NOVEMBER 2024 VOTER GUIDE
NO ENDORSEMENT
ON PROP K
Permanently Closing the Great Highway to establish a park
ENDORSE-O-METER SAYS: NO ENDORSEMENT
The Great Highway is slowly being swallowed by Ocean Beach—San Francisco either needs to spend money to turn it into a park, or spend money on neverending maintenance to clear sand off the roadway. That decision should be made by the Board of Supervisors, but members of the board gave the decision to voters to allow voters to have a say. Land use and street safety are hotly contested issues in San Francisco, with drivers battling urbanists on any change that might slow traffic or take away street parking. And since there are still open questions about what impact turning the Great Highway into a park will have on surrounding neighborhoods, that’s a decision San Franciscans don’t have enough information to make. We’re not endorsing Proposition K because we can’t support this kind of flawed governance.
The Context
Since 2020, the section of the Great Highway between Lincoln Boulevard and Sloat Boulevard has served as a part or full-time park space, first under an emergency order and later under a weekend-only pilot expiring at the end of 2025. This measure would close the road to cars permanently, turning the road into a wide boulevard for walkers, hikers, and bikers to access Ocean Beach. Unfortunately, this measure is another example of the Board of Supervisors punting their responsibility to legislate back to voters. The Board of Supervisors should have decided the issue directly instead of taking up voters’ time and attention with a ballot measure.
The traffic lights on the Great Highway are deteriorating from exposure to the salt air, and it costs over a million dollars each year to keep the roadway clear of sand. Even with those efforts, the Great Highway is closed up to 65 times per year due to sand accumulation. But voters are being asked to decide this when they don’t have all the information about the impacts of this change—traffic flow studies for the road closure haven’t even been completed yet. There are still way too many open questions about this change to ask voters to make an informed decision. Additionally, there’s still a year and a half left on the pilot program of the Great Highway being closed on weekends and open to traffic during the week—plenty of time for problem solving and legislating.
The Money
The Department of Public Works estimates that it currently costs $1.7 million each year to clear the sand off the Great Highway so motor vehicles can use the road, and the SFMTA estimates it will cost over $6 million to replace traffic lights damaged by the salt air. The Controller's report indicates that this measure will remove maintenance costs such as sand removal and traffic light replacement.
Additional Details
The Board of Supervisors can make these kinds of decisions. In May 2024, the Board of Supervisors legislated the permanent closure of the Great Highway south of Sloat Boulevard, as parts of the road had fallen into the ocean and the costs of maintaining it became too expensive.
Support & Opposition
Urbanists and safe streets organizations like Friends of Great Highway Park and Kid Safe SF support this measure; they’re joined by elected officials like Mayor London Breed, District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio, District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston, District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar, District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen, District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, State Senator Scott Wiener, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, along with San Francisco’s Democratic Party and environmental organizations like the Sierra Club and Surfrider Foundation.
Some business organizations like the Sunset branch of the Chinatown Merchants United Association of San Francisco, elected officials like District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan, and candidates like mayoral candidates Mark Farrell, Daniel Lurie, and Aaron Peskin, as well as District 1 Supervisor candidate Marjan Philhour have all voiced concerns that the measure takes space away from cars that families and seniors on the west side of San Francisco rely on. Additionally, District 7 Supervisor Matt Boschetto has set up a committee to oppose the passage of Prop K.
Supporting
SF League of Pissed Off Voters, YIMBY Action, Grow SF, SF League of Conservation Voters, SF Women’s Political Committee, SF Bicycle Coalition, Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, United Democratic Club, Alice B Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, Bernal Heights Democratic Club, Eastern Neighborhoods Democratic Club, Noe Valley Democratic Club
Opposing
SF Bay Guardian, SF Green Party, SF Republican Party, D11 Democratic Club, Ed Lee Asian Pacific Democratic Club, Chinese American Democratic Club
Paid for by TogetherSF Action. Not authorized by any candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate. Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.