Voting YES on Proposition K in San Francisco will turn a 2-mile highway stretch into a permanent oceanside park, transforming an unreliable road into an open, accessible destination for everyone.
When the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020, a portion of the Upper Great Highway along Ocean Beach closed to cars and welcomed residents to enjoy the highway as a recreational and social public space. But this arrangement is set to expire in 2025. If passed, Prop K would ensure the highway stretch can become a great destination for everyone to enjoy for generations to come.
Learn more about Proposition K.
Why It Matters
Climate change is currently causing parts of Ocean Beach to erode and making the highway unreliable and threatening its longevity and safety. The highway is already closed up to 65 days per year due to sand removal, costing the City nearly $2 million annually.
According to the campaign’s website, “the southern end of the Great Highway is closing permanently due to coastal erosion, so drivers will have to reroute inland the same distance whether this measure wins or loses. If this measure wins, drivers would turn inland one street earlier—at Lincoln instead of Sloat.”
The SFMTA has studied the pilot park’s impact and reported that traffic on the Great Highway and all nearby streets remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels. The most impacted trip would be from the Outer Richmond to south of San Francisco, which may take three more minutes during rush hour.”The oceanside park would enhance enjoyment of our region’s natural lands and allow community members to enjoy playgrounds, dog parks, and community events.
Making the space a permanent park will also better enable dune restoration work to protect them from rising sea levels, while removing invasive ice plants and planting native species. Closing the highway to cars would encourage non-car based transportation such as bicycles and pedestrian access to the city’s Sunset neighborhoods. Additionally, routing cars inland reduces automobile pollution from San Francisco’s sensitive coastal habitat.
Prop K is an opportunity to rehabilitate the coastal habitat by sparing it from the impacts of car commuting. Greenbelt Alliance is excited to endorse Prop K to improve public access to our region’s urban and natural spaces, ensuring everyone has the opportunity to enjoy our public lands.
Photo courtesy of Yes on Prop K campaign website.
