San Francisco voters could turn Great Highway into permanent oceanfront park

San Francisco voters will have the opportunity to turn a two-mile stretch of the Great Highway into an oceanfront park via a ballot measure from city Supervisors Joel Engardio and Myrna Melgar.

Proponents of the measure pointed to the success of a pilot program that has turned the Great Highway between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard into an oceanfront promenade on the weekends. It's the city's third-most popular park with nearly 10,000 visitors each weekend, according to Friends of Great Highway Park, a volunteer group supporting the measure.

"Building this park is our gift to future generations of San Franciscans," said Lucas Lux, president of Friends of Great Highway Park.

Mayor London Breed and Supervisors Matt Dorsey, Rafael Mandelman and Dean Preston also signed on to the measure.

Even if the measure fails to pass in November, the southern end of the Great Highway below Sloat Boulevard is slated to close to vehicle traffic because of coastal erosion. Public Works crews began a massive sand distribution project earlier this month to stave off the sporadic closures that usually plague the Great Highway throughout the year.

The California Coastal Commission upheld San Francisco's weekend pilot closures last month, allowing the city to continue the program another five years. The commission also struck down environmental arguments that increased foot traffic during weekend closures of the highway could worsen coastal erosion.

"The decision to tear down the Embarcadero freeway was controversial 35 years ago, just as the decision about the Great Highway is today. I wonder, will the Great Highway for cars become as forgotten as the old Embarcadero freeway?" Engardio said. "I believe our kids and generations after them won't be able to imagine San Francisco without an oceanside park."