The San Francisco Sierra Club supported Prop. K in 2024. I did not agree then with closing the Upper Great Highway to cars between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard, and I do not agree with the the club’s opposition to Prop. G.
Comparison photos of the Great Highway and Cabrillo Street 54 years apart.
Throughout the past few years, media coverage has endlessly fixated on traffic volume metrics, safety statistics and granular debates about commute times. Yet, amid the noise of endless technical debates, something fundamental and crucial is missing from the conversation: the immense, transformational and long-term benefit of building a lasting community within Sunset Dunes Park compared to the fleeting, short-term convenience of turning it back into a coastal highway for car traffic.
When I gave the commencement speech for political science graduates at San Francisco State University last year, I told the class:
“You are charged with analyzing and navigating some of the world’s most intractable issues. But if you want to practice your skills for the State Department or the United Nations, go to any neighborhood association meeting in San Francisco and ask the following questions: ‘Should the Great Highway be a highway for cars or a park for people? Where should we build housing? How high can the buildings be?’”
Comparison photos of the Great Highway at Point Lobos Avenue 105 years apart.
Prop. K will be closely watched since it will determine the future of the Great Highway. If you’re reading this before Nov. 5, below are some points to consider as you decide how to vote.
Why transform a section of the Great Highway into an oceanside park? I believe it will help the environment, boost local merchants and bring people joy.
In a move that does nothing to promote the businesses of struggling Taraval merchants and will harm homeowners and renters who live along the Lower Great Highway and 48th Avenue, Joel Engardio solicited and received approval from SFMTA to close both lanes of the Lower Great Highway between Ulloa and Santiago on Saturday, Sept. 21, and Oct. 19, for 15 hours – 9 a.m. to midnight – to hold night markets.
Plans for 216 new residential units to house low-income senior citizens are moving forward and a team of architects has been selected to design a seven-story building between La Playa Street and Great Highway at Lincoln Way.
The proposal to transform The Great Highway into a permanent oceanfront park is not just an idea – it’s a vision for a brighter, more connected future for our City.
Starting Monday, June 17, San Francisco Public Works will begin the annual sand maintenance activities at Ocean Beach. City crews will redistribute approximately 30,000 cubic yards of sand over the next two weeks. The aim is to reduce the likelihood of sand buildup on the adjacent Great Highway during windy weather.
Redirected traffic provides no direct access between Great Highway and Judah Street.
Improving public safety is the reason given by city officials who created the plan for angled parking to replace parallel along the Lower Great Highway between Lincoln Way and Kirkham Street, yet the impact on people living in vehicles there is obvious.
Comparison photos of Fulton Street at Great Highway 111 years apart.
Comparison photos of Sloat Boulevard at Great Highway 77 years apart.
