Strawberry trees are a bit messy when the fruit drops but nothing is really clean. I've noticed them being planted in parking lots lately. My favorite specimens, though, are at Holy Spirit church in Fremont and they have been there a good long time. (If you google the church and click on "see outside", you can rotate the view to see the row of strawberry trees along the fence.)

If you are in that area and like trees, don't miss the super fun pepper tree less than a block away...http://ca-fremont2.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/6725/CEN_7_CAPepperTree?bidId=
Have you looked at some of the ficuses? There are some in my neighborhood that are so perfectly treelike they look like they stepped out of a cartoon...definitely broccoli trees!

Thanks, Fori. Sorry for the delay; didn't know that there had been any response to my post. When the fruit drops from the strawberry tree, is it a pain to clean up and or have around? Meaning, does it squash up the sidewalk or is hard and takes forever to decompose (like the magnolia leaves do). I am not that familiar with Ficuses, except that I recall some stories about them being in throughout much of San Francisco, and a bunch of them getting blown over in a HUGE wind storm (was a long time ago, probably 10 years ago or so). Which led me to believe they didn't have strong limbs (though I dunno if maybe SF's tall buildings create wind caverns).

Our town has planted citrus and magnolias in the sidewalks. I think Magnolias can lift the sidewalk with their roots, but haven't seen that with citrus.

@lilylchen I guess they don't worry. Enough homeless around here to take care of that!

arbutus common cultivar can get quite big but it's slow growing. I really love my arbutus 'Marina'. Beautiful bark, fast growing, attractive round shape, flowers, low water needs. The fruit has not been prolific and hasn't been a problem even though it is planted next to my front walkway. I planted a 5 gallon multitrunked specimen 5 years ago, it is now about 15' high. And every one who comes to my house, not just gardeners but also those who don't have any interest in plants ask about the Marina, specifically about the bark.

This is a good source of information about trees and their characteristics - litter, root invasiveness, water needs, etc. You can do a search for characteristics you are looking for. Don't choose more than 4, or you won't get any results. https://selectree.calpoly.edu/

I have a silk floss tree (Ceiba speciosa, formerly Chorisia speciosa) in my front yard, and it seems to fit your description with regard to size. The only time it is messy is what the seed pods open and spread the "silk," but you can easily remove the seed pods to prevent this - they really do not bother me. I also like the flowers, and I especially like the textured trunk, but the squirrels definitely do not! It can get big, but it does not grow that quickly, and so it takes it a very long time to get huge.

Cassia fistula. Grows fine in the bay area. I wouldn't mind seeing more of them in the bay area.

Lars, I dont think ive ever seen this tree before. Oh, wait.. Seeing a close up of the trunk - big "thorns" on it, correct? You must be in So Cal. And it must be more tolerant there. I don't think I've seen any like that up in the Bay Area.

Stan - that tree looks like it'd be messy. Is it not?