{"id":494247,"date":"2026-10-13T03:24:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T03:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/494247\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T03:24:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T03:24:18","slug":"prop-g-brings-fight-over-great-highway-to-san-francisco-voters-nbc-bay-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/494247\/","title":{"rendered":"Prop G brings fight over Great Highway to San Francisco voters \u2013 NBC Bay Area"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This upcoming Election Day will be something of a d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu for San Francisco voters, who for the second time will be asked to decide the future of the Great Highway and Sunset Dunes Park, through Proposition G.<\/p>\n<p>The ballot measure was crafted by opponents of the voter-approved Proposition K in 2024 that permanently closed a section of the Great Highway and allowed the new Sunset Dunes Park to operate full time. Prop G would reopen the Great Highway to cars during the week and allow it to be used as a park on weekends and holidays. It would be similar to how the roadway and park functioned before the passage of Prop K.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re simply saying, &#8216;Well, let\u2019s share it,&#8217;\u201d said Richard Correia, a retired San Francisco police commander who lives in the neighborhood and is part of the Prop G campaign. \u201cLet\u2019s share it during the week when people need to get around, and on the weekends and holidays, lets recreate here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The park, which runs two miles along Ocean Beach, officially opened full time in April 2025. The Parks and Recreation Department said it attracts about 1.7 million people a year \u2014 although opponents believe that number is overinflated.<\/p>\n<p>The passage of Prop K was so controversial in San Francisco\u2019s western neighborhoods that residents voted to recall Supervisor Joel Engardio for supporting it.<\/p>\n<p>But supporters of the park said it has been a huge success since its opening \u2014 drawing thousands of people to skate, bike, walk, jog and play on the roadway that fronts the beach and ocean. Since the park went full time, artists have added new installations and the park recently celebrated the opening of Shipwreck Cove, a play area for kids that resembles a shipwreck.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/shipwreck-cove-2.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"   alt=\"The new Shipwreck Cove children\u2019s playground sits on Sunset Dunes Park.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tJoe Rosato Jr.\/NBC Bay AreaJoe Rosato Jr.\/NBC Bay Area<\/p>\n<p>The new Shipwreck Cove children\u2019s playground sits on Sunset Dunes Park. It would have to be removed if Proposition G reopens the roadway to cars during the week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has been amazing just to see the community and the city make this space their own,\u201d said Heidi Moseson, a member of Friends of Sunset Dunes who campaigned for Prop K. \u201cIf Prop G passes, park amenities like this amazing new playground behind me would have to get ripped out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Critics of the park said the partial closure of the Great Highway between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard has forced 18,000 cars a day onto residential streets. According to Corriea, it has slowed response times for emergency vehicles, led to more car crashes and has impacted the neighborhood\u2019s quality of life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can\u2019t squeeze 15,000 to 20,000 cars a day and squeeze them into a neighborhood without impacts,\u201d Correia said.<\/p>\n<p>But Moseson disputed that assessment, saying nearby Sunset Boulevard has been able to pick up the slack for the re-routed traffic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had a lot of traffic engineers and examples from other places telling us, &#8216;Actually, we think the nearby Sunset Boulevard six-lane road can handle it,&#8217;\u201d Moseson said. \u201cAnd we\u2019ve seen it can handle it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Parks and Rec has estimated it will cost $10 million to return the park to a roadway, which includes reinstalling traffic lights. Some park features such as the playground would have to be removed as any amenities would have to be cleared from the roadway during the week to make way for cars.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/sunset-dunes-2.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"   alt=\"Visitors recreate at San Francisco\u2019s Sunset Dunes Park .\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tJoe Rosato Jr.\/NBC Bay AreaJoe Rosato Jr.\/NBC Bay Area<\/p>\n<p>Visitors recreate at San Francisco\u2019s Sunset Dunes Park during a recent weekday. The park\u2019s future will be decided with Proposition G, which seeks to reopen the road to cars during the week.<\/p>\n<p>On a day last week, Sunset resident Megan Oxford wheeled her two children down the roadway of Sunset Dunes, a daily routine they\u2019ve undertaken since the park opened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI get it probably hurts some people,\u201d Oxford said. \u201cBut we love that it\u2019s closed to the cars and we can use it to play on and commute on our walk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Park critic Albert Chow, owner of Great Wall Hardware and president of People of Parkside Sunset, said the park is underutilized during the week and doesn\u2019t justify replacing a busy roadway. He said the closure has routed thousands of cars onto streets that never experienced much traffic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not that crowded on the weekdays, and when it\u2019s foggy, cold and windy, there\u2019s not that many people out there,\u201d Chow said. \u201cBut 17,000 cars use that road every day, rain or shine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Moseson said park visits are on the rise, and weekday visits now account for 60% of its usage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know change is hard,&#8221; Moseson said. &#8220;I think given that this road has lost its utility as a road, it\u2019s now a great park, so let\u2019s move forward and keep making it a great park.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Correia said the park, which is surrounded by the beach and Golden Gate Park, is too heavy a burden on the neighborhood\u2019s commuters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would you need to close a highway adjacent to the largest open space in San Francisco?\u201d Correia said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t make any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Shipwreck-Cove.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"   alt=\"The new Shipwreck Cove children\u2019s playground sits on Sunset Dunes Park.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tJoe Rosato Jr.\/NBC Bay AreaJoe Rosato Jr.\/NBC Bay Area<\/p>\n<p>The new Shipwreck Cove children\u2019s playground sits on Sunset Dunes Park. <\/p>\n<p>The return of the issue to the ballot in San Francisco is reminiscent of the fight over the Central Freeway, which was badly damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. City voters elected to retain the freeway, which instructed Caltrans to begin its restoration. But critics went back to the ballot and a second vote resulted in voters approving its demolition.<\/p>\n<p>A glance around the Sunset neighborhood tells the story of the mixed feelings \u2014 with homes bearing &#8220;No On Prop G&#8221; signs sitting next to homes displaying signs reading &#8220;Open the Great Highway.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Whatever happens on Election Day, the park will remain \u2014 at least in some form, while some bitter feelings in a divided neighborhood are also likely to stick around.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This upcoming Election Day will be something of a d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu for San Francisco voters, who for the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":494248,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[38024,989,101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-494247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-decision-2026","tag-elections","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}