Note: SPUR is a co-sponsor of Prop. K.

What the Measure Would Do

Proposition K would allow the City of San Francisco to use the Upper Great Highway (between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard) for public open recreation space, permanently closing it to private motor vehicles seven days a week, with limited exceptions. Within 180 days of voter approval of this measure, the city would be required to seek any other approvals necessary to permanently close the Upper Great Highway to private motor vehicles. Emergency vehicles, Golden. Gate Park shuttle buses, and government vehicles would still have access to the Upper Great Highway.

Currently, the Upper Great Highway is open to private vehicles during the week and closed to private vehicles on the weekends for use as recreational space. This pilot program is scheduled to end on December 31, 2025. If Prop. K passes, the pilot would remain in place until all necessary approvals are obtained and permits granted.

Upper Great Highway Changes Under Prop. K

The Backstory

SPUR has a long history with public space access and infrastructure at Ocean Beach. In 2010, SPUR initiated and led a multi-agency and public planning process to address sea level rise, protect city infrastructure, restore coastal ecosystems, and improve public access to the coast, culminating in the Ocean Beach Master Plan¹. This intensive, multiyear SPUR study was done with support from the National Park Service, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, and the California State Coastal Conservancy.

The Ocean Beach Master Plan calls for several actions, including closing the Great Highway Extension south of Sloat Boulevard, rerouting vehicle traffic behind the zoo, protecting the southern stretch of Ocean Beach from coastal erosion through infrastructure and nature-based approaches, building a coastal trail to increase coastal access, and protecting critical wastewater infrastructure. Importantly, this plan also includes reimagining part of the Great Highway as a park space for people to enjoy the coastline, while leaving the rest for dune expansion.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020 the City of San Francisco established open spaces for recreational use throughout the city, including the Upper Great Highway from Lincoln Way to Sloat Boulevard. In August 2021, the emergency order was adjusted to allow private vehicle traffic on weekends from Friday at noon until Monday at 6 a.m. In November 2022, 65% of San Francisco voters rejected Proposition I, an initiative that called for full-time use of the Upper Great Highway by private vehicles and attempted to reverse the planned closure of the Great Highway Extension south of Sloat.

As a compromise after the November 2022 election, the Board of Supervisors legislated a formal pilot instructing the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department to use the Upper Great Highway as a vehicle-free weekend promenade until December 31, 2025.

In May 2024, the Board of Supervisors approved closing the Great Highway Extension (south of Sloat) to cars and rerouting traffic behind the zoo, which was SPUR’s first recommendation in the Ocean Beach Master Plan. Although the city has fulfilled its necessary approvals, the action to close the Great Highway Extension for necessary infrastructure improvements is pending approvals by the California Coastal Commission, which must sign off on the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s design and engineering for protecting wastewater infrastructure, addressing coastal erosion, and providing public open space amenities.

The measure to establish the Upper Great Highway as a recreational open space and close it to private vehicles was put on the ballot in June 2024 by Supervisors Engardio, Melgar, Dorsey, Preston, and Mandelman, with support from Mayor London Breed. Prop. K needs a simple majority (50% plus one vote) to pass.

Equity Impacts

Prop. K would make the Upper Great Highway into a permanent public open space, providing a safe space for families, children, seniors, and other residents to gather and connect with San Francisco’s natural environment. The proposed promenade along the Upper Great Highway at Ocean Beach is located in an area of the city that already has some access to parks, but the low-income neighborhoods and residents in the area would have enhanced access to open space if Prop. K passes. Approximately one-third of households within a 10-minute walk of the Upper Great Highway are low-income, and a high percentage of residents in the area are not native English speakers, according to data from the Trust for Public Land.²

Pros

• Prop. K would advance responsible, nature-based approaches to coastal erosion and sea level rise, as outlined in the Ocean Beach Master Plan. Converting the roadway to a park would allow public agencies to rehabilitate the dunes and coastal habitats, making them more robust to withstand rising sea levels. And restricting private vehicle access would reduce greenhouse gases and pollution in the sensitive coastal ecosystem.
• The Upper Great Highway is a successful and popular open space that has attracted more than 10,000 people every weekend during the Parks Department’s pilot program and 3 million visitors overall. A permanent oceanfront promenade would make the coast safe and accessible to more people, such as those using wheelchairs, roller skaters, and kids on bicycles.
• In its current state, the Upper Great Highway is unreliable and expensive for the city to manage. The road is closed up to 65 days per year, or 18% of the time, due to sand accumulation. According to the San Francisco Controller’s Office, maintaining any private vehicle access on the Upper Great Highway costs the city $350,000 to $700,000 per year for sand removal and will entail $1.5 million in one-time capital costs. Turning it into a park would save this money for potential reinvestment in open space and recreation.
• The Upper Great Highway will soon become a road to nowhere when the Great Highway Extension closes to combat coastal erosion. Drivers will be forced to seek alternate routes regardless of Prop. K, but this measure would ensure that the roadway — a valuable stretch of public infrastructure on the coast — best serves the needs of the Outer Sunset community once it is no longer a high-speed route for cars.

Cons

• Until signals are upgraded on Sunset Boulevard and Lincoln Way, residents in the Outer Sunset might experience slightly more traffic congestion. These upgrades are planned but not included in the ballot measure.
• The city’s transportation studies have determined that rerouting traffic from the Upper Great Highway to an inland route, such as Sunset Boulevard, could increase commute times for those driving private vehicles between Sloat Boulevard and Lincoln Way by up to three minutes.