This election cycle, we are overjoyed to be celebrating the passage of Proposition K, which creates a permanent, 24/7 park space on the Upper Great Highway between Lincoln Way and Sloat Blvd! Last Saturday, Nov 16, we joined our community on the Great Highway at Noriega to celebrate the passage of Prop K with speakers and a sing-along and we are now looking forward to the future of Ocean Beach Park.
This has been a years-long campaign, supported by countless community advocates and several champions among our city leadership. We are proud of and grateful to our members who volunteered their time to this campaign both before and after it was a ballot measure.
We want to give a special thanks to the Friends of Great Highway Park team who led this campaign and showed leadership and vision on a contentious topic. Additionally, we want to thank Mayor Breed, Senator Wiener and Supervisors Engardio, Melgar, Preston, Mandelman and Dorsey for sponsoring the proposition and supporting a better future for San Francisco.
This is a win for street safety, the environment, and the community. We are working towards a citywide, interconnected network of car-free and people-prioritized corridors for people of all ages and abilities with our SF CYCLES campaign. Ocean Beach Park is an important piece in achieving our goal of a more livable and connected city and will allow more people to choose sustainable modes of transportation for their everyday trips, revolutionizing the way we get around. It will also provide high-quality access to the coast to everyone – improving community wellness.
For now, we are expecting the Great Highway to be permanently closed to cars some time in the beginning of 2025. The City needs to acquire a permit from the California Coastal Commission before they can make that happen. Then there will be some smaller, short-term park improvements, like adding benches, art, and bike racks. From there, the community and City will begin the long-term planning process for what larger changes will be made to Ocean Beach Park.
To receive updates and be involved with the planning process, sign up here for our campaign list. We will share ways that you can give feedback on the long-term vision for San Francisco’s newest park.
We also want to show extra gratitude to Supervisor Engardio, who was steadfast in his championing of Ocean Beach Park. Aside from putting the measure up for a vote and supporting it politically, he also dedicated his own personal time to canvas for Prop K, and has received a lot of backlash for it. Let’s show him how much we appreciate his leadership on this important bicycle and environmental issue. Use our form to send Supervisor Engardio a thank you email to show your gratitude!
