San Francisco politicians can create a latest park overnight

The need of the voters is evident. One month ago, an awesome 65% of San Franciscans rejected Proposition I, which might have eliminated Great Highway Park and allowed private automobile traffic on the Upper Great Highway 24 hours a day, seven days per week. Voters sent a message that San Franciscans want Great Highway Park to stay open to people — not cars — and if anything, our elected officials ought to be expanding park hours. After spending a whole lot of hours talking to voters and neighbors about this space, I can inform you that the overwhelming majority of San Franciscans need a everlasting 24/7 Great Highway Park, including residents of the Sunset District, which borders the park.

Most individuals didn’t realize that Great Highway Park was only permitted under the town’s COVID-19-related emergency order, and will have gone away at any moment. That’s why Supervisor Gordon Mar introduced laws in June to preserve Great Highway Park as a three-year pilot until Dec. 31, 2025, allowing city agencies to check usage and traffic patterns that can inform a long-term decision. That laws, which only recently passed the Board of Supervisors by a vote of 9 to 2, is a critical step toward transforming the Great Highway inside the following three years.

Since Great Highway Park’s creation in March 2020, nearly 3 million visitors have flocked to the oceanfront public space to construct community, improve their well-being, learn to ride bikes and shop at local businesses. People love Great Highway Park, even despite its lack of park features like benches, tables, wayfinding signs, children’s play structures and bathrooms, which can’t be added until the park is made car-free 24/7, as Friends of Great Highway Park envisions for the space.

People of all different backgrounds and ages profit from a Great Highway Park, as highlighted in these heartwarming videos. And there’s broad support across the town for keeping Great Highway Park open to people: A majority of voters in every supervisorial district supported Great Highway Park by rejecting Proposition I, including greater than two-thirds of voters in Districts 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9. Of the precincts which are closest to the park within the Sunset, just about all (95%) voted to maintain the park open to people on Fridays and weekends, while 86% of District 7 precincts and 69% of District 1 precincts voted to maintain Great Highway Park open to people on Fridays and weekends. Even “Westside” automobile drivers support a 24/7 Great Highway Park.

This space has been studied and evaluated at length for greater than 10 years, with an in depth public process that features the Ocean Beach Master Plan and the detailed traffic study of the Great Highway Concepts Evaluation Report. It’s also garnered attention far and wide, including within the Recent York Times, which recognized Great Highway Park as a transformative public space. 

All of the ingredients for a world-class space are in place. The issue is Supervisor Mar’s pilot laws — while appreciated — is the bare minimum. The Board of Supervisors and mayor ought to be ramping things up, planning ahead for a 24/7 Great Highway Park, versus incremental solutions. Making Great Highway Park a everlasting 24/7 destination — prefer it was a lot of the past two-and-a-half years — would create a protected, peaceful and joyous space where children play, elders connect, and other people of all ages and talents can experience the soothing sounds and smells of the Pacific Ocean, regardless of the day or time.

If our elected officials are visionary enough, they may make Great Highway Park a 24/7 gathering space. The ball is of their court: Will the Board of Supervisors and mayor do what must be done to determine a completely accessible, equitable and sustainable future for our oceanfront? I hope they do.

Luke Bornheimer is a community organizer and board member of Friends of Great Highway Park