By Neal Wong
San Francisco voters defeated Proposition G 62.65% to 37.35%, according to preliminary results with 100% of precincts reporting.
Titled “The Great Highway for Everyone Act,” Proposition G would have closed the Upper Great Highway between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard to cars from Fridays at 6 p.m. to Mondays at 4 a.m. and on holidays, with Sunset Dunes park continuing on weekends. It needed a simple majority to pass.
Prop G’s defeat was celebrated by Friends of Sunset Dunes, which campaigned against it.
“We’re so grateful that San Franciscans rejected Prop. G, making it clear after a six year debate that Sunset Dunes is here to stay,” said Lucas Lux, Campaign Manager for “No on G.” “Thank you to every volunteer and neighbor who powered our campaign by knocking doors and talking to their communities about Sunset Dunes.”
Otto Pippenger of the “Yes on G” campaign pointed to campaign funding as a reason for the loss. According to the San Francisco Ethics Commission, as of today, the “No on G” campaign had raised $1,612,220, nearly 10 times more than the $166,475 raised by “Yes on G.”
“Money is the greatest predictor,” Pippenger said. “We’ve seen a steady weakening of egalitarian principles in our electoral systems over the last couple of years, right? Anytime you go up against four or five times your budget, the odds are against you.”
Pippenger did not share any plans for a further effort to reopen the Upper Great Highway to vehicle traffic as of Tuesday evening.
District 4 Supervisor Alan Wong, who won a full term, shared his reaction.
“While Proposition G did not pass as I had hoped, I respect the decision of San Francisco voters and remain proud to have supported a compromise that reflected concerns raised by many Sunset residents,” said Wong.
Wong continued, saying that traffic, pedestrian safety and mobility are important issues for the community.
“Our responsibility now is to move forward together and address those challenges,” Wong said. “Whether a resident supported Proposition G or opposed it, I will continue working with all residents and City departments to ensure the Sunset residents’ concerns are heard and that practical improvements are made on the surrounding streets.”
The measure was the third citywide vote on the highway since 2022. That year, residents voted 65.11% to 34.89% to reject Prop. I, which would have restored full-time car access. In 2024, voters approved Prop. K 54.73% to 45.27%, closing the road to cars permanently.
Sunset Dunes opened on April 12, 2025. The Recreation and Parks Department’s sensors counted more than 1.7 million visits in the park’s first full year.
Prop. G got on the ballot through a citizen petition. In January, Wong tried to place a reopening measure on the June ballot but fell one signature short of the four supervisors required, with only Supervisors Connie Chan and Chyanne Chen signing. Organizers then launched a signature drive, submitting 15,924 signatures against the 10,615 required. The Department of Elections certified the measure July 23. Friends of Sunset Dunes sued to remove it, alleging false statements in the petition, but it was denied in August.
According to the Controller’s Aug. 10 analysis, if Prop. G had won, it would have cost the City $9.8 million in one-time costs and approximately $500,000 to $1.9 million annually.
“Yes on G” was led by Pippenger, a recall organizer, and spokesperson Jamie Hughes. It was backed by Supervisor Alan Wong, District 4 candidate Albert Chow, the Chinese American Democratic Club, the Richmond District Democratic Club and the San Francisco Taxpayers Association.
The “No on G” campaign was run by Friends of Sunset Dunes, with Lux as manager and Catie Stewart as a spokesperson. It was supported by the San Francisco Democratic Party, state Sen. Scott Wiener, GrowSF, SPUR, the Sierra Club, the San Francisco Chronicle’s editorial board and District 4 Supervisor Candidate Jeremy Greco.
This story will be updated with the final results when they are released. Preliminary results are as of Nov. 3 at 8:45 p.m.
Categories: Breaking News
This is disappointing. But not surprising, given that Friends Of Sunset Dunes is a political action committee funded by multiple billionaires, Scott Wiener, and so many more corporate and private interests. Multiple independent media outlets have proved that.
Guess what? Even if G had won, all the corporate and billionaire-funded interests cited here (GrowSF, SPUR, etc.) would have gotten together and devised a legal way to reverse it, the same way that Uber and Lyft got together in 2019 to create “poison pill” legislation to kill a tax on rideshare companies, and the same way that Sergey Brin just spent **$10 million fighting the billionaire tax that would only cost him and others a few hundred thousand dollars. (And creating more “poison-pill” legislation in the form of Proposition 41 and 42.)
No matter what you hear from Friends Of Sunset Dunes and the coming media blitz in the coming days, just know that the sound of the Open The Great Highway people “complaining” has been the sound of democracy in action. The Open The Great Highway people did it on their own, and with their own money. They didn’t just buy into a media campaign financed by endless money from billionaires and corporate property developers.