Editor:
I’m a District 4 resident who loves Sunset Dunes.
I’m a senior and go there frequently to walk, and I see so many people there. I always see a lot of other walkers of all ages, families with young children, couples, friends walking together, as well as runners and bicyclists.
On the days I’m there, I notice that the bicyclists stay in the fast lanes, so we can safely walk in the slow lanes at whatever pace we want. I just love it. I can’t walk on the beach too much, and those with walkers, strollers or wheelchairs certainly can’t, and no one can when the tides are high.
Most of all, I find walking at Sunset Dunes to be absolutely exhilarating, right above the beach and the ocean, with the sound of the waves, the smell of the salt air, and in the evenings, the incredible sunsets. There is nothing else like it in San Francisco. Golden Gate Park is beautiful, but it’s not comparable to walking above the ocean at Sunset Dunes. It invigorates my spirit and my soul.
I realize there are some local residents who are inconvenienced by the closure of a section of the Upper Great Highway. But the Upper Great Highway and the beach belong to the City as a whole. I believe that Sunset Dunes will become a must-see destination, and a time will come when San Franciscans can’t imagine our City without such a park. And when we get our giant pandas at the Zoo (and the mayor told me at a recent meeting that we still are expecting them), after seeing the pandas and other animals, visitors will be able to take a beautiful walk at Sunset Dunes.
I’m so glad we have Sunset Dunes. And I thank Joel Engardio for having the vision to take this step forward for our City.
Paula Katz
Categories: letter to the editor
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 
If you are going to close a road, close a road!
Don’t bring in rusting giraffes, a skate park, and other crap.
Before the special use change, the road was closed on weekends.
When I went, it was largely empty. The weather is mostly terrible, and the wind blows sand in your face.
However, it was great to walk down that deserted road.
We don’t need food trucks, bad “art”, scooter rentals, and other additions such as annoying plastic banners.
And the way this was put on the ballot really stunk.
Melgar, Preston and Engardio are all to blame for not holding even one meeting before putting this on the ballot.
Taxpayers were deprived of a voice because elite bicyclists want what they want!
Process was discarded, and it ended YIMBY and gentrifier Engardio’s career.
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The road was closed to create a city park. Parks have things like art and events. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, true, but there is nothing there preventing someone from a walk from end to end, as the letter-writer states.
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This is just an observation. As of 10:30pm Judi Gorki’s Letter to the Editor: Benefits of Reopening the Great Highway has 10 likes. Paula’s has none.
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Love this and fully agree! Thanks for sharing!
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Love this letter….see you at the dunes!
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It costs THE EXACT SAME MONEY to sweep the road for bicycles.
They lied. They continue to lie.
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I agree, Paula! I am an Outer Sunset resident / District 4 voter who shares your love for Sunset Dunes — it has been such a positive addition to our community, a boon to small business (it’s amazing how much new foot traffic and increased revenue our restaurants and stores are reporting since it opened!), and so beneficial to our health and well-being.
It’s been very heartening to talk with friends and neighbors who originally voted against Prop K but have grown to love Sunset Dunes and now consider it a vital resource and want to see it stay. I hope good sense prevails.
We should not be wasting public resources on a ballot measure to undo a settled issue upheld by the courts. Let’s continue to show up for our park and our community — and push our representatives to focus on issues that are much more pressing!
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I don’t get it?? Why do you want to walk on a stretch of asphalt where you can only see the ocean for 5 blocks, when you can walk in the sand for over 5 miles along the ocean? You can only see the ocean between Noriega and Santiago. You have miles of roads in Golden Gate Park to walk on if you prefer pavement and don’t care about walking in sand along the ocean. You should try walking from Lincoln along the beach promenade all the way up to Sutro baths parking lot, and be daring off pavement and walk the trail all the way to Lincoln Park. From Lincoln to above the Cliff House you can see the ocean for almost 3 miles of unobstructed view of the ocean with no dumb man made objects. In the fall, you might even see whales and a bunch of purposes jumping around.
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