Sunset Dunes park. Video: Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO — Judi Gorski’s home overlooks one of this city’s newest and most spectacular attractions: a two-mile, car-free stretch of coastal highway where visitors bike, skateboard and stroll against a backdrop of crashing waves. She refuses to step foot on it. “I mean, my street has become a major artery. Frustration on San Francisco’s West Side runs deep enough that there is now a new measure, Proposition G, on the Nov. If passed, it would restore vehicles to the stretch on weekdays. Opponents of Prop. G argue that returning cars would mean an almost unthinkable loss of one of the most unique promenades in the U.S., erasing, they say, an oasis with amenities like skateboard ramps, an outdoor gym and playground equipment. Cyclists use one side of the four-lane highway while pedestrians stroll the other, often with pelican formations flying overhead. The fight in San Francisco mirrors friction nationwide in cities that have increasingly installed bike lanes and converted streets to pedestrian use. Compact and European in feel, San Francisco has been a leader in removing cars from streets, closing a portion of Market Street, its downtown main artery, along with roads in Golden Gate Park and the scenic lookout Twin Peaks in recent years. Upper Great Highway joined the list after crowds flocked to a pandemic-era pilot project that temporarily banned cars on weekends, starting at noon Fridays. “Every day I walk or bike there, I see friends, neighbors and visitors meeting, walking, talking, exercising and engaging with each other directly, leaving their phones in their pockets. “There are speed bumps and arterial stop signs everywhere. The disruptions so upset her neighbor Richard Corriea, a retired San Francisco police commander, that he helped lead the effort to restore the route. On the promenade itself, views mostly ran pro-park one recent day. At the Shipwreck Cove playground, Cameron and Zoe Fausett let their toddler play as his baby brother slept in a stroller. Businesses like the Andytown Coffee Roasters chain report a boost from such visitors. Not all her customers are happy. “Now that that’s over, the road should be returned. Write to Jim Carlton at [email protected]
The move pushed as many as 20,000 vehicles a day onto alternate routes, including Gorski’s street. 3 ballot. Jeremy Stoppelman, CEO of Yelp, has bankrolled about half of the $800,000 raised for No on G; the Yes side has raised about $130,000. Lucas Lux, 40, a tech-company lawyer and president of Friends of Sunset Dunes, a community group that has led the park effort, called it “a rare place in a city where kids are safe enough to learn independence. Joanie Landon, 85, said it previously took eight minutes to travel by car from her home to a thermal pool for her arthritis therapy on the other end of the highway. But the circuitous route she takes now has increased that trip to at least 25 minutes, she said, prompting her to cut her sessions from five days a week to three. Co-owner Lauren Crabbe said sales at one outlet by the beach are up 40% so far this year compared with the same time three years ago. Sipping coffee, longtime resident Randy Roche, 54, lamented losing a favorite pastime: cruising the coast highway in one of his classic cars.
“I’m so angry about it,” said the 75-year-old retired owner of a small art business on a recent sun-splashed day. The campaign has turned fierce, featuring money from wealthy San Franciscans, social-media vitriol and yellow “Yes on G” and green “No on G” fliers plastered citywide. “There is no reason to demolish a park that families across San Francisco love,” Stoppelman said in a statement, adding that he enjoys going there with his children. Europe pioneered the “pedestrianization” movement decades ago, and it accelerated in the U.S. during the pandemic, becoming wildly popular with many, while critics say it often just shifts congestion elsewhere and makes it harder to get around. “Sunset Dunes acts as a public commons,” said Daniel, a music entrepreneur. “It takes a good 15/ 20 minutes longer on average to get through the neighborhood and to and from the freeway to my mother’s house in San Carlos,” Jennifer Dougherty, a 55-year-old pet sitter who lives a block from the closed highway, said by text. “It’s very stressful when you get to this age,” said the retired daycare provider. “These are real people out here and they’re suffering,” he said. “Like a dream come true,” said skateboarder Kyle Martin, 37, between ramp jumps. “It’s just so nice and safe and super family friendly,” said Zoe, 40, visiting from nearby San Bruno. “My position on the closure is I see it as a loan the city gave us during an emergency pandemic,” said Roche, a car-shop owner who was cradling his leashed Bengal cat, named Cheetah.
Gorski is among those fuming since voters permanently closed most of Upper Great Highway to cars, creating what became Sunset Dunes park last year.
Jeff Daniel, 57, who lives nearby, later joined residents pushing to make the ban against private cars permanent and create a public-recreation space. Voters agreed in November 2024, with 55% support, and the new park, Sunset Dunes, opened in April 2025, named for the impressive sand dunes lining Ocean Beach, one of the nation’s premier big-wave surfing spots.
The city called it “the largest pedestrianization project in California’s history.”
But many residents say the 2024 ballot measure came about too hastily with too little outreach to neighborhoods that relied on the Upper Great Highway as a main artery. The faction organized the 2025 recall of a Sunset district supervisor who backed the closure, and its members collected nearly 16,000 signatures to put Proposition G on next month’s ballot. The city estimates Sunset Dunes draws 1.7 million visitors annually, a figure the Yes side calls wildly inflated.
many residents tell a different story, and they fear scheduled construction projects and road closures will make things worse While city traffic data shows a negligible increase in driving times. The two sides are clashing over statistics. Park proponents highlight safety for cyclists and pedestrians, while reopening backers say risks have migrated to other streets. City data shows accidents in the affected area are down since the highway closure. Reopening costs are also in dispute.
