After hundreds of emails and close to six hours of public comments at the June 10 SFMTA and Recreation and Parks Department joint hearing, City leaders heard you loud and clear: we must keep the Great Highway car-free 24/7. While this meeting was only an informational hearing, most directors and commissioners publicly supported a full, 24/7 pilot closure to keep Great Highway for the people.
But our fight isn’t over: the project hits another milestone at the June 22 SF County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) meeting and we need to show up in numbers again. If you want to lend your support and help us keep the space, sign up to send a letter or give public comment today.
We heard countless stories of people finding joy along our coast, including SF resident Carol who turned 80 this past year and bought a travel scooter to assist with her mobility: “There I was at the edge of the ocean, it was more than getting my life back — it was getting my city back.”
Many City leaders also shared their support for a permanent 24/7 closure of this new park space, including SFMTA Director Gwyneth Borden who reminded us, “If we are serious about our climate change goals and our Vision Zero goals, we should not have to mix a place where people recreate with a place where people are driving fast.”
But, the long-term future of the space will be debated later this month and we need your help. On June 22, your eleven SF Supervisors will be presented with the results from the District 4 Mobility Study’s work on the Great Highway. This includes the SFCTA’s five proposals for the future of the space. The proposals include:
Concept 1 maintains the Great Highway as a four-lane roadway with two vehicle lanes in each direction.
Concept 2 reduces the width of the Great Highway to one vehicle lane in each direction and creates a promenade in the current southbound lanes.
Concept 3 opens the Great Highway as a promenade and closes it completely to vehicle traffic.
Concept 4 opens the Great Highway as a promenade, similar to Concept 3 above, but only during weekends/holidays and/or certain seasons.
Concept 5 reduces the width of the Great Highway to two southbound vehicle lanes in the current northbound lanes and creates a promenade in the current southbound lanes.
Your SF Bicycle Coalition has and continues to advocate for a permanent 24/7 closure of the entire Great Highway. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create an amazing park space. In order to win, we’ll need you to make it clear on June 22 to your Supervisors that we cannot bring cars back to the Great Highway. Sign up to send a letter or give public comment today.
