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Great Highway Promenade

Vote Yes on Prop K

All San Franciscans Will Get a New Park, Drivers Still Have Richmond and Sunset Access

Editor’s Note:The Westside Observer does not endorse candidates or issues, opinions of its authors and reporters are their own, not the Westside Observer.

Joel Engardio
Joel Engardio

• • • • • • • • • • September 25, 2024 • • • • • • • • • •

Why transform a section of the Great Highway into an oceanside park? I believe it will help the environment, boost local merchants, and bring people joy.

And cars will still be able to get where they need to go.

It’s important to understand that Prop K does not touch the section of the Great Highway that actually connects the Richmond and Sunset neighborhoods. Drivers will still be able to use the Great Highway to go around Golden Gate Park and reach the Sunset 24/7.

quotes

Only 5% of drivers use the Great Highway as a connection between the Richmond and Sunset districts. The section that connects the two neighborhoods, west of Golden Gate Park, is not under consideration for closure. It will remain open to cars 24/7.”

Prop K only deals with the section south of Lincoln, which has no on/off ramps for car access into the Sunset.

Remember, the Great Highway south of Sloat is already legislated to close. We are losing the direct connection to Daly City. Now we have to decide what’s the best use of the section between Lincoln and Sloat.

There’s been a lot of misinformation flying around, so let’s talk about the facts.

What are the travel patterns on the Great Highway?
A County Transportation Authority report says 64% of Great Highway usage is travel from the Richmond district to the peninsula, bypassing the Sunset district and San Francisco. But the road south of Sloat is already legislated to close due to extreme coastal erosion. With the greatest utility of the Great Highway gone, drivers will be forced to turn left at Sloat and detour inland to the peninsula. Prop K would have drivers turn left at Lincoln instead, using Sunset Boulevard for points south. A study by SFMTA says the time difference on this route is three extra minutes from the Richmond to Daly City. 

Only 5% of drivers use the Great Highway as a connection between the Richmond and Sunset districts. The section that connects the two neighborhoods, west of Golden Gate Park, is not under consideration for closure. It will remain open to cars 24/7.

Can Lincoln and Sunset Blvd accommodate more cars?
SFMTA data shows Great Highway traffic is down nearly 40 percent pre-pandemic. Traffic is down 30 percent on Sunset Boulevard, which has capacity to absorb additional traffic.

We know this because Sunset Boulevard is already handling the additional traffic when the Great Highway is unexpectedly closed due to sand build-up — up to 65 days a year.

Do we want to maintain an unpredictable route that forces drivers to turn left at Sloat Boulevard, or do we want a more predictable route by making a left turn at Lincoln Way? If we commit to making a left turn at Lincoln, we have the opportunity to create a coastal park and implement traffic flow improvements to get drivers to the same place with only a few minutes difference.

What will a park look like?
In the short term, the ballot measure will let the city start the planning process to close the road between Lincoln and Sloat to allow for a full-time coastal park promenade. It will look like what it already does on the weekends when the road is closed to traffic. This is already a success with 9,400 people on average visiting each weekend, making the promenade San Francisco’s third most popular park. Data show that 4,000 people visit on Saturdays, 4,000 on Sundays, and 1,400 on Friday afternoons.

Long term, everyone has the opportunity to dream about the potential of a coastal park. The ballot measure purposefully doesn’t commit to any one vision for a park, which allows for more community input on what the park can eventually become.

What about funding?
If the ballot measure passes, there will be short term and long term funding. Initially, city departments would continue to fund park maintenance and sand clearing. The Recreation and Parks Department could install low-cost amenities, like benches for seating. Eventually, there would be a public process for park design and capital improvements. State and federal grants, a future park bond, and public-private partnerships like a park conservancy could provide funds. But we can’t begin that process until the voters decide how to use this space.

The city controller recently issued a memo that says the closure of the Great Highway from Lincoln to Sloat will save millions of dollars by reducing the need for sand removal and traffic-related capital improvements — namely the traffic signals that are past their life span. They are rusted out and need replacing.

These savings can be reinvested in the new park and pay for traffic flow improvements.

