For a few hours on Sunday, Oct. 31, the Upper Great Highway between Taraval Street and Sloat Boulevard was transformed into a Halloween festival for trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving and dancing.
After more than a year of being closed to motor vehicles during the pandemic, when the Upper Great Highway was opened to cars again on weekdays last August, some saw this as a reasonable compromise. But a couple of dozen bicyclists who felt blindsided by the decision felt like they had been sold out, betrayed.
Our webpage is www.greathauntway.com, and the event is Oct. 31, 3-6 p.m. at Taraval.
Stretch from Lincoln Way to Sloat Blvd will continue to be closed to car traffic on weekends and holidays, but will open up to car traffic during the week
“It’s certainly a complex process and issue,” said Edward Wright, legislative aide to District 4 Supervisor Gordon Mar. The Upper Great Highway is in Mar’s district.
… anyone who has lived in this City for any length of time knows that “pilot programs” almost always become permanent.
The San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission (Rec. and Park) and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board (SFMTA) recently announced a special public hearing to discuss a “proposed pilot” on the Great Highway.
For at least the 31 years I have lived in the Sunset District, the UGH, bordered, on either side by parallel pedestrian/biking paths, has effectively and safely served its function of providing a (quite scenic!) route of access between Sloat Boulevard and Lincoln Way, without complaint and to everybody’s satisfaction.
Nearly $500,000 was allocated in February by San Francisco supervisors, acting as the county’s regional transportation authority, for the Great Highway Outer Sunset Traffic Management Project.
To allow plenty of space for people to socially distance and get some outdoor exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic, Upper Great Highway from Sloat Boulevard to Lincoln Way has been closed for months to vehicular traffic.
The meeting ostensibly was for SFCTA to present and discuss various possibilities for the Upper Great Highway’s future, but it was the most biased, agenda-driven presentation I have ever witnessed, and it quickly became clear that from SFCTA’s perspective – the permanent closure option – is fete accompli.
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 