About a dozen residents held a press conference at the entrance to John McLaren Park Wednesday to speak out against Proposition K, a measure on the November ballot that would close the middle section of the Great Highway to private vehicles.
“Are we going to be in a situation where people can just say “Well let’s close this street. Let’s close Persia or Mission Street. Let’s close Potrero. Let’s close Union Street for whatever reason,” rally organizer John Trasvina said. “We can’t do these things by putting things on the ballot and having everybody vote, that's why we have supervisors, we have two candidates here today, to really bring people together.”
During the height of the pandemic, city officials closed part of the 3.8-mile-long strip to cars, turning it into a car-free outdoor attraction for families and cyclists. Upon shelter-in-place orders lifting in 2021, the city created a compromise by keeping it closed during the weekends and holidays and reopening it to cars during the remaining weekdays.
Prop. K’s proponents believe its passage is the first step to transform part of the Great Highway into a public open recreation space. They view it as an opportunity to create more park space akin to the John F. Kennedy Promenade in Golden Gate Park.
“This is a generational opportunity to create an oceanfront park so that people can just enjoy themselves and bike or walk or just hang out, be with their kids,” state Sen. Scott Weiner said in a Pro-Prop. K rally in August, according to the San Francisco Standard.
All of District 11’s supervisor candidates except one are against the proposition, according to a survey by Mission Local. Most see it as a project without a plan that would cause more harm than good due to a possible increase of traffic in nearby neighborhoods and block off vital routes for many who need to get to the other side of the city such as the Veterans Administration Medical Center.
“Prop. K as of now is not the answer and we should have something that addresses both the needs of our working communities and the broader transportation challenges we face,” District 11 supervisor candidate Adlah Chisti told the crowd. “Let's focus on solutions.”
Rally participants said Prop. K would set a precedent for the city to do the same in other park-adjacent areas such as McLaren Park. Some even highlighted how its closure would halt senior community members from socializing by preventing them from easily participating in their everyday routines since they rely on vehicles.
Anne Marie Kristoff
Taraval Merchants Association leader Albert Chow felt blindsided by the measure, which was put forward by Supervisors Joel Engardio and Myrna Melgar and supported by Supervisors Dean Preston, Rafael Mandelman and Matt Dorsey.
“We have people who are for opening the Great Highway and people who are for closing the Great Highway,” Chow said. “You've pitted us against each other. Is that a way to govern in our district? Is that a way for a supervisor to run his policies? I say no and that’s why I am very much against closing the Great Highway.”