Coastal protections
If the Great Highway becomes a park, the area would be protected by the state Coastal Commission. That means there will not be housing development on the Great Highway or the streets adjacent to it. The City Charter also protects parkland from being used for non-recreational purposes without a vote of the people — another safeguard against any housing development on the Great Highway.

The planning department is proposing new zoning heights throughout the city, but the Lower Great Highway and 48th Avenue are not under consideration for rezoning. The heights on those streets will remain at their current 40 feet. One exception is a 1979 state law that allows for three additional stories if the housing is 100 percent affordable. That means we will not see a wall of towers and we will not turn the outer Sunset into Miami Beach.

Will we lose an emergency evacuation route?
San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management issued a statement that the Great Highway is not a designated emergency evacuation route.

Why isn’t a part-time park option on the ballot?
A part-time park/highway option is not sustainable. It’s difficult to create lasting park infrastructure when the weekend park has to convert back to a road every Monday morning.

An option to create a hybrid half park/half road between Lincoln and Sloat was studied during the decision to close the Great Highway south of Sloat. This option would create one lane of traffic in each direction, which would not offer the convenience drivers desire. It would also create hazards for the people crossing traffic to use the park.

The hybrid option was also prohibitively expensive because it would require massive infrastructure upgrades to current codes, including a physical separation between the two lanes of traffic.

Dedicating half of the area to a full-time park and the other half to a full-time road would cost the most while providing the least desirable experience for both drivers and park goers.

A hybrid park/highway would still have all the expenses of maintaining the road for cars, even when the road has far less utility with everything already set to close south of Sloat. For example, the signal lights on the Great Highway between Lincoln and Sloat have reached the end of their lifespan. They are rusted out and need replacement — a cost of nearly $5 million that could be used for something else.

What happens if Prop K fails or passes?
If Prop K fails in November, the weekend pilot closure will continue through December 2025. Anything beyond then would require separate action by the Board of Supervisors or a ballot initiative in 2026.

If Prop K wins, the current weekend pilot will continue as-is. There will be a long and public process about the how/what/when of a transition to a full-time park. It won't happen overnight. It could take a year or longer of status quo. It will still require state Coastal Commission approval.

What is the political reality?
This issue has been in the public debate for more than three years.

There was a ballot measure in 2022 called Prop I that would have opened the Great Highway to cars 24/7. I opposed Prop I because it would have taken the weekend closure away. I supported the weekend closure. I also talked about the pending closure of the highway South of Sloat due to coastal erosion and how it would create the opportunity for a permanent oceanside park between Lincoln and Sloat. This language was even on my campaign website in 2022.

A lot has changed since the campaign two years ago. Yes, the compromise was good.

But voters overwhelmingly rejected Prop I in November 2022. It failed 65 to 35 percent citywide and it failed 53 to 47 percent in the Sunset. Then, in December 2022, the Board of Supervisors voted 9-2 to refuse changing the Friday hours to include the evening commute.

In the past year, advocates wanting to open the Great Highway to cars failed three attempts to appeal the closure. The most recent failed appeal was at the California Coastal Commission in May 2024. That month, the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to close the Great Highway south of Sloat. The highway will never again be a direct connection to Daly City and Interstate 280.

All of these developments since 2022 have changed everything. We must be honest about the political reality. A majority of the Board of Supervisors currently supports closing the Great Highway between Lincoln and Sloat.

There won't be another election until June 2026. By then, the Board of Supervisors will have already decided the future of the Great Highway. That's why I believe we must let voters have a say this November.

What to do with the Great Highway is a policy issue that reasonable people disagree on. I believe voters should get to hear the facts and make their own decision. Every voter deserves to have their voice heard.

This is a once-in-a-century opportunity to bring a renaissance to San Francisco and the Sunset District.

Think of the future generations who will get better access to the coast and a gathering place for exercise, art, music, and culture. Imagine how small businesses can benefit if the Sunset is home to an iconic park every tourist wants to visit. Two train lines offer a direct ride to the beach. There will be a tremendous spillover effect for our businesses.

We can have all this benefit while also making traffic flow improvements to ensure everyone can get where they need to go.

Please read my full blog post for more information: https://engardio.com/blog/great-highway-future

 

Joel Engardio serves as Supervisor for District 4.

September 2024

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