Editor:

We are voting Yes on K to transform an unreliable roadway into an unparalleled park

Long-time Outer Sunset resident Eddy Rubin writes about Ocean Beach in his soon-to-be-published book:

“Seven million people live in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of North America’s most densely populated regions. But Ocean Beach feels apart, always turning away from the metropolis and toward the sea. Above all, OB, as we call it, is wildness.”

Ocean Beach is a unique place. That is especially true for westside residents, for whom the place where our City meets the wildness of the Pacific Ocean stirs a sense of neighborhood pride. This November, Proposition K offers us a chance to transform this piece of our coast into a park that will help preserve Ocean Beach and allow more people to enjoy the wildness that is OB.

As drivers, we know that the Great Highway from Lincoln to Sloat is losing most of its utility as a roadway. Coastal erosion is permanently closing the southern end of the road; the law closing that section unanimously passed at the Board of Supervisors in April. This means the Upper Great Highway will no longer be a direct link in and out of the City – a use case that accounts for almost 80% of trips on the road. Further, the section that Prop. K would turn into a park – from Lincoln to Sloat – closes 32-65 weekdays each year due to sand buildup, forcing drivers to take frequent, unexpected inland detours.

However we vote on Prop. K, Mother Nature is bringing big changes to our westside commutes that will require routing inland toward Sunset Boulevard. Prop. K asks us: If we’re already turning inland, are we willing to make that turn at Lincoln instead of Sloat in exchange for a new oceanfront park?

The weekend pilot promenade is already the City’s third most visited park space according to the Recreation and Parks Department, demonstrating a clear desire by people to enjoy the oceanfront without going onto the beach itself. Parents with strollers, people using wheelchairs, kids learning to ride bikes – the pilot has opened the coast for them to enjoy in ways not possible on the beach.

That pilot expires next year, after which the Upper Great Highway will return to full-time use as a roadway. This election is the only chance for voters to have a direct say before that happens. Park opponents worked for years to undo the weekend pilot through multiple legal challenges including an appeal to the Coastal Commission this May, and even sponsored Prop. I in 2022 to require the Great Highway be used 24/7/365. Their persistence highlights a clear need for the voters to settle a simple question: Do San Franciscans want part of our coast to be a park?

The environmental benefits of a park are well documented. According to the SF Estuary Institute, a park promenade offers “the greatest and most immediate ecological benefits” for Ocean Beach because it “would eliminate fast-moving vehicles that restrict the movement of many animals, and reduce car-associated light and noise which can disorient and harm wildlife.” The opportunity to restore the coastal dunes and remove pollution from car and tire brakes, which goes directly into the ocean and harms wildlife, has also garnered endorsements of Prop. K from the City’s leading environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, Surfrider Foundation, Golden Gate Bird Alliance, the League of Conservation Voters and others. Proposition K provides a park for San Franciscans today, but more importantly helps preserve Ocean Beach for future generations.

The success of the pilot park shows that people want to recreate by the coast. But the weekend-only pilot does not allow even the most basic park features like seating and art, because they get in the way of cars on weekdays. Prop. K would fix that, allowing the Recreation and Park Department to manage the space as a full-time park with full-time park amenities.

JFK Promenade in Golden Gate Park shows us what that can look like, and how successful it can be. Without any additional park funding, converting JFK Drive into a promenade increased visitation to Golden Gate Park by 36%. Simple, low-cost improvements like seating and art improve the park experience for all visitors, but especially seniors and people with limited mobility. The same is possible on our coast. If Prop. K passes, the Recreation and Park Department will finally be able to make similar improvements to transform the Upper Great Highway into an oceanfront park promenade. Prop. K is also the necessary first step to begin conversations about what larger improvements the community would like to see, like adding bathrooms or other park amenities. Those conversations can’t start until we first know whether the space will be a park in the first place.

In a challenging time for our City, Proposition K is a bright spot of opportunity. We can continue to fight Mother Nature to keep an unreliable roadway, or we can seize the opportunity to transform our coast into an unparalleled park space that will help us preserve Ocean Beach for the next generation. Will you join us in voting Yes on K?

Lucas Lux and Jane Lew, residents of the Outer Sunset and Outer Richmond respectively, and volunteer directors for the Friends of Great Highway Park