Residents of San Francisco are exploring alternative solutions to avoid the closure of Upper Great Highway.
An official opponent of Proposition K stated that residents from affected neighborhoods in San Francisco are exploring options to prevent the permanent closure of the Upper Great Highway. Prop K, a measure to replace the Upper Great Highway with a park, narrowly passed in the recent election, receiving 54.7 percent of the vote. The election results indicated strong opposition to Prop K from various western and southern areas of the city, including the Sunset District and Richmond District.
Residents in these neighborhoods are considering legal actions, such as lawsuits, to hinder the enactment of the proposition or delay the permanent closure, as per Richie Greenberg, a registered opponent of Prop K. They are also contemplating a recall of Sunset District Supervisor Joel Engardio, who advocated for Prop K.
The Upper Great Highway, located between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard in San Francisco, is set to be transformed into a car-free promenade by early 2025, as per a statement from the Recreation and Parks Department on November 21. The department, which oversees the Great Highway, including the Upper Great Highway and a 1.7-mile extension, received a $1 million grant from the California State Coastal Conservancy on the same day.
The grant will be utilized to assess measures to protect the coast from sea level rise and erosion, revitalize natural dunes, and enhance habitats for plants and animals. Phil Ginsburg, General Manager of the Recreation and Parks Department, referred to this as an extraordinary opportunity to develop a park that not only enhances the coastline but also prepares for the impacts of climate change.
The legal text of Prop K specifies that the Upper Great Highway must remain accessible to emergency vehicles and other authorized vehicles. Greenberg expressed skepticism about considering the closed highway as a park, stating that it would have limited usage and cannot be entirely blocked off.
According to Greenberg, the dispute over Prop K represents a clash between residents who rely on the Great Highway for daily activities and those who envision it as a park. San Francisco has a history of safeguarding its waterfront, exemplified by the removal of the Embarcadero Freeway after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, despite opposition from Chinatown residents and businesses.
The freeway, which was intended to link the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, was eventually demolished in 1991. In its place, the Central Subway line was planned to compensate for the lost traffic to Chinatown.
