The most stunning nighttime view of San Francisco may soon be off-limits as city leaders on Monday night considered a proposal to close Twin Peaks daily from dusk until dawn.
Police officials say it's a matter of safety over sightseeing as crime as spiked at the popular vista point. But, as expected, some don't like the plan.
A group of friends at Twin Peaks on Monday said they couldn't imagine the spectacular overlook being shut down.
"More security, yeah, that would be great because this is so beautiful," said Megan Allbritten of Oakland. "You can't just close it off. This is something for everybody to see, straight up."
Jed De La Santos, of South San Francisco, agreed.
"There's not that much crime happening here because there's cops happening here all the time I wait," he said. "Why close it?"
But San Francisco police have seen more than the views up there at night. Capt. John Sanford aggravated assaults and noise complaints are common.
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"It's a lot of these incidents that have occurred after these particular hours," Sanford said.
Supervisor Norman Yee has proposed gates at both entrances that lead up to Twin Peaks to keep vehicles out of here from dusk until dawn.
"If you put it down half a mile, most kids, most people that are going to do bad things are not gonna walk up the hill," he said.
In July, a robbery turned into a fatal shooting at Twin Peaks. Last year, two people were shot. And then there are crimes the public doesn't hear much about.
"Including partying, which is one thing, drinking and so forth. But that leads into fights, which has happened quite a bit up there," Sanford said.
Dramatic increases in police patrols and recently installed security cameras have deterred crime, police said. But one neighbor said it's still not enough.
"Something has to be done because the people who are up there after 11, parking, it's a problem," said Jody Yeary.
Yee said he has a lot of support from other members of the board, and he believes the city can get the gates up by the end of the year.
