that don't work — but if the city still refuses to consistently enforce basic public safety laws, you're just putting lipstick on a very expensive pig.

The Mission District deserves a functional, safe transit hub. The thousands of working people who pass through 16th Street BART every day deserve to feel safe doing so. And taxpayers deserve to know that this redesign won't just be another round of consultant fees and community meetings that produce a slightly different arrangement of concrete and good intentions.

So yes, let's redesign the plazas. But let's pair it with a real commitment to maintaining order once the ribbon is cut. Because the problem at 16th and Mission was never really about the benches. It's about whether San Francisco has the backbone to keep its public spaces public — for everyone.