S.F. debating whether to bring cars back to scenic coastal road
The upper Great Highway has been closed to cars since April 2020, and since those early days of the pandemic, the road has been the subject of protests, petitions and a fervent debate over whether to keep this iconic stretch of road closed to cars, reopen it or some hybrid option of the two.
The highway’s shortterm and longterm fate is one of the most polarizing issues the city will have to resolve as it emerges from a pandemic that brought significant changes to San Francisco’s streetscape.
Tuesday evening the San Francisco County Transportation Authority approved a report by its staff that studied the future of the upper Great Highway, and whether to open it back up to cars. The meeting was just one step in the pro
cess, and a final decision on a nearterm plan will require a vote by the Board of Supervisors. That’s not expected to happen until later this year.
Still, the meeting highlighted the difficulty in coalescing residents and the public behind a single proposal.
Here’s what we learned, and what comes next for the upper Great Highway.
Five options will be considered for upper Great Highway
The 47page report approved by the SFCTA, comprising the full Board of Supervisors, outlines five longterm options, each with its own pros and cons:
1. Reverting to a fourlane roadway for vehicles.
2. A hybrid option that would convert the two lanes closest to the coastline into a promenade while using the other two lanes as a northsouth roadway.
3. Keeping the upper Great Highway under its current pandemic configuration — fully closed to cars.
4. Reopening the highway to cars on the weekdays, and keeping it fully closed to through traffic on the weekends.
5. A hybrid similar to option 2, except that instead of a twoway roadway, the easternmost lanes open to cars would flow one way, southbound.
The staff report recommended going with options 3 and 5, and the second option “was not evaluated due to the significant additional cost.” Supervisors who represent the city’s west side took exception to that, describing the recommendations as an overreach that gives the impression that only two options will be further considered.
The SFCTA approved the report but added language in a resolution stating that the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and Recreation and Park Department will offer a shortterm recommendation in the fall and will study and consider all options.
The issue remains ‘deeply divisive’ among residents
There have been two meetings this month about the upper Great Highway, and each of the marathon virtual gatherings attracted hundreds of people who voiced their support or opposition for keeping the highway closed to cars.
Many people said they wanted the highway to become the “Great Walkway.” The closure has unearthed one of the city’s crown jewels and keeping it closed to cars would be transformational for the city’s climate change and pedestrian safety goals, supporters said.
They said the closure created a space to safely recreate with children — an oasis where pedestrians and bicyclists can enjoy the city’s natural abundance without fear about safety.
Though it has seen declines in traffic in recent months, the Great Highway is the secondmostvisited recreational space in the city next to its flagship Golden Gate Park, which is also the center of another postpandemic debate about keeping one of its corridors closed to cars.
Many others also said that the closure has created traffic congestion headaches for residents in the Sunset District, spilled traffic over to surface streets that were once quiet and further strained commutes on the west side where transit options have been historically limited.
Opponents of a carfree Great Highway were critical of the report’s recommendations,
Many people said they wanted the upper Great Highway to become the “Great Walkway.”
and some west side residents questioned the study’s level of outreach.
A survey of 3,989 respondents included in the report found that 53% of all who were surveyed wanted to keep the highway closed to cars — the most popular of four options (option 5 was not included). The secondmostpopular option, with 21% of all respondents and 52% of Richmond District residents who were polled, supported reopening the highway to vehicles.
Supervisors are also split on Great Highway’s future
City supervisors stressed Tuesday that an actual decision on upper Great Highway is months away. Still, several of them made it clear how they’d vote if they had to make a final call today.
Supervisors Connie Chan and Gordon Mar, who represent districts on the city’s west side, leaned toward the hybrid proposals on the table. Supervisors Ahsha Safaí and Dean Preston expressed support for keeping the Great Highway carfree.
Mar said the longterm future of the upper Great Highway likely points to it being closed to cars, but added that before that can happen, the city needs to implement measures to manage traffic congestion and invest in better transit options for westside residents to get around other parts of the city and region.
The northsouth commutes from the Richmond District to the Peninsula and South Bay were the most popular prepandemic commutes on upper Great Highway, according to the report.
Changes are coming to San Francisco’s west side
Longterm road closures are imminent regardless of whether the supervisors decide to keep the upper Great Highway open or closed to cars.
The Great Highway extension between Sloat and Skyline boulevards is set to be closed by 2023, according to the report, “due to erosion of the cliff and roadway,” and that will bring inevitable changes to traffic flow and congestion, especially on the two boulevards.
What comes next?
Mark your calendars for July 27. That’s when the SFCTA will consider a separate final report on the District 4 Mobility Study. The study began before the pandemic but was morphed to include the upper Great Highway after its pandemic closure.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and Recreation and Park Department will further study the five configurations for the road and do another wave of public outreach before making a recommendation on a shortterm pilot to the Board of Supervisors in the fall.
It’s unclear when, exactly, supervisors will take a vote on the issue. Like other streetscape changes made during the pandemic, the upper Great Highway would have to revert to its prepandemic state 120 days after San Francisco ends its emergency order if no decision is reached by then.