San Francisco announces Great Highway park opening date, but faces community divisions
The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department has dubbed it "the largest pedestrianization project in California history."
On Saturday, the city officially announced that the Great Highway park will open on April 12. At the celebration, the Recreation and Park Department encouraged the public to get involved in a naming contest for the new park and provided a couple of examples from the 250 submissions already received.
"The Great Parkway and, one I happened to like, The Coast Line," said Phil Ginsburg, the general manager of San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, as dozens of supporters cheered.
While many are excited about the new park, not everyone in the community is ready to embrace the change.
Patricia Arack, who is in her 80s and disabled, expressed concern about the permanent closure of the Great Highway.
Arack, who rarely leaves her home these days, worries that the closure will make it even harder for her to get outside.
"If I try to cross the street, I can't run out of the way. It makes it very dangerous. If you have heavy traffic, you're going to have more accidents," Arack said.
Arack believes that closing the four-lane street will only push more cars onto her street, which runs directly next to the Great Highway.
"I counted cars one day, it was 700 cars in an hour going by my house," Arack said.
In November, San Francisco voters approved Proposition K, which permanently closes the two-mile stretch of the Great Highway to traffic, transforming it into a brand-new park. Although around 55 percent of voters supported Proposition K, election results showed that most residents living near the Great Highway opposed its permanent closure.
A neighbor on the Lower Great Highway shared surveillance footage from about 10 days ago, showing a car side-swiping his parked truck.
He also provided another video from 2021 of a vehicle flipping over and hitting the same truck parked in front of his house.
The neighbor, who did not want to provide his name, said there have been a total of four crashes of his truck over the past few years, raising concerns about the additional traffic expected in the neighborhood.
"Supervisor (Joel) Engardio and the mayor are working to quickly implement various traffic improvement changes in the area to try to keep the road safe," said State Senator Scott Wiener, a supporter of Proposition K.
Supporters of the park argue that the speed bumps on the Lower Great Highway will help slow down cars.
"I live on Lower Great Highway, the traffic is really minor even on weekends when it is a park. So we're not concerned with the traffic," said Jeff Daniel, a neighbor of the Great Highway.
Instead, supporters are looking forward to the new park as a space for walking, biking, and community gatherings.
"We all wanted more spaces where we can come together and be a community. And that is what this is," said Heidi Moseson, a Great Highway neighbor.
However, opponents like Arack remain hesitant to celebrate.
"There's the safety, the pollution, and the quality of life," Arack summarized, highlighting her ongoing concerns.
The city is inviting the public to submit name ideas for the new park until March 16. The final name is expected to be selected in early April, just ahead of the park's grand opening on April 12.
